Thanksgiving by action

It is easy enough to say ‘Thank you’, although even that we often forget.  It is more difficult to show we are thankful by doing something about it.  At the Harvest Thanksgiving we do both.  Not only do we sing hymns and say prayers of thanksgiving, but we also bring gifts from our gardens and store cupboards.  These may be sold and the money given to a good cause, or gifts such as tinned food, tea and cereals given directly to organisations that provide food and shelter for homeless people.

We cannot always show our thanks by giving presents but we can by giving our time or work.  For example, we can show our thanks for our food by helping with the shopping or washing up.  Many of you do this already, but perhaps there are some who do not.  If so, now is the time to start.  We can show our gratitude for our home by helping with the housework, and by keeping our bedrooms tidy.

But above all else we should thank God for Our Saviour Jesus Christ who came into this world to save our souls and bring us to Heaven even though it meant his being crucified.  All our hope of happiness hereafter hangs on him.  The chief way by which we express our thanks for what Jesus has done for us is by offering him to God in the Eucharist.  Besides that we can also work for the Church or serve at the altar, sing in the choir, be a bell ringer, help to clean the church or tidy the churchyard, and lend a hand with fundraising events for Church funds or for the Church overseas.

And we can thank God by living the kind of life he wants.  In the words of the prayer of St Richard:

Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the cruel pains and insults you have borne for me;
for all the many blessings you have won for me.
O holy Jesus, most merciful Redeemer,
Friend and Brother,
may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and
follow you more nearly, day by day.  Amen.