Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving 2012 “Do not worry.” (Matthew 6:25-33)

Gratitude is the antidote for worry.

My grandfather frequently quoted this scripture to me when I was a child. He would always add an addendum. Don’t you worry- your father worries enough for the whole family. That’s his job.

One of the consequences of Original Sin, the choice our species made to separate from God, is the distortion of thought that produces worry. Through the pain of original separation our brains forms structures that some people identify as threat assessment mechanisms.

The brain in a state of separation and distortion constantly scans the environment for threats. Not only does it passively scan for threats, it actively runs scenarios to test for threats.

And so if someone says something like “I missed you at the meeting last night” the brain will run scenarios to determine if that statement is a criticism, a judgment or a threat.

When we worry, we experience a mental process that produces an emotional result. The brain is preparing the body to run away or to fight if there is indeed a threat. It’s called the flight or fight response. There is a third response called “freeze” where action is paralyzed.

The brain produces a certain level of what Psychologists call “negative self-talk.’ This “negative self-talk” can be very inconvenient and annoying. It is what Jesus wants to heal in us.

Jesus knows all of these things about us. He is the original pattern of human nature. He knows how original separation produces what some philosophers and psychiatrists call “existential pain.”

The Bible is a record of how that existential pain creates distortions in our thoughts, emotions and will. It is those distortions that result in sin. The end result of sin is death.

Jesus just doesn’t say: “don’t worry; be happy”. He tells us how we can heal the distortions that result in worry. And, he not only tells us he shows us. And, he not only shows us he offers to infuse our souls with the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the healing.

On this Thanksgiving Day 2011 we remember how the Christian founders of this nation drew on the divine love and compassion of Jesus Christ when they set aside a day of national thanksgiving. They knew, they chose and they experienced the transforming power of the Living Lord Jesus Christ. They commended that transforming power to the nation as the way of gratitude.

Worry produces anxiety and fear. Worry molds us to live defensively and experience our daily lives as a constant threat that demands fight, flight or freeze.
Gratitude, thanksgiving, resets the mind, heart and will to their original pattern and proper function.

Thanksgiving resets the direction of our lives by the compass that points true north. In the spiritual life true north is Jesus Christ.

Consider your many blessings. Consider family, friends and neighbors. Ask the Holy Spirit to infuse in your soul a new and transforming attitude of gratitude.

Jesus’ ardent and passionate desire is for all of us and each of us to experience life as a journey to celebrate. And so, on this Thanksgiving day Jesus teaches and encourages and empowers us in the word of God: do not worry. Seek first the kingdom of God. As you do that the Holy Spirit will set you free to celebrate life and to enjoy the amazing blessings of life.