Thursday, November 25, 2021

 Thanksgiving Day

(Sirach 50:22-24; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19)

Thanksgiving is America’s favorite holiday, hands down.  Forget about the Fourth of July.  Forget about even Christmas.  On Thanksgiving Americans travel distances to be with their family.  Most everyone eats turkey.  Many watch football on television. Increasingly popular is a communal morning run.

One thing Americans are having trouble doing in recent years on Thanksgiving is giving thanks to God.  Skepticism has taken root in many places.  People are having have difficulty recognizing a Supreme Benefactor.  They become a little like Bart Simpson in his mealtime prayer, “Thank you for nothing.  We paid for all this food ourselves.”  Most foreigners do not have this problem.  At a Thanksgiving meal they will not only thank God but also name the gifts they are thankful for.  They are much like the Samaritan leper in today’s gospel.

This leper is a foreigner also.  Only the desperation of his disease allowed him to share company with the Jewish lepers.  This condition, however, is not necessary to stand before Jesus.  He welcomes everyone. It’s the Samaritan’s return to Jesus that truly distinguishes him from the others.  He wants to express gratitude to God before the instrument of God’s healing.  For this reason Jesus declares him saved.  The others may obey the law but are not given access to eternal life.  Americans may enjoy a lot of blessings.  But they likewise are not saved unless they give gratitude to God.

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

 Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, pope

(Wisdom 6:1-11; Luke 17:11-19)

Today’s gospel is traditionally read on Thanksgiving Day. The reason is obvious; it is about giving thanks.  Jesus has healed ten lepers, and one -- only one and he, a Samaritan -- returns to thank him.  Jesus extols him not only for giving thanks but also for doing so when his benefactor was of a different faith tradition.  Something similar is happening in America today.

The desire to give thanks is found throughout the world.  People everywhere have an almost innate need to thank others, if not God, for their welfare.  For this reason, Mexicans in border towns like to join family and friends on the American side for Thanksgiving dinner.  When doing so, they may take time to not only say grace before the meal but also spend time in common prayer afterwards.  Standing in a circle, each person will name aloud the benefits he or she has received with God’s help.

The Thanksgiving Day Mass also attracts a fair number of people.  Instinctively we know that the Eucharist is the best way to give thanks.  Latinos again excel here.  They seem more likely than European-American counterparts to participate in the Thanksgiving Mass. They believe that it actualizes Jesus’ death so that they might participate in it and have eternal life.  For this opportunity as well they want to thank him.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

(for Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time see below)

Thanksgiving Day

(Sirach 50:22-24; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19)

Huntington’s Disease is one of the worst maladies known in medicine.  It attacks the brain leaving bearers of the disease physically and mentally incapacitated.  In listening to testimonies of Huntington Disease sufferers, one is surprised to hear some describing themselves as “blessed.”  It is not a universal claim, but it is heard from different patients.  People have been good to them and they have experienced something of the sweetness of life.

On Thanksgiving Day most people likewise sense that they are blessed.  There is time to reflect on all that they have and are.  They can name some of those who provided them education and opportunity, but they realize that the list cannot be exhausted.  Indeed, most get an inkling that the blessing has been bestowed from on high.  We know this elusive, benign benefactor as the Lord God who made us and sustains us.

The Samaritan in today’s gospel has a true insight into the extent of God’s blessing.  After being cured of his leprosy, he goes to thank Jesus.  He might have followed his nine companions to the Temple.  There he would have paid homage to God as well as have received the confirmation of healing from the priests.  But the Samaritan realized that Jesus had something fundamental to do with his fortune.  And so should we!  God has not only blessed us with human life; through His Son Jesus Christ He has granted us a share in His eternal life.  We experience a foretaste of this new life when we come together for the Eucharist.  We also receive a sense of eternal life as we gather with family and friends around the Thanksgiving table.

Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Maccabees 215-29; Lucas 19:41-44)

A proverb says, “The old man who will not cry is a fool.”  Everyone should come to tears as she or he realizes that life is often tragic because people fail to learn its most important lesson.  The lesson is to give glory to God by caring for one another.  Too often humans take life as a game in which they are to gain as much prestige and prosperity for themselves as possible.

