Give Thanks for the Oneness of Life & for Every Moment
Scripture
Daniel 2:7-23
Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”
The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.” This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
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Give Thanks for the Oneness of Life & for Every Moment
by Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts
Read the message below. Video premieres today at 8 pm EDT, click here to watch on YouTube
We have much to be thankful for today, even when we don’t have that gracious mindset. Like the king in our reading, we’re often only grateful to those who serve us – otherwise condemning them in our minds. Unfortunately, we can act like this king when it comes to our families, as well as even with the world around us in its diversity and life. As we head into a season of thanksgiving, let’s instead work to realize that every moment can be used for our growth and learning, and as an opportunity to uplift our families, our spirits, and all life.
Do you think that every situation can be one for learning and growth? It’s a theme in Buddhism and in many lines of other traditions, the idea that our spirit of Buddhahood within (our angelic root and true consciousness) can use every moment of our lives for the good. This is also what the interfaith-Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg believed as well, writing that the Lord (that Divine root of our consciousness) will come to use every situation and moment for goodness and growth in the long run.
It’s in this light where I think we can start to transform our resting sense of bitterness, anger, fear, or disappointment into thanksgiving. This is when we realize that every moment serves life, even if the tougher moments only uplift human freedom and lessons to learn, spirits to strengthen. Learning this, we become like how our story’s king became toward Daniel – grateful for having our dreamlike thinking interpreted and transformed for the good!
I think that this type of thankful grounding truly serves us, because otherwise how can we be truly thankful for the smaller things in life? If we hold resentment toward creation in general, does our thanksgiving ever go beyond a temporary happiness that we got our way? A passing pleasure that there are those around us who serve and connect in ways that we pick and choose? These may be the typical people and situations that we’re told to give thanks for, but a true thankfulness toward even our families and friends, gifts and treasures, can be fleeting at best when thanksgiving doesn’t become a way of life. Otherwise our temporal thanksgiving often fails to come through in our actions, or in our average moments of reflecting and living.
So, as we give thanks for our parents, let’s give thanks to the parent of being, Divinity and creation. As we celebrate the love and connection from our brothers and sisters, let’s give thanks to all of the distant siblings in our workplaces, grocery stores, politics, and random interactions that teach us so many things in so many ways – even if sometimes just calling for more patience and non-judgment.
What we’re truly giving thanks for is the life and goodness of creation, which we’re told in tradition after tradition is the same One Being, the I Am, Consciousness Itself: also called the Lord, Jesus, Allah, and Sophia – the Christ (“Savior”). This Being saves us from our despair by reminding us of our true nature, one of thanksgiving and peace even amidst the hardest, harshest moments.
Indeed, this thanksgiving mindset often starts in our celebration of family and friends, the obviously good aspects of life and living. We can often find our only sense of peace amidst celebrations and holidays, dressed up for Halloween or sitting down at a dinner table. But in these times of social distancing, often it can be hard to get this visceral sense directly, so instead let’s remind ourselves that we’re close even when we’re far away, that there’s much to be thankful for in every moment. And perhaps it’s true that everything may eventually be used for goodness, life, and growth even if specific acts are still despicable, destructive, and horrific.
Personally, I used to rail against certain circumstances in my past, how this person or that behaved or treated me. And yet, the further I learn and reflect, the more I see those moments as catalysts for helpful and gracious growth. Those moments aren’t ones I’d necessarily wish on anyone, and yet, I now accept them for the positivity that they eventually led to. And when I think about those that might have hurt me, about my own sometimes hurtful behaviors, I celebrate in our continued living and growth, especially when it comes to the possibly positive changes in our attitudes, actions, and circumstances. In this light of forgiveness, patience, and compassion, I feel like I can start to truly be thankful for life, our oneness in God in our diversity, and the best of things.
In our story today, Daniel shares a poem of thanksgiving after the Lord provides a vision of insight and a forecast for a positive future with a kingdom of God that transcends all in the past. And I think that these hopes and thanksgivings can be true for us today as well, particularly as we (like the king) can start to accept that there’s unimaginable growth and life before us, in this realm or another, for all of us as we accept it.
As we give up our spiteful spirit of judgment (non-thanksgiving), leaving it where it shows up (behind us), we can tap into a present celebration of life despite the hard times, a type of transcendental thankfulness for the eternity before all of us. Collectively filled with an unimaginable ability to use all moments for eventual good, and gaining an awareness that God is all of our goodness even in our diversity of traditions and approaches, we’ll realize that this Oneness always wins and that we should be thankful for all of it.
Amen.
Peace and blessings to you,
Rev. Cory