(Thanksgiving 2015: This homily was given on November 26, 2015 at St.
Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Luke 17: 11-19.)
[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Thanksgiving 2015]
I wonder what Abe would say. If
our 16th president could suddenly come back to earth and experience
a 21st century Thanksgiving with us here in the United States of
America, how would he respond?
When Abraham Lincoln made the fourth Thursday in November a national
holiday in 1863, he said it was to be a day of “Thanksgiving and praise to our
beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”
A couple of years ago, on the 150th anniversary of this
event, an op-ed piece appeared in the Providence Journal by Kyle Scott, a
political science professor at the University of Houston. And in that little article Scott said the
following:
In the past 150
years, the holiday has been secularized and the religious connotations—whether
expressed by Lincoln or because the Pilgrims came to the U.S. to escape
religious persecution, thereby giving the day a religious dimension even
without Lincoln’s proclamation—have been stripped away. The secularization of giving thanks has all
but given way to a day of shopping and individualistic pursuits. Thanksgiving is less about reflection and
sharing moments with family and more about waiting in line at one’s favorite
big box store.
I wonder what Abe would say about all that.
In all likelihood, not too many good things.
This means that what all of you are doing this morning—gathering here
in prayer; pausing to reflect on the many blessings that God has given to you,
to your family and to the world; and then actually thanking Almighty God for
these blessings—is counter-cultural!
It’s not the norm anymore! It’s
the exception, not the rule.
Nowadays the biggest concern for many people on Thanksgiving morning is
not, “What time is the family getting together today?” (Which is what it used to be.) Rather, it’s “What time does Walmart open
today?”
Kyle Scott wrote:
The consumerist drive
has supplanted a day of giving thanks with days of consumption. The impatience of consumers and retailers
means no longer is Black Friday soon enough, but Thursday must now be invaded. It’s impossible to authentically give thanks
when one can’t wait to get more.
This, by the way, is why our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is always
railing against consumerism! To a person
steeped in consumerism “things” and the accumulation of more “stuff” are more
important than God—and more important than other people.
I can’t help but believe that on this issue Abraham Lincoln and our
Holy Father would be on the very same page.
Let me close now with this thought:
Usually gratitude is expressed by what we DO. It’s expressed in action. In today’s gospel reading, for example, a
Samaritan leper is healed by Jesus, and he expresses his gratitude to our Lord by
doing something. Actually he does 3 things: he turns around,
he walks back to Jesus, and he says, “Thank you, Lord, for healing me of my
leprosy and making me well.”
That’s the way gratitude normally works.
But there are some cases when the opposite is true. There are certain times in our lives when
gratitude is best expressed by what we DON’T DO—like needlessly shopping on
Thanksgiving.
Dear Lord, we are beginning
this day with you here at Mass—which is the best way to begin any day. In doing this we are honoring the desire of
President Lincoln by offering (as he would put it) “Thanksgiving and praise to
[you] our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” Help us to express our gratitude to you
during the remainder of this day by doing some things: by saying Grace before
our Thanksgiving meal, by spending some quality time with some of the people through
whom you have blessed our lives—and by remembering those in need. And help us also to express our gratitude by
saying no: by saying no to shopping, by saying no to selfishness, by saying no
to any and every temptation we may experience to put things before you and
before our brothers and sisters. Amen.
