Giving Thanks to the One Who Has Loved Us First

Homily for Thanksgiving Day

St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians opens in a typical fashion for a Hellenistic letter. However, St. Paul expands the opening with details carefully chosen to remind the readers of their situation and to suggest some of the issues the letter will discuss.

He tells them that they have been called by the will of God. Every Christian can say the same thing. God called us. Recognizing that fact is essential if we are to be truly grateful people. It is important that we all recognize that our vocation and our mission, our very existence are all at God’s initiative. God’s call, grace, and fidelity will all be important issues in this letter. So, while the letter begins with a traditional statement of gratitude, it also shows us how this particular letter will develop. St. Paul then speaks of the fact that we have been enriched by every gift as our faith in Jesus became part of who we are. St. Paul is drawing upon his own experience in telling us this because he has come to realize that the gifts he has received – namely, his preaching, writing, and his very new life – have all been bestowed upon him through his faith in Jesus.

St. Paul then turns to another favorite topic when he speaks of the virtue of fidelity. As with all gifts, the gift of fidelity is grounded in the fact that God is faithful, God is true. For those who have placed their hope in the promises that God has made, fidelity is nurtured by hope in those promises and by the faith we have placed in God. Because of this gift of fidelity, we know that we shall remain firm in our faith if we accept the fact that it is a free gift rather than something we have earned or come to deserve.

The first reading from the Book of Sirach also speaks of God’s initiative. In the many philosophy courses that are expected of anyone who seeks to be an ordained minister, we learned that God is the Prime Mover. The important word in this title is “prime.” God acted first. Elsewhere, St. Paul tells us that God loved us even while we were still in sin because love is the very nature of God. God did not love us because of who we are but because of who God is. Consequently, St. Paul reminds us of God’s initiative as he opens this letter, considered one of his more important letters.

In the Gospel reading for today, ten lepers ask Jesus to have pity on them, and he tells them to go show themselves to the priests. This is a necessary step for anyone who has been declared ritually impure. The nine Jewish lepers had no choice but to go and show themselves to the priests. Only the Samaritan, not bound by the law, was free to go back and give thanks. The Gospel tells us that he fell at the feet of Jesus. This gesture reveals that the man has come to understand who Jesus is and that God has acted in his life. However, we cannot pass over the fact that this Gospel episode illustrates another important theological point that St. Paul hammers home. We cannot be saved by the law. Once again, the Samaritan leper is saved because God acted first and not because of observance of the law.

Thanksgiving Day gives us the opportunity to remember all the good things that have been given to us by God’s initiative. Perhaps we could spend a little time today writing out or imagining our résumé. As we record all that we have accomplished, we, like the leper, can fall at the feet of Jesus and remember that without God’s first call, grace, and fidelity, none of it would have been possible.