Living
in Gratitude
“Let
us be thankful for existence itself. And the beauty around and within us. If we
are surrounded by goodness and praise it where we find it, then we are urged to
give thanks for life, for existence, for the goodness tasted therein…To be religious
is to be thankful—one is never half-full of thanks--one is thank-full or otherwise empty of thanks.”
Matthew
Fox (Daily Meditations, Nov. 25, 2021)
St.
Thomas Aquinas said, “Religion is supreme thankfulness or gratitude.” It’s
not just saying grace at the dinner table or praying at bedtime as children are
taught to do. It is recognizing that we live in a state of grace every minute
of every day. Yesterday, as I was driving to my physical therapy session, I saw
a man sleeping on a street bench. He may have been a homeless man, or he may
just have felt tired and laid down to rest. Either way, I’ll bet he was thankful
for the beautiful day and the park bench. I felt grateful seeing him there, glad
for the comfort he seemed to have. I can barely sleep in a bed with a good mattress.
I’ve
been asked to speak at the funeral of a friend who died this week. Public
speaking scares me, but he was my idea of what a Christian ought to be, and
since I love to tell people what they ought to be, I said yes. I’ve been
thinking about his life and how long I knew him and some interactions we had
over the years. Bud Precise, father, pastor, teacher, and friend, was through-and-through,
just a good man. He knew from an early age that he would become a minister
because he came from a long line of them. He was pastoring churches even before
graduating college, let alone seminary. He loved to teach, so his specialized
in Christian education. During the 30 years I knew Bud, he remained committed
to his calling, not just on Sunday mornings, but every day in all circumstances.
He walked in the footsteps of Jesus to the very best of his ability and was
kind to the end. How many of us can say that?
Honestly,
I agree with St. Thomas Aquinas that religion is gratitude. I don’t believe we
have to declare ourselves to be this or that—Christian, Jew, Muslim, whatever—to
be “religious.” I think we have to be like Bud—grateful for the day, for the
opportunity to teach and serve, and for the experience of grace. It’s not the religion-label
that we wear, nor the lack of one, that makes us Jesus-like; it’s the way we
live each day, the kindness we show, and the gratitude we carry in every cell
of our bodies. You know when you meet someone like Bud what Christ-like truly means.
It comes naturally from within, and it’s beautiful to see.
In
the Spirit, Jane
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