Passionately Grateful...

I guess that could be a dangerous title, in this time of daily sexual harassment scandals and firings? Since I've already addressed that topic in a recent BLOG, let's not go there again...

"Passionately Grateful" is the title I gave to my message spoken at the Hampton/Shaler/Etna Ministerial Association's Community Thanksgiving Service on 11/22, based loosely on the Philippians 4:4-9 passage. The gist of the sermon was that our expressions of gratitude--to God and even to others--should not occur only after prayer had been answered or a kindness received. Instead, "passionate gratitude" could be offered "proactively" in response to the regular stream of grace and affirmation we receive from God and the others in our supportive community. In the message, I reported on a meeting I had on that very afternoon, during which a friend literally came to tears just over thinking of the "miracles" of everyday life--the love of a child, the majesty of the world and the universe around us, and the blessing of friends. And in regard to our relationship with God, offering our "proactive thanksgiving" for the blessings yet to come is appropriate. In fact, this might be a definition of the word, "praise."

This Thanksgiving Eve message was an outgrowth of St. Paul's stewardship campaign, and the preaching and writing we did around the theme, "Pay It Forward," borrowed from the movie by the same name. What if we, rather than turning back to thank our benefactors, paid it forward by blessing someone else, in turn? This is not to say that we don't thank those who do for us, but instead, to not let the blessing die there. For church stewardship of time, talents, and treasure, it means investing in the future of our community of faith to assure that the ministries and programs offered will be there for the coming generations. The idea seemed to resonate with the people of St. Paul's, which celebrates its 50th year in 2017.

Passionate gratitude is a pay-it-forward form of thanksgiving. Passionate gratitude is "activist" gratitude. It is a win-win-win--those who performed kindnesses for me are blessed by my response to their gifts; those whom I, in turn, bless are gracious receivers of the blessing, and I am nurtured and affirmed by the acts of being thankful and by passing on the blessing.

I also see passionate gratitude as living with an attitude that asks the question at each point of interacting with another: "What can I do to bless this person and to enhance their journey, in some way?" You know, kind of a personal version of President Kennedy's famous: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Way too many of our interactions begin with the selfish rhetorical question, "What's in it for me?"

And then there is an even greater version of passionate gratitude--that of Jesus, himself. Jesus too the anger and hatred focused upon him at his crucifixion and turned it on its head by paying forward our redemption by his death. When is the last time that you were the victim of an unkindness or an act of derision, and in response, looked for someone to bless? This would be a truly Christlike action, wouldn't it? Maybe this would be an "activist" way to live a life of passionate gratitude--one that is focused more on our response to our experiences, whether bad or good, and purposing to pay it forward by blessing someone? And what if the person we decided to bless was the very person who precipitated the unkindness upon us? Could this be what Psalm 23 means when it states: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies..." Rather than choreographing an elaborate plan of revenge, we invite our "enemy" out to a lunch or for a cup of coffee. That might be revolutionary. Passionate gratitude, even?

We are living in tough times. Today, I awoke to news that our nation's President re-tweeted hateful white nationalist videos aimed at Muslims. I got very, very angry, even lashing out on FaceBook about it. As Doctor Phil says, "How's that working for you?" Maybe, if I take my own advice, I will be wise to react by helping assure my Muslim friends that I stand with them, and will offer more ways we can engage in ministries of justice and peace together. This could be another win-win-win.