Giving Thanks

In front of our altar is a mandala of fruit and vegetables. It is a feast for the eyes: abundant and full of color. There are onions, potatoes, leeks and cabbage, apples, pears and even a bottle of wine. There are flowers and fresh apple juice and bread.

Maybe you wonder why we have such an elaborate decoration. At this time of year we celebrate the gifts of creation. From a single seed, something great can grow, like a tree. From a tiny pumpkin seed, something fine and delicious grows. Here in the middle of our presentation, we have a couple of small pumpkins.

What can we make from a pumpkin? Soup, cake, pie (!)…

We are grateful for what the God’s garden, what the earth gives to us. But let me ask this question: what are you grateful for?

I believe learning gratitude is one of the most important lessons in life. Gratitude, I think, is closely tied to responsibility. To be grateful for something presupposes something essential: a basic sense of responsibility for what we appreciate, for what we love. Gratitude carries with it an awareness of justice, a strength that is open to what is true, good, and beautiful. This sense of responsibility, for ourselves and for others—is something we learn throughout life. We might describe this learning process with a single word: solidarity.

Solidarity Through Sharing

When we think of our shared home, the planet earth. Solidarity means an attitude of shared responsibility for creation. I think Saint Paul connects this inner learning, this awareness of our shared foundations of life, with active engagement. In his letter to Timothy he writes: “But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11) To pursue something means to be truly interested in it—and to commit yourself to it. But when we do that, we also discover that life, sadly, also brings unjust and harsh situations.vAnd this flows directly into our Gospel reading from Luke.

Jesus addresses the Pharisees, those who valued wealth and status and saw prosperity as a sign of God’s favor. And then he tells them the parable of the rich man and the poor Lazarus. Jesus speaks of a man who celebrated sumptuous feasts every single day. And right outside his door, very close by, sat a poor man named Lazarus. He was hungry and would have been glad just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.

Can we even imagine what it means to feel Lazarus’s hunger and thirst?

I admit to you: it is hard for me to truly feel that kind of desperate need, because I have so much. But I do feel the injustice in the story Jesus tells. The rich man does not see the misery of the other. He has everything, and more than enough for daily life, yet he is blind to the reality that is lying at his very door.

Practicing Solidarity

With this story Jesus encourages us to trust that inner sense of injustice, and to practice the attitude of solidarity. There are many places where we can practice it: in our families, in our free time, in our work. Again and again we discover that life is not fair, that not everyone begins with the same chances. That is part of our real world. In this life, perfect justice will not exist. Yet Jesus invites us to sharpen our gaze toward our shared home, our life together and to take responsibility. To trust, that even in an unjust world, God calls us to walk in hope, shaping a more just tomorrow.

Let us thank God that we may share this responsibility with one another.

Let us thank God for the gifts of the earth: for bread and wine, for the fruits of the land. And the joy of this abundance—let us enjoy it together and share it with one another.

May our journey of faith always be a journey of hope and peace, hope and peace in God, for creation and for one another.

Praised be Jesus Christ. Now and Forever. Amen.