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Learning for Life: Cultivating a Student Spirituality
Thanksgiving, and Giving of Self
Week 6
Grace Miedema, Former Chaplain at Fanshawe College, London Ontario
6.1 Thanksgiving - Our God sees us
“You are the God who sees me” Genesis 16.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:4-6
Thanksgiving Day is like a road sign at a rural crossing. We stop and check where we are. We’re not at the end of the journey, but we’ve come through a significant segment and can benefit from a reminder. We can rejoice because the Lord is near. There are still challenges ahead, bends in the road, but because the Lord is near we are seen and loved, regardless of the circumstances.
To be seen by God is to be in his care. In Genesis 16 we meet Hagar, Sarah’s servant girl, who was used by Sarah as a surrogate mother, and then when Sarah was unhappy with her, she was abused to the point of running away. But God saw her, gave her hope and guided her. Again in Genesis 21, when she was sent away by Abraham, she was a single woman with a young child. Her supplies were only as much food and water as she could carry. But God saw her, gave her hope and provided for her.
When I accepted God’s claim on me (read ‘made public profession of faith’) my parents gave me a plaque stating “He who hath helped thee hitherto will help thee all thy journey through”. The plaque was a bit tacky, but I liked it, because it said “I’ve made it this far, some good things have happened in my life, and I continue with God from here.” Living with that confidence eases many stresses for me. God sees me, he hears my requests, and so I can go on. But I also know that he knows best, so I can have peace in His wisdom for my life.
We can celebrate Thanksgiving because we go with God. He has his eye on us. He has brought us this far, and he’ll be there for the whole journey. So often we need to venture out into the unknown future- when we decide what program of study to follow, what employment to pursue, which relationship to work on, which church community to join- each step out is into the unknown. But God goes with us.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank you that you have carried me along to this point in my life. Thank you for the comfort of knowing you are with me into the future. Open my eyes I pray, to your blessings and guidance as I go on from here. Thank you for the forgiveness you’ve given in Jesus, Amen
Quote: “Oh Lord that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.” William Shakespeare
6.2 Thanks for God’s Presence
Matthew 1:20-21 Luke 1: 13-17, 30-33, Genesis 26: 24Deut. 1: 21, John 14: 25-27, Acts 27:24, Psalm 118: 6,7 and Hebrews 13:6
“Fear Not” “Be not afraid” “I am with you” “ I will watch over you” This is an often repeated refrain in scripture. God himself says it to the patriarchs, his angels preface their announcements with the same, and he speaks in dreams with the same message. But we continue to be afraid.
We are afraid of the unknown, afraid we will seem foolish, afraid we might do more damage than good to our cause, afraid we will lose what we’ve gained, afraid more will be demanded of us than we can deliver, afraid, afraid. It is realistic to be cautious. Sometimes we are not as ready for the challenge as we should be. We sometimes jump into the river, not knowing how shallow or deep it is, or how swift the currents. But when we’ve done the groundwork we need to trust the promises of God. Fear and caution are not the same thing. It could be argued that whole industries are built trying to reduce fear. Fear locks us into inaction. I had an uncle and aunt who lived their whole lives in one small village and even when they went for a walk through the town where they knew everyone’s name, all they said was “good day” and kept walking until they got home. They were afraid to get involved, afraid to embarrass themselves, afraid they might say too much.
Fear cripples us for much good work. But we have the promises of God to encourage us. We have the promise that we as Abraham’s adopted children we will be a blessing to the world. We have the promise that the kingdom is now and we have a calling in it. We have the promise that the Holy Spirit gives gifts so that each of us can be an effective part of the body. We have the promise that the world will be redeemed because it is God’s, he loves it and he loves us. We have the promise that we are not alone but go with our loving God. Like a stuttering Moses, or a timid Gideon, or a youthful Mary, God can use even us, if we listen to his word “Fear not, I am with you.” We can follow our calling in the kingdom today because its God’s kingdom, not ours.
Prayer: Dear Father, Redeemer, and loving Guide, I pray that I may trust you more fully, that I may be more willing to follow your leading, and that I can put my fears aside because I know your love surrounds me. Amen.
