In the Agora: Thanks for No Thing

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November 22, 2007

Thanks for No Thing

But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.

- Luke 6:24-25a

Scripture tells us in many places that we are to give thanks to the Lord for his blessings to us, for indeed, all good things come from Him. It is meet to set apart this day as a day of thanksgiving and to express our gratitude for the prosperity we enjoy, a level of material comfort that would have astounded the Pilgrims -- and continues to astound the majority of the modern world.

Unfortunately, I think this richness obscures the true meaning of thanksgiving. We look at our wealth and comfort and conclude that these are the only things worthy of gratitude. Worse, we consider that these are the only ways that God will bless us, that His will should conform to our own.

It is hard to tell our rich culture that God blesses His people with trials, hardships, and suffering. Even doubt and worry are gifts from God. It is hard to discern how such things are for our benefit, or why God would answer our prayers with outcomes that contradict our wishes. It confounds the wisdom of men that the unseen benefits of suffering are often unknown and sometimes unknowable until the Last Day. But surely, Scripture tells us that this is so.

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul explains the spiritual benefits of suffering (5:2b-5):

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Likewise, St. Peter writes in his first epistle (1:3-7):

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith -- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire -- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

It is dangerous to ignore suffering or to pretend as if it is not from God -- or worse, a sign of His displeasure. Instead, we are to rejoice in it, for it is a blessing, one as worthy of our thanksgiving as the material comforts we celebrate today. The danger is increased if we praise God only for these material comforts, as if our relationship with Him were based upon Him pleasing us as we see fit. Even if subconsciously, this attitude elevates us above Him, and woe to such thankful people indeed.

How glorious that not all blessings are either material or terrible, for we can set our hearts and minds on his ultimate blessing, the forgiveness of our sins, and give our deepest thanks.

November 22, 2007

Thanks for No Thing

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