Life is a Test: Are You Ready? Thoughts on Thanksgiving

I’m traveling this week and don’t get to daily mass or watch it on TV, so I picked up one of my Bible apps and dialed up today’s readings. The gospel was one we had recently heard during Ordinary Time, Luke 21:12-19 (33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time). Today’s was a slightly shorter version, focusing on the end times and the challenges we will face as followers of Jesus Christ. The final line was Jesus telling His followers, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” This was preceded by the gospel acclamation taken from the Book of Revelation, “Remain faithful until death, And I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)

It is also interesting that this is the day before Thanksgiving this year and the responsorial psalm taken from the Book of Daniel (which was also the source of the first reading) talks repeatedly about praising the Lord for everything be it cold, chill, heat, warmth, fire, rain and dew, and even the sun and the moon. (Daniel 3:62-67)

The first reading from Daniel is the story of the “Handwriting on the Wall.” (Daniel 5). The focus of that reading is knowing what the Lord is asking and yet not being humble enough to even try to follow His guidelines (a message appropriate for all times, today as well as in times past). The king Belshazzar had the example of his father who, driven by pride, and who had become hardened and insolent, and was cast down from his throne, “until he learned that the Most High God is sovereign over human kingship and sets over it whom he will.” (Daniel 5:21)

Daniel tells Belshazzar “You, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; you have rebelled against the Lord of heaven.) (Daniel 5:22-23) This led to the handwriting on the wall telling Belshazzar that he was to die and his kingdom divided. He had been weighed and found wanting.

The most important point from these readings, like the important point Jesus makes frequently, is to humble ourselves before God, through prayer, praise, thankfulness, and obedience. What’s more we see that our faith is always being tested. How loyal are we to God and His commandments? Are we willing to persevere and be faithful unto death to achieve the crown promised us?

We tend to look at the difficulties in life while neglecting the many gifts we have received. Call to mind St. Peter’s words, “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ [Jesus] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little.” St. Paul tells us to give “thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Ephesians 5:20)

Our sufferings bring us closer to Jesus and the immense suffering He underwent for us. Our thanks should begin there. Through Him we have forgiveness for our sins, and He has opened the (narrow) gate to eternal life for us.

And this will enable us to attain the crown of everlasting glory. “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ... for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.” (James 1:2-4, 12)

Trust in God, give Him thanks and praise and endure the trials that come to you holding fast to the gospel and the faith. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away, ... And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ... But he who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:9-13)

How appropriate is it that these readings come the day before we celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving? Something we should all meditate on and contemplate as we gather as families, not to argue with each other over our ideas and convictions but to celebrate our common humanity and the many gifts God has given us.