Tag Archive for: thankfulness

Thanksgiving Daily

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Armodoxy for Today: Advent – Thanksgiving Daily

If the retailers can extend Black Friday to the entirety of the month of November, t we have extending thanksgiving beyond the traditional one-day commemoration to a series of thoughts on the subject.

Thanksgiving is not prayer. Thanksgiving is an acknowledgement of something greater than yourself. As such, it falls into the category of worship. In the Armenian Church, worship takes place seven times a day. From the early morning hours to the moments before restful slumber, there are seven hours of worship. For a people who have known very little peace and prosperity, that have been attacked, raped and murdered, it is extremely unusual that this group of people offer so much thanksgiving. It is unusual, unless viewed under and through the lens of Armodoxy. Thanksgiving, and therefore worship, is not about stroking God’s Ego. The Evangelist John tells us God is love. Accordingly, love has no ego-issue. Love is giving and sacrificing. When we worship and give thanks, we are acknowledging the power of love. The words of the Apostle (I Corinthians 13) come to life, “Love is patient; love is kind,” and we are forced to come to terms with the power of love, as St. Paul writes, “Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

Love is God, God is Love. Thanksgiving is, in fact, about acknowledging God, and therefore acknowledging the power of love.

Let us pray, Bless us with Love, O Merciful God; that we may Love as you Love. That we may show patience, tolerance, kindness, caring and spread love to all. Amen.

 

Thanksgiving During Advent

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Armodoxy for Today: Advent and Thanksgiving

In America, the country takes a break every third week of November to celebrate Thanksgiving. And although the claim is made that the United States is a secular country, the word thanksgiving would have you believing otherwise.

Today, we celebrate Thanksgiving, and it is more than appropriate that if falls in the Advent period of the Church, since the corporate worship of the Church is rooted in the act of thanksgiving.

To give thanks implies there is someone, or something, to which you offer appreciation. And while it is fashionable to negate God from the conversation, thankfulness also implies the appreciation is directed toward someone or something greater than the self.

Jesus shares this story with us, “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’”  Jesus then tells us, “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other…” (Luke 18:10-14)

Often our thanksgiving resembles the prayer of the Pharisee. Unlike comparison shopping thankfulness is not about comparing things we do or do not have with those things that others have or do not have. It’s easy to look at the blind man and be thankful for our sight. Or to see the street person and be thankful that we are not homeless. Or hear of hunger in countries threatened by famine or war and be thankful that we have food and peace. Thank God, we might say, that I am not like them!

In the history of the Armenian Church, you find that the prayers of thanksgiving are offered at times of abundance as well as times of scarcity, at times of peace and at times of war and even genocide. Thankfulness is the ability to put the ego on hold, in check, and understand yourself as a part of something greater. It is the beginning of religiosity and ultimately peace.

Today, let our prayer be for those things that are blessed in our life – family, love, beauty. We pray Psalm 26. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. For Your loving kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. I will wash my hands in innocence so I will go about Your altar, O Lord, That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Comparison Shopping

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Armodoxy for Today
Comparison Shopping

Jesus shares this story with us, “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’”  Jesus then tells us, “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14)

The lessons of this parable are many, but for this Thanksgiving season, we focus on the prayer of the first man, the prayer of the Pharisee, who, by the way, was a learned man. He knew Holy Scriptures backwards, forwards and all around. His prayer, you will notice, is a prayer based on comparison. “I thank God that I am not like the other man…” he says.

If you’re listening to this podcast, it means you have some degree of electronic access, which means that you’re better-off than most people on the planet. It is easy to say thank God I am better off than most, just as the Pharisee thanked God in his prayer. Unlike comparison shopping thankfulness is not about comparing things we do or do not have with those things that others have or do not have. It’s easy to look at the blind man and be thankful for our sight. Or hear of hunger in countries menaced by famine or war and be thankful of our food and peace. Thank God, we might say, that I am not like them!

In the history of the Armenian Church, you find that the prayers of thanksgiving are offered at times of abundance as well as times of scarcity, at times of peace and at times of war and even genocide. Thankfulness is the ability to put the ego on hold, in check, and understand yourself as a part of something greater. It is the beginning of religiosity and ultimately peace.

We pray with the Psalmist (26) Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. For Your loving kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. I will wash my hands in innocence so I will go about Your altar, O Lord, That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works. Amen.

Unashamedly Thankful

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Armodoxy for Today

Unashamedly Thankful

In an effort revive or resuscitate the slowdown of “Black Friday” sales and give sales a boost, several years ago, retailers came up with some alternatives buying days, including Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, and No-tax Sunday. Perhaps out of guilt for the constant push to buy goods and services, alternatives such as Giving Tuesday and Social Saturday were offered as means of boosting the economy (read spending money) while giving the consumer an altruistic feeling of goodness. Retailers and their advertising consultants unashamedly have usurped the thanksgiving spirit of the holiday with a collection of spending opportunities, the latest of which is Black Friday sales throughout the entire month of November!

The one truly universal religious holiday in America, that is, Thanksgiving, has now been marred with spending opportunities that feed our financial anxieties – never sure if we are getting the best deal or not, on this or that product, and never sure if we need or not, this or that product.

Thanksgiving transcends religious brands. It is the beginning of all true religions and religiosity. It is the wondering of the human spirit that looks up to the heavens and contemplates his existence, realizing that there has to be something more than the human consumption of tangible goods, and coming down on his knees, is thankful for the bounty of life. At that point, the self – the ego – has found its place behind that which is bigger and greater.

Unashamedly, Armodoxy is about thankfulness. Thanksgiving is the first prayer of the Armenian Church and for this reason, not only is the month of November dedicated to thanksgiving, but every day of every year, begins with a prayer of thanksgiving.

We prayer, today the prayer of the Psalmist, (95) “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods.”

Thankful Life

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Next Step #651: Thanksgiving Day 2020, a time to inventory our pluses and minuses and finding a formula for life in thankfulness. Sending our prayers to heaven: New symbolism through a friendly balloon launch. Souls in heaven, always present: The metaphor explained. Part 2 of Ezras Tellalian interview: Thankfulness and the prayer for today. Thoughts that will make your thanksgiving meaningful, once again, all in this episode. Also: The Hagop Gurjian connection in the midst of interconnectivity. The Heart: Oz & Tennison.
Souls to Heaven/Balloon Launch
Naregatzi Prayer: Speaking to God
WD168: Lighting a Candle in the Darkness
Ezras Tellalian photography: http://www.rezras.com/
Element Band
Cover: Balloons to Heaven
Engineered by Ken Nalik
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for InHisShoes.org
Look for The Next Step on blubrry.com
Listen via Stitcher Radio on demand!