Thank You Life
Of the many various psychological impulses expressed and addressed through religion, one seems universal. The acceptance of the sacrifices Life has rendered for our individual existence. And it is foundational to all religions. Yes, life feeds on itself. This realization creates the impulse to say thank you to Life. When we say thank you to God, we are saying thank you to Life.
The word Eucharist is Greek for thanksgiving. Participation in communion through the Eucharist is our way of saying thank you to God, to Life. Grace received is also thank you. And gratitude and grace come from the same Latin root, “gratus” meaning pleasing. I think no word in our lexicon works in two directions like the word grace. To have gratitude is to be graced. Grace by its very nature invokes a sense of gratitude.
As we enjoy Thanksgiving Day, we are participating in an idea as old as introspective thought. The idea that saying thank you to life is the most appropriate response to this existence. An idea that is as old as religion itself.
Halleluiha!
Amazing - isn’t it - how we talk so freely about something we have never actually seen? What is life? What does it look like? What color is it? How do you measure it? In this post, Edward Smith could have substituted the sun, which sacrifices itself for our existence for the word “life” and the wonder would remain. Maybe the term “gravity” would be a better analogy to life but I have never heard of a religion that worshiped gravity. I am thankful for them all, life, the sun and gravity.