The Difficulty of Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving tradition (waning in popularity, but still in practice among some families I know) is to go around the dinner table and have each member of the family share what they're most thankful for. It's a tradition that I think the apostle Paul would have greatly appreciated. More than that, I suspect he would have looked at it as his annual opportunity to really let loose on what he was grateful for. I imagine him patiently waiting for a boy preceding him to finish talking about the new puppy his parents had given him. Then, unrolling a scroll, clearing his throat, and taking a drink of water, Paul would rattle off a list while everyone else at the table wonders how long Uncle Paul will go this time. He would, I imagine, be a bit like the recipient at an awards shows whose acceptance speech continues far after the transition music has started and who has to be practically dragged offstage.  

Greer Garson, whose acceptance speech at the 1942 Oscars holds the record
as the longest ever. She spoke for 5 and a half minutes. 

His list, I suspect, would be larger than most of ours. He would start off with his gratitude for the faithfulness of God in sending Jesus to save mankind and His whole creation, for his conversion on the road to Damascus and his undeserved apostleship, for forgiveness. Then, special comments for each of the Christian communities he had founded or been involved in building, and for the successes he and his churches had made in spreading the Gospel. (Thanksgiving is an important part of each of Paul's letters to churches, except to the Galatians, with whom he was very angry at the time.) All well and good at this point. But Paul's next statements would cause the other people at the table to shake their heads in confusion. “Finally, as difficult as it is sometimes,” he might say, “I'm thankful for all things. Even for the beatings, the humiliations, the stonings. For being imprisoned and ridiculed and spit on. All of it. All of it is for the glory of God. I could go on if you'd like...” At which point the rest of the family politely suggests that it's time for dessert and coffee to be brought out. 

Of course, I'm putting words into Paul's mouth a bit here. But his letters are very much in agreement with the idea that one can and should always be thankful, even in what we would see as negative situations:  “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18); and, “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) 

Like Jesus' command in the gospels for us not to worry about tomorrow, this is one of the most difficult aspects of Paul's theology. Not to understand intellectually, but to put into daily practice. Giving thanks even in our misfortunes and hard times seems completely impracticable. It isn't enough for us to dismiss the above verses as Paul placing unrealistic expectations on believers that he doesn't follow himself. Nor is it simply that he has an exceptionally good attitude (though he often seems to). Something has changed him drastically enough that he is able to say with conviction about his own life and those of other believers, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) 

Paul's constant thanksgiving, as well as his perception of God's purposes even in the hardships we face, are founded on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, God decisively defeated the forces of sin and death that had enslaved mankind. As often as this may not seem the case considering all the evil that still exists in the world, Paul considered himself to be living in a time between Jesus' decisive victory and the final declaration of peace. For Paul, the war's final battle had been won by God on that first Easter morning. His Kingdom, with Jesus as its head over all creation, had already begun and would be fully ushered in at his return. In the meantime, Paul saw it as his vocation to spread the good news that Jesus was king. A crucified and resurrected king, which was a fact that seemed like foolishness to both Jews and Gentiles. Yet through all the things that made him appear weak, in his humility, poverty, servanthood, imprisonment, and execution, Jesus was actually on his way to enthronement at the right hand of the Father. 

This shocking revelation of how God's will was accomplished on earth, as well as Jesus' own command that his disciples must bear their own crosses if they wished to follow him, forced Paul to drastically re-imagine what it meant for God to be both omnipotent and loving. This was a god whose rescue mission for mankind had been accomplished through what appeared as weakness and powerlessness to the world. But after his resurrection, Jesus' disciples knew better. And so did Paul. 

With Jesus' victory over sin and death through his own suffering and self-sacrifice, Paul can not only give thanks for severe difficulties, but boast in them:  “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong!” (2 Corinth. 12:9-10) Paul can be firm in the knowledge that Jesus is King and that he is doing God's will, even while in apparent disgrace in prison. While being beaten and in danger of death, he can write to his churches with authority as one who is strong in his weakness. Without the impact of Jesus on his life, Paul might have resigned himself to the fact that God was punishing him for his sins and/or sending him a wake-up call to repent. He might call down divine judgment on his enemies that had put him in such negative situations. He might pray to God for restoration and salvation from imprisonment and insults. But being thankful for them, and to even boast? Never. This is, I believe, a radical change from the writings of the Old Testament (see many of the Psalms or the book of Job). 

For Paul in his letters, theology is not just some emotionally-detached, rationally-centered way of talking about a distant supreme being. It is about being transformed and renewed, inside and out. It is about knowing that God has acted to save the world in ways contrary to human wisdom, through suffering and self-sacrifice. In urging us to be thankful in all things, Paul isn't advising us to ignore or sweep our sadness or frustration over hardship under the rug. Instead, he's asking us to see the events in our lives through the eyes of a god who loves us and has determined that all will ultimately be well. This kind of thanksgiving isn't easy. (I speak here from personal experience as someone who has always found it extremely difficult.) But I believe it's well worth it to try to see the forest rather than the trees. Not only once a year around the dinner table, but in all our waking moments. 

Note:  My thanks to my teacher, Marty Koenig, whose recent Bible class provided many of the scripture verses and ideas for this post.