Quote: To be afraid is to behave as if the truth were not true. Bayard Rustin: Activist for peace and leader of the civil rights movement in America
6.3 Thanks for Variety
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your eye?” Matthew 7:1-4
Once we take action to make a difference in this world it can easily irritate us that others seem to do nothing. Once we step out to take action we can get irritated because we now know how simple it was to get involved. Or we can get frustrated because the task we took on is so big that we need the ‘do-nothings’ to help us. This happens to people who begin evangelism activities as well as those who get involved in social justice. It can happen to anyone in any task that is for the benefit of the whole. It happened to Martha when Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. When we feel this happening to ourselves we need to step back and take another look at why we feel this way. This happens to me when I take on too much. I get annoyed that my husband just sits and reads a book while I have a long list of duties on my agenda.
There are many ways to serve God- with our creative gifts as well as with service to others. But we are all called to serve in some way. Called to love God above all and others as ourselves. And as long as God hears the cries of the hungry, the lonely, the sick and oppressed, we are called to use our gifts to love God by loving others. Be it as care-givers, photojournalists, nutritionists, musicians, or economists, each one of us can make a difference- then the love of God will be rippling out from our own kitchen table to the other side of the planet. There are as many variations on the task as there are people and personalities. When I stop to think about my husband reading his books then I realize that he is actually building his file of thought for further sermons. In his own methodical way he has used his gifts for God’s glory. As we mature and grow and age the tasks may change. No one sees completely into the life of another, how that person is involved, or what obstacles they need to overcome.
Could it be that our judgment comes out of our own short-sightedness and lack of grace?
Prayer: Dear Father, Help me to see value in my neighbour as you see value, help me to see where you are calling me to make a difference, and by your Spirit give me the will to act on that today. Help me to love as you love, for Jesus sake, Amen
Quote: “Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills, against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence. ... Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of our generation.” Robert F. Kennedy
6.4 Thanksgiving through Just Living
“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbors work for nothing, and does not give them their wages.... Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is it not this to know me? says the Lord.” Jeremiah 22:13-16
The businessmen of Jeremiah’s day knew how to get what they wanted, but God was not impressed with the penthouses of the unrighteous, or those who hired illegal immigrants because they had fewer defenses against unjust labour practices.
We may not be as intentional about cheating the world’s poor but we often live our lives in a fog, developing habits without realizing their implications. We buy tickets to watch men play sports so that they make more money than the GDP of small countries. We eat food that has traveled farther than we have. Shopping has become a leisure activity instead of a way to supply needs. And it is normal to our middle class way of life. We all have ‘off shore migrants’ and illegal aliens in the work forces around us.
Jeremiah tells us that it is in doing justice and righteousness that we get to know God. If we want to know God we can’t hide our heads in the sand, not asking where our diamonds came from. We need to open our eyes to where our energies, our dollars, and our hearts are oriented. If our entertainment dollars always outweigh our tithing dollars we need to look again. We need to remember that the maid in the hotel, the man who milked the cow, and the refugee in the evening news all have feet that can ache and mothers that can get sick, just like ours. If we live with an all powerful and all loving God we would do well to hear what he says will do us well. It may feel like a business risk to only pay a fair wage and shop as much as possible where we know the worker has a chance for a decent living, but then justice is done.
Everyone benefits when we do what is right and just. Justice is complicated, and sometimes it can take a long time before we even recognize how we contribute to the problem, but we do well to listen to the Lord. Then we will know the Lord, and it will be well with us.
Prayer: Oh God who sees all and loves all, forgive me for being complacent and help me to see as you see, to love as you love, and help me to live my life loving my neighbour as myself. Amen
Quote: “Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds.” Saint Teresa of Avila
6. 5 Giving God’s Love
“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us - and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?” 1 John 3:16-17
How does the love of God abide in us? How do we give our lives to God? John seems quite clear here. And there is no doubt that we are the ones with ‘the world’s goods’. The interesting thing that economist Jeffrey Sachs in The End of Poverty points out is that if we help out our brothers and sisters in need that does not necessarily mean that there will be less for us. “The task (to end extreme poverty) can be achieved within the limits that the rich world has already committed to: 0.7 percent of the gross national product of the high income world…. The effort required of the rich is indeed so slight that to do less is to announce brazenly to a large part of the world, “You count for nothing.” Instead of worshipping wealth in name brands, professional sports, powerful vehicles and other toys we need to keep our eye on the people and things God loves and stand together as God’s family.
