Grace:
Particularly
at Thanksgiving, St. Paul’s admonition to give thanks in all circumstances is
readily affirmed by most Christians and persons of other faiths too. However, the statement that giving thanks in all circumstances is “God’s will” may
strike a particularly discordant note to one whose life is in tangles or to one
who struggles with a serious illness or a deep hurt or grief. Once, when I was
in a particularly awful situation, I found myself responding with anger to
these words. I questioned how I could be expected to give thanks; perhaps I
confused giving thanks in all
circumstances with giving thanks for
such a circumstance. Over time, I have seen how deeply my spiritual life has
been shaped by attention to gratitude and thanks to God in every circumstance. In fact, it is in the most bitter of
circumstances that my spirit is lifted when I realize just how many blessings
abound, even in the midst of suffering. What has your own faith tradition
taught you about thanksgiving?
Yasmina:
Upon
reading your reflections, I remembered how as a child I was taught that the
etiquette for replying to someone’s “How are you?” is to say first Alhamdulillah, which means, All praise
and thanks are due to God. In fact, it
is sometimes the only thing a Muslim answers, eliminating the need to give
further details. As an adult, I have come to appreciate the five daily prayers—or
seventeen cycles of prayer—I am commanded to perform every day because my
preoccupation with daily life can divert my attention from “giving thanks in
all circumstances.” Knowing that I have to plan my day according to the times
during which I need to perform those prayers helps me to refocus, reflect, and
transcend my worries and pain, as well as remember the bounties I have been
blessed with. Muslims, who stop whatever they are doing to engage in the
prescribed prayers to recite the opening sentence of each of the seventeen
cycles, find themselves in a state of thanksgiving as they say these words:
“Praise be to God the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds.” (al-Fatihah 1:2)
Tziporah:
Grace,
I am glad you raised this question and grateful for your emphasis on giving
thanks in all circumstances. I, too, have found myself in difficult
circumstances struggling to recognize the blessings in my life. According to Jewish tradition, a person is
supposed to recite a blessing upon hearing bad news, in particular the news
that someone has died. The prescribed blessing is “Praised is the True Judge.”
I have often choked out these words, against my will, without the proper
intention of praising God. But I believe
that it is appropriate to say the words of praise or thanks without truly
feeling them and hope that feelings of praise and thanks will eventually
follow. The early rabbis taught, “One is obligated to bless upon the bad as he
would upon the good….” (Mishnah Berakhot
5:5) Perhaps Paul and the early rabbis were responding to a natural human
tendency that they observed: While it is not easy for a person in pain to offer
thanks to God, there are always things for which to be thankful; and it
is a worthy endeavor to offer thanks even when it is difficult to do so.
