An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws. “You’ve got so many freckles, there’s no place to paint!” a girl in the line said to the little fella. Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head. His grandmother knelt down next to him. “I love your freckles. When I was a little girl I always wanted freckles,” she said, while tracing her finger across the child’s cheek. “Freckles are beautiful!” The boy looked up, “Really?” “Of course,” said the grandmother. “Why, just name me one thing that’s prettier than freckles.” The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his grandma’s face, and softly whispered, “Wrinkles.”

But we went. To spend time – quietly, alone. Among men we knew, and others we did not yet know. We went to learn more about ourselves. (You see, we’re ‘guys’ – we live in our heads, we don’t know how to connect, to emote … but you already knew that.) How to be better Men. Fathers. Brothers. Leaders. Followers. Partners.

We come here today to offer thanks to you in our community who supported us emotionally – physically – financially –prayerfully. Without you, we could not have done as much as we did.

We come here today – called by the ancient Tibetan Buddhist tingshia. Not heard often in this house of the divine. But our retreat embraced the 1965 Vatican II encyclical “Nostra Aetate” – in English “On the Church’s Relation to Non-Christian Religions.”

Paul VI wrote “Religions found everywhere strive in different ways to answer the restless searchings of the human heart by proposing ‘ways’ which consist of teachings, rules of life, and sacred ceremonies. The Catholic Church rejects nothing which is true and holy in these religions…The Church exhorts her members to prudently and lovingly dialogue and collaborate with the followers of other religions.”

We went and experienced many interfaith examples of men opening themselves – to each other and to the divine: Experiences such as the tingshia’s piercing and inspiring call to presence, and to prayer. Native American men’s invitation to ancestors – to bring their ancient wisdom to modern day hearts. Jewish men’s ability to dance with each other. Muslim men’s mantra ‘ishk allah mabood lalah il la la’ – ‘God is love, lover, beloved.’ Buddhist men’s simple realization: ‘Creation waited 12.5 million years. For you. What are you here for – in this moment?’– Each of these was one of the Vatican document’s ‘ways’. All were lessons to deepen our understanding of how we might grow as men.

So we come today to pray, as we often did over our weekend, in songs of praise and thanks. Singing as we sang before meals:

So now, we go once again. Back to our lives. Better prepared – striving to live in this moment. To be men of peace. Of love. Of service. Of gratitude. Of faith.

We go with the Hindu reverential salutation: ‘Namaste’ – ‘I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, and of peace. And if you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us’.

According to Paul’s thoughts in this passage, there are three reasons why we should thank God: because of God’s grace – God’s unconditional love for each one of us, for the gifts God has given us, and because God will strengthen us “till the end,” Paul says. God loves us! God has created us all with a variety of gifts! And God is committed to remaining in relationship with us and strengthening us everyday, so that we might continue to find ways to be in relationship with one another! This is Good News – something to be thankful for!

There are plenty of times, it seems, in our lives, when giving thanks, particularly to God, seems like the last thing in the world that we might want to do. Yet Paul sets the example by the saying that he gives thanks to God always. Later in this letter to the Corinthians we find out that Paul is not all that happy with the people of Corinth. They have been fighting and arguing amongst themselves. Instead of building up the church, they have been overly concerned with who ought to be welcomed and who is worthy enough to be a part of the church community. One might even wonder why Paul would even consider giving God thanks for these people who are apparently causing him such a headache! Yet, Paul is very clear in stating that he gives thanks to God always (no matter what is going on). What an important lesson for us to learn and embrace throughout our own lives today.

The young people at St. Paul’s Community Church, like Paul, also have some advice concerning giving God thanks. In Sunday School last week, the teenagers at St. Paul’s and I were talking a bit about thanking God. When I asked what we should thank God for, their answer came right away and was quite simple. Thank God for waking us up this morning. Thank God for giving us life and giving us air to breathe. Our prayers of thanks to God do not have to be complicated. And even when it may seem like life is such a struggle that there is nothing for which we might want or need to thank God, we can always thank God simply for waking us up yet another day, for giving us life and giving us air to breathe.