We have Christ’s example. He laid down his life for us, while we were still sinners. We have the examples of many saints who have gone before us. Remember the early church who had everything in common. Remember teachers and missionaries willing to leave the comforts of home because they believed the gospel was for everyone. Think of mother Theresa and the all the sisters and brothers who took vows of poverty and kept them so they could help those with less material and less hope. Remember those forefathers and mothers who continued to support churches and schools and the futures of their communities in spite of economic depression or racism or war.
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help? How does the love of God abide in us? It shows itself when we give as God gives. Even the simple tithe supporting the ministries of the church is just a beginning then. Giving 1% of our income for world hunger relief is another small start.
Prayer: Dear God I confess that I am often caught up in my own small world and won’t open my eyes to the poverty and injustice that I see. Forgive me Father, and by your Spirit give me the will and ability to make positive changes where I can. Help me to love as you have loved, Amen
Quote: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace and a soul generated by love.” Coretta Scott King
6.6 Giving Patience
“We urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18
Who are those idlers, those fainthearted, those weak people? If I’m honest with myself this is one of my biggest challenges- to be gracious to people who I think are lazy idlers. People who seem to have potential but never pull themselves together enough to accomplish anything. You probably have some of these folks in your life too- the high school classmate who drifts from one dead-end job to another even though he was one of the quick-witted ones in class, the frazzled hairdresser who can’t make ends meet because she has expensive tastes and is always waiting to win the lottery, the 30ish university grad who lives down the street and can’t seem to find his way out of his mother’s basement.
On the one hand it looks like these people are the ones who were given a talent and then they buried it instead of using it for the master. But if we look closely we will recognize ourselves in the poor and the selfish and the disabled and the outcast. There isn’t much difference between ‘us’ and ‘them’. If we are honest when we see the panhandlers sitting on the sidewalk we will know that if we had not had the love and support we’ve received, we could easily have been there too. God has been gracious to us, and we were able to receive it.
When taking time to visit with the mentally challenged in a group home, or making a meal with the mentally ill in a collective kitchen or playing cards with a few people at a soup kitchen, one will notice after a while that often they are as courageous and industrious as we are with the resources they have to work with. Some have a very strong faith, and others need the same encouragement we need to open our eyes to the love of God. We all- grads, hairdressers, and mentally challenged folks, need encouragement to overcome the hurts of our past, admonishment to see the gifts of God for today, and patience that there is hope for the future.
Prayer: Dear Father, make me a channel of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. Amen
(St. Francis of Assisi)
Quote: “You can find Calcutta anywhere in the world. You only need two eyes to see. Everywhere in the world there are people that are not loved, people that are not wanted nor desired, people that no one will help, people that are pushed away or forgotten. And this is the greatest poverty.” Mother Teresa
6.7 Replacing Curses with Thanks
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Romans 12:14-18
How can we see sunshine when its obvious that there is so much that is dark and clouded? We hear news of oppressive governments and exploitative corporations. We know of abuse in families, and catch whispers of chosen abortions. How do we stay sane in the face of evil?
The writer of Romans tells us to ‘live in the moment’ rejoicing or weeping, in harmony with our companions. But in the face of evil we are to aim for nobility. I find this very difficult. In my head I’m close to being a pacifist, but when I’m wronged my mind becomes flooded with visions of torture and revenge. My heart races and my teeth clench. But most often I don’t have the option of striking back, and that is a good thing. It gives God time to remind me of these wise words in scripture. Often I have no choice but to look for a peaceful solution. And then my heart and mind are open to calmness and wisdom. Then I can at least aim for nobility. As Nelson Mandela has said, “as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same”, and “if you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner”.
To live in harmony instead of haughtiness and self-righteousness we need to reserve judgement of both abuser and victim. This is no easy feat. We may want to curse politicians, religious charlatans, medical personnel who misuse their power, and all those who do us or our loved ones wrong, but Wisdom’s way would be to reserve such judgement and work for peace where possible. We need to keep our hearts focused on the love of God for all people. Because ultimately love and justice are the same thing.
Prayer: Dear Father, in my pursuit of peace and justice I pray for eyes to see goodness, a heart that feels humility, and a mind to work for nobility. May I see others with a heart of patience and forgiveness, as I pray you see me, for Jesus sake, Amen.
Quote: “...never be conceited. With respect to our attitude toward our enemies, this means first, remember that you were God's enemy and that, without having earned it or being worthy of it, you were met with mercy. It means second, remember that God hung on the cross for your enemy too, and love God, and God loves you.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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