From the Rector: Giving Thanks for Disappointments and Failures

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Our world certainly has many challenges right now. The storms of civic division and the pandemic continue to rage with full force. This past week the world surpassed one million COVID-19 deaths with over 200,000 in the United States alone, and simultaneously our civic divisions are widening. At home in Hawai’i we are beset with problems too, as homelessness increases and the economy struggles. I also worry that another pandemic is about to surge forth among us - a tsunami of mental health issues that are being acerbated by our society’s multiple crises. The question becomes, “how on earth are we to give thanks to God under these circumstances?”

During times such as these, the Christian vocation of thanksgiving is paramount, otherwise we let the dysfunction and problems of our world win the day. It takes a strong faith to keep giving thanks to God amidst such turmoil, and this is exactly what we are called to do, again, and again, and again. We may be tired, but we still have to give thanks to God, even if it feels forced at times.

The inspiration for these parish General Thanksgivings that come to you every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday by email, has been the General Thanksgiving prayer from our Daily Offices. This prayer has been featured after each thanksgiving, and it is a regular component of our prayer life at St. Mark’s. The other day when I was officiating at Evening Prayer, I remembered that there is another version of the general thanksgiving in the Prayer Book (BCP p. 836). It is seldom used, but it is a gem:

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

Due to our current challenges, I particularly appreciate the portion of this thanksgiving that calls us to give thanks “for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts,” and to give thanks “for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.” These words ring loud and clear right now.

Can we give thanks to God as we fight this virus, putting forth our best efforts? Can we give thanks to God for the many disappointments and failures we are experiencing? Can we take all of this and move forward further into Jesus Christ? These disciplines of the faith are not easy. It is tempting to blame God for everything that is currently happening, but deep down we know that God is not at fault.

This past Sunday we heard that remarkable reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (2:1-13), quoting an early church song about Christ’s self-emptying. Self-emptying is at the very heart of the Christian vocation. We empty ourselves so that we may fill our lives with Christ. Only when this happens may we put forth our best efforts for the difficult and challenging tasks at hand, and only when we self-empty may we be large enough to give thanks for the disappointments and failures we face. The good news is that if we are willing to self-empty, God will come to fill us. We discover that even with multiple storms raging about us, we stand ready to give thanks and praise to God.

The evil and dysfunction of the world wins when Christian thanksgiving gives up. If the world is to have a chance, the people of God need to practice self-emptying, so that Christ may enter and thanksgivings may pour forth abundantly. So I am asking you to be defiant. When the storms of life bring disappointments and failures, self-empty yourself, and be sure to give thanks to God, even if it means giving thanks for life’s failures and disappointments. Then you will know that hope and resurrection will ultimately win the day.

In Christ,
Father Paul Lillie +

The General Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, 
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks 
for all your goodness and loving-kindness 
to us and to all whom you have made. 
We bless you for our creation, preservation, 
and all the blessings of this life; 
but above all for your immeasurable love 
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; 
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. 
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, 
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, 
not only with our lips, but in our lives, 
by giving up our selves to your service, 
and by walking before you 
in holiness and righteousness all our days; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, 
be honor and glory throughout all ages.
Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer (pp. 101 and 125)