This idea of thanking God is not a concept that only the young people at St. Paul’s here in Cleveland understand. Just as Paul began this letter by thanking God, the people today in Swaziland (in Southern Africa) always begin every prayer by thanking God. “Siyabonga Nkhulunkhulu,” they say. I was a Global Mission Intern in Swaziland in 2003. As I spent time with the Swazi people and got to know them, I quickly noticed that every time they pray, they begin by saying “Siyabonga Nkhulunkhulu.” Now it took me awhile to recognize what they were saying. And it took me even longer to learn how to say it myself. And even then, it took me even more time to really reflect on the significance of starting every prayer by saying “Thank you God.” Every time they approach God, every time they talk with God, the Swazis begin by saying “Thank you.” Most of these people have lived their entire lives struggling to survive without things like indoor plumbing or electricity. On average, Swazis attend at least 3 funerals a week, in memory of the lives of people close to them, who have succumbed to the current AIDS epidemic. Life is most definitely not easy, nor always pleasant for the people of Swaziland. Yet, no matter what is going on in their lives, these faithful people always begin their prayers by saying “Siyabonga Nkhulunkhulu - Thank you God.” In a sense, it’s a matter of seeing the glass half full, instead of half empty. Even though life might be rough, there is always something for which we can be thankful. So, just like Paul told the Corinthians, “I give my God thanks always …” so too do the Swazi people always thank God, even if it is simply giving God thanks for being present in the midst of their suffering. Just like Paul showed his appreciation for giving thanks to God by beginning his letter to the Corinthians in this way, the people of Swaziland have also come to know, understand, and value this faithful act. They have learned the importance of rooting not only their prayer life, but more importantly, their entire lives, in giving thanks and praise to God. From this simple act, they have discovered, comes all else that life brings us. What a lesson for all of us, around the world, to learn!

We here in the US know, as well, that giving thanks is important. We have an entire holiday dedicated to it! Holidays, like Thanksgiving, are one of the few times when extended families tend to get together. For me, holidays are one time of the year when I see my cousins and all their little kids. It’s great – all these little people running around the house, brining new life and energy to my mom’s otherwise rather boring house. It’s great – until, of course, it becomes quite obvious that naptime is quickly approaching. The little ones get tired of sitting at the table … they start screaming, “Give me turkey!” … “I want pie!” Then the adults have to go into “teacher mode” and remind the young ones to say please and thank you. Sometimes it is so hard to teach little kids to be polite and say things like please and thank you. We try to make it sound cute “ Pretty please with a cherry on top.” Sometimes, it seems like we’re constantly reminding them, “What do you say?” Giving thanks is, indeed, something we have to learn how to do. It takes time. It takes practice. But if we do it together, if we remind one another not only to give thanks to each other, but also to God, it then eventually becomes second nature. And our lives begin to become centered around this faithful act of giving thanks.

Thanksgiving as we know it today has become one day of the year when we eat until it feels like our stomachs will explode (I don’t know about you, but at least that’s my personal experience). We watch the Macy’s Day Parade and football games, and try to get along with family members with whom we may not really see all that often throughout the rest of the year. In the midst of all this activity, it may seem easy to forget why we are celebrating or why we might even want to give thanks. That first Thanksgiving celebration, way back in 1621, the colonists of the Plymouth colony and the neighboring Native Americans were well aware of the need for giving thanks. As they commemorated the harvest reaped, after a winter of great starvation and hardship, they proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and shared together in a large feast. So many years later, it is at times like these, on Thanksgiving Day, that we ought to not only remember historical events in our own country, but also remember Paul’s witness and try find ways to make Paul’s words our own words: “I give thanks to my God always.”

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. And I pray that we all might find ways to remember that giving thanks to one another, to all of creation, and to God is not just about one day out of the year. The scriptures are clearly calling us not only to give God thanks every once in awhile, but rather to strive to develop lives which are truly grounded in giving thanks to God always.