Acknowledging Our Dependence with Thanksgiving
Bishop’s Thanksgiving Message
“On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.”
– William Jennings Bryan
One of my favorite prayers in the Book of Common Prayer is this one from the Order for Compline:
O God, your unfailing providence sustains the world we live in and the life we live: Watch over those, both night and day, who work while others sleep, and grant that we may never forget that our common life depends upon each other's toil; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 134)
It is a reminder that the world in which we live, the lives we live – all that we are and all that we have – is all the sheer gift of God. It is not something we can seize or hold. We can only receive and give thanks. This receiving is not passive but rather an active attentiveness to each moment as God's irreplaceable, intimate gift. We thank God, who wonderfully created us and still more wonderfully redeems us. It is no accident that the central practice of the Church is the Eucharist, the root meaning of which is “thanksgiving.”
The prayer from Compline is also a reminder that we depend on each other’s toil. The notion of an autonomous individual, rugged or otherwise, is a false one. It is fundamentally absurd. We are born into – and dependent upon from start to finish – a web of relationships. We consistently and only live at the hands of others. Part of the discipline of active, attentive gratitude is giving thanks to everyone else. Margaret Visser writes, “Gratitude is always a matter of paying attention, of deliberately beholding and appreciating the other” (The Gift of Thanks, 2008).
Thanksgiving is a good reminder to pay attention to our interdependence and appreciate others on whom we depend. So, this Thanksgiving, thank God for his unfailing sustaining providence. And give thanks for all those other folk on whose toil your life depends. Thank family and friends. But also thank everyone who had a hand in making your Thanksgiving feast possible: those who planted, harvested, processed, and packed. Those who drove the trucks, loaded and unloaded the trucks, stocked the shelves, and checked out the groceries. Thank the utility workers who ensure the power gets to your home – sometimes in inclement weather. And thank sister turkey and brother pig for sacrificing their lives for your enjoyment and nourishment. And thank all who participate in one way or another in the web of mutual dependence.
We can seek an active, attentive gratitude day in and day out. One way to do that is to end each day with an adaptation of the Jesus prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Thank you.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Thank you.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Thank you.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Thank you for ____________.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Thank you for ____________.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Thank you for ____________.
Etc.
Under the Mercy,
