WE COUNT OUR BLESSINGS
The greatest gift we have to be thankful for is our redemption
and adoption as Children of God! Jesus Christ has led the way for us. He has
redeemed us from slavery to sin, from fear of death and from final destruction.
In our
journey through life we have had many people of God who have preceded us. Their
stories have been told to us in the Bible in order to give us confidence and
aide us in our journey. One of these persons is Daniel. In the face of the
greatest threat possible he remained undaunted. Despite the king's prohibition
against prayer, a prohibition which promised certain death for its violation,
he remained faithful to God. And God responded by rescuing him from the lions'
den.
On this
special day we are called to reaffirm our loyalty to God - our promise that we
will follow Him and His will no matter what. This promise is made from a true
faith in God, but our faith is not completely blind. It is based on the truth
that what God has done in the past, He will continue to do. Just as He saved
Daniel from certain death in the lions' den, so He will save us from
everlasting death.
Today
we celebrate Thanksgiving! Abraham
Lincoln declared this a national day of being thankful for what we have
received. His proclamation warned that we had become blind, at times, for the
blessings we have received. It is true that we do take a lot for granted.
Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate, and there is something positive and genuine
about a holiday that does not require us to buy something.
The
Scripture readings from Luke's Gospel remind us to count our blessings,
remembering that the greatest gift we have to be thankful for is our redemption
and adoption as Children of God! Jesus Christ has led the way for us. He has
redeemed us from slavery to sin, from fear of death and from final destruction.
We can be thankful because our hope is in heaven and in the promise that Jesus
will return to fully establish His reign of peace and righteousness which we
heard about and celebrated on the feast of Christ the King!
Jesus
will return to establish justice and righteousness and He will vindicate all
the faithful. It is a sign of hope filled with joy. Whenever we are tempted to
be discouraged we need to hear again Jesus' words in today's Gospel:
"Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand"
(Lk 21:28b).
Happy
Thanksgiving!