A Celtic Approach to Thanksgiving (Bruce Epperly)
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and in preparation for what can be both a joyous and overwhelming day, Bruce Epperly offers us a Celtic approach to Thanksgiving. For a people who are experiencing a time of great anxiety, Bruce offers the Celtic vision of gratitude not as an antidote but as a a path forward. I invite you to ponder Bruce's Celtic vision as you prepare for your own offering of Thanks!
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A Celtic Approach
to Thanksgiving
Bruce G. Epperly
I
Thessalonians 5:18 counsels, “give thanks in all circumstances.” This seems like a tall order for many people these
days, given the realities of economic insecurity, high demand jobs, and institutional
impotence and gridlock, not to mention our own personal challenges. Our situation, however, is neither new nor
unusual in human experience. The early
Christians were persecuted – some lost their jobs, others were imprisoned and
martyred – because of their faith. The
apostle Paul wrote many of his Epistles, including possibly Thessalonians, from
behind bars. Yet, Paul exudes a spirit
of joy and gratitude in all his writings, even when he is challenging the
behaviors of certain congregations.
Celtic
Christians also faced trials and threats, whether from harsh elements or
blood-thirsty chieftains. Still, Celtic
spirituality exudes a sense of joyful gratitude that is often absent from our
lives. Gratitude is one of the key
Christian virtues. Thanksgiving is the
virtue of interdependence. It recognizes
that we stand on the shoulders of others.
Without the communion of saints, loving elders, supportive family and
friends, and faithful spiritual teachers, we would be lost. There are no self-made persons, who have
created their health or wealth on their own.
The providence of God has guided our steps from conception, leading us
away from threat and toward faithful abundance.
Life, for the Celts, wasn’t always easy, but they trusted that the
ever-present God was their constant companion in living and dying. God is the ultimate source of all gifts and
graces in every season of life.
Thanksgiving
revels in the beauty of life, and the Celts had a sense of beauty. They lived, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
proclaims, in “radical amazement” as they pondered sea and stars. They saw Christ’s spirit enlivening trees,
oceans, spiritual companions, and our daily paths. Christ is the friend of the soul, every soul,
the anam cara, who shows us our vocations
and affirms our value in God’s earthly realms.
In the rough and tumble life of Celtic pilgrims, each comfort was a
blessing and every action merited a blessing, whether milking the cow, building
a fire, traveling to a distant place, or cooking a meal. God’s spirit permeated every act, and every
act was a response to God’s blessing of our lives. Thanksgiving leads to mission: gratitude for
our blessings inspires us to bless others.
Celtic
pilgrims could resonate with prayers invoked in many African American
congregations, “I thank you, God, for waking me up this morning.” Waking up to a new day provides the
opportunity for new possibilities and adventures, for play with children and
good work, for the love of a spouse, and commitment to a cause. Gratitude for the day is grounded in a sense
of providence in which God is with us every step of the way, inspiring,
challenging, guiding, and protecting.
Though this providence is gentle and non-coercive, it provides us with
more we can ask or imagine. We receive
manna enough for today, but not for hoarding.
We share our daily bread and look forward to celebrations with friends
and family. We rejoice in the day,
knowing that fidelity is about gratitude and celebration, not apathy and
hopelessness.
St. Brigid, who embodied the Divine
Feminine in Celtic spirituality, envisages our heavenly home – the destiny of
all creation - as a grand party with Christ as the host.
She knew that gratitude is grounded in appreciation and sharing. Our abundance does not fully belong to us; it
is intended to uplift the vulnerable in our midst and delight the spirit of
those whom we encounter, giving out of our abundance in response to the
abundance we receive. In the world St.
Brigid imagines, everyone has enough because everyone is willing to share with
their neighbor.
I
should like a lake of finest ale
For
the king of kings.
I
should like a table of the choicest food
For
the family of heaven.
Let
the ale be made from the fruits of the earth
And
the food be forgiving love.
I should welcome the poor to my
feast,
For
they are God’s children.
I
should welcome the sick to my feast,
For
they are God’s joy.
Let
the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place.
And
the sick dance with the angels.
God bless the poor,
God
bless the sick,
And
bless our human race.
God
bless our food,
God
bless our drink,
All
homes, O God, embrace.
Gratitude
opens the future and gives us hope in turbulent times. When we are thankful, we trust that even in
the wilderness, there is a wellspring of living waters and bread for the
journey. As Dag Hammarskjold proclaims:
For all that has been – thanks.
For all that shall be – yes.
Celtic
spirituality gives thanks for today and lives into the future guided by God’s
“yes” for each and all of us now and forevermore.
Bruce Epperly is a theologian, spiritual guide,
pastor, and author of twenty one books, including Process Theology: A Guideto the Perplexed, Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living, Philippians: An Interactive Bible Study,
and The Center is Everywhere: Celtic Spirituality for the Postmodern Age. He may be reached at drbruceepperly@aol.com
for lectures, workshops, and retreats.
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