In the passion account of Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells the women of Jerusalem that they are not to weep for him but for their children.  In today’s passage he does exactly this.  Jerusalem refuses to learn life’s lesson taught in the Law, reiterated by the prophets, and confirmed by Jesus himself.  Its inhabitants would rather retain its values of wealth and honor.  Although Jesus is hardly an old man, in his day at thirty-three years he has already entered middle age.  In any case he shows himself as wiser than the ages with his tears.

Should we cry at what we see around us?  There is, for sure, enough egotism about to make even children weep.  After we shed our tears we should resolve to live lives worthy of the gospel.  That is, we should amend our ways by placing the good of others alongside our own and by praying that God turn the situation around.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving Day

(Sirach 50:22-24; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19)

A number of years ago University of Texas quarterback gave a stellar performance in the Rose Bowl.  He scored a number of touchdowns and was chosen as the game’s most valuable player.  In a post-game interview, the young player did not brag of his accomplishment. Rather, he gave credit for his success to others.  He praised his teammates for their cooperation and thanked his family for their role in making him into the player he was.  In displaying such gratitude Vince Young emulates the Samaritan who returns to Jesus giving thanks.

The gospel passage is unique to Luke.  Jesus heals ten lepers and sends them off to the priest for inspection so that they may once again participate in society.  One of those healed, however, on noticing that he has indeed been cleansed of the dreaded disease returns to thank Jesus.  When he expresses gratitude for full health, Jesus bestows on him the richer blessing of salvation.

Today Americans and all living in the United States have the opportunity to thank God for the blessings bestowed on this great country.  When we do so from the heart – that is, not just by gathering to eat turkey or by even sitting in prayer around the table – but by a change of course as dramatic as the Samaritan’s who returns to Jesus, we also can count on his blessing of salvation.

Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Daniel 1:1-6.8-20; Luke 21:1-4)

Dr. Andrew Weil is one of America’s most noted nutritionists. In one of his books he writes of the superiority of a vegetarian diet and the harmful effects of alcohol. Dr. Weil would probably find the first reading today, telling of the four young men who thrive on vegetables and water, significant. He might call it ancient corroboration of the best modern scientific research on diets.

However, the writer of the Book of the Prophet Daniel tells the story of Daniel, Hananhiah, Azariah, and Mishael with a different idea in mind than nutrition. He sees the boys’ thriving not because of their diet but in spite of it. He notes that they refuse the fare from the royal table because eating it would mean defiling the Law of Moses. These are pious lads who resist fine foods in order to carry out God’s commands.

Many Americans are thinking about food this week. Some cannot wait to taste the latest Thanksgiving appetizers. Others worry about standing their ground against the onslaught of calories from Thursday until Super Bowl Sunday. The four Jewish boys show America the most enlightened attitude toward food possible. It provides sustenance so that we might, in turn, give God thanks and praise.

Homilette for Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving Day

Luke 17:11-19

Why is Jesus annoyed that the other nine lepers do not return to give him thanks? Can he not appreciate how their first reactions after being so completely marginalized might be jubilation, not thanksgiving? Since he healed ten, does he feel personally offended that all do not recognize his power? Or is there another, explanation, more characteristic of Jesus?

The fourth preface for weekdays provides an intriguing answer to these questions. The preface is the prayer of thanksgiving that the priest makes on behalf of the people at Mass just before the consecration of the bread and wine. One option of the many prefaces available uses these words: “Our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to your greatness but makes us grow in your grace.” In the gospel Jesus is not upset because he is slighted by the nine lepers who do not return. Rather he is sorry that they do not take advantage of the gift that God extends by our giving thanks. Jesus reveals God’s inestimable gift when he tells the grateful leper, “...your faith has saved you.” As terrible a curse as leprosy is, it cannot compare to the oblivion of eternal perdition. The tenth leper has found his way to salvation, the greatest of God’s graces.

Today we pause to thank God’s for many gifts, but especially prosperity to our nation. Although salvation has a radically personal element, still the environment in which we find ourselves contributes to it. God has blessed Americans with universal education, an over-abundant food supply, and almost limitless opportunity to practice virtue while securing for ourselves and our families a good life. Like the good leper we seek our salvation as we turn to God in thanksgiving for all these blessings.