I Thank Thee

Today’s Gospel Text: At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; 26 yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. 27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Matt 11:25-27

Reflection:  The power of mere word; ‘thank you’ and the beauty thereof, who can describe it?

What can thanks offer in the light of the material goods we offer to people as a symbol of gratitude or what material goods can we compare 'thanks' with? 

Or, let us look at the value a mere ‘thank you’ could hold for people in general, especially in cultures where very few people express it.  

Some cultures may be fortunate to make use of this word very often for every service that is rendered, even when there is no obligation on them to express it.

Sometimes it’s so unfortunate to see the attitude of people, towards a person in paid service, not to be thankful for the good service offered. 

The attitude is generally this; “it is his duty to do so and I am paying for the service”

In other words and in these situations money is the animating factor; I am paying for the services and so why should I show gratitude.

The humaneness and humanity is pushed to a second level or may be even much lower and money, which accompanies pride, is what gains precedence.  We can even safely say that this can only be the attitude of a people whose god is their money.

But the people whose God is the Lord God, and who know from his teachings how to love, will show gratitude and respect the right and dignity of the human person.

Thus they will even show gratitude towards any services rendered to them, even if they have paid for it.

This should be a reminder, that not everyone who serves, serves for the sake of money but serves also for survival or serves because of job satisfaction or some may serve in order to genuinely render a noble service towards a human cause and money may just be a secondary or irrelevant issue with them.

But the beginning of a good heart that is genuinely grateful is the one that always seeks to render thanks and even praise to his maker, by first seeking and recognizing the one true God, the giver of all things that is good for us and for our salvation. 

Christ Jesus served us by giving himself totally to serve us, even unto death, so that we may be saved from eternal doom. 

Prayer:  Lord, may I never fail to thank thee for revealing to me the hidden mystery in Christ Jesus and all that you still provide for our good through his saving action.

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