…giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…(Eph. 5:20)
Tomorrow our nation will be celebrating Thanksgiving. At this time we are asked to pause a moment in order to express gratitude for the blessings we have been given by God. And while setting aside one day a year to offer thanks is a good thing, it does not go far enough for an Orthodox Christian whose life is to become an unending hymn of Thanksgiving. Since we recognize God as the creator of the entire universe, of everything both visible and invisible, we understand that everything we possess is a gift from God. It follows that any gift we present to God is something that is already His. As we say in the Divine Liturgy: “Thine own of Thine own we offer onto Thee…” This is a good and acceptable offering to God but is there a gift that we can offer to our Lord that is not already His? The answer to this question is a sacrifice of praise freely offered from a thankful and loving heart.
Happy Thanksgiving Fr. Michael
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