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Dear Friends,

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes,

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in
Christ Jesus.

I was drawn to thinking of these short few verses because, like
many of us, giving thanks has been at the forefront of my mind in
recent days. As I write this, we have, in the last few days, given
thanks for the life of our Queen, who has served our country
unceasingly for seventy years. And we are also in that time of year
when our minds turn to thoughts of the harvest and we are
reminded to give thanks to God for all that he provides for our daily
lives.

On top of all that, I have had the privilege of going in to schools and
delivering some assemblies, which this half-term have been based
around the theme of thankfulness. So, as you can see,
thankfulness and the act of giving thanks has been on my mind of
late.

And as I have reflected on the idea of thankfulness, alongside the
words of Paul that tell us to, “give thanks in all circumstances,” I
have wondered if we are actually thankful enough. I think it is
probably true to say that most of us do not give thanks in all
circumstances, for there are, no doubt, certain particular
circumstances when we do, or would, find it hard to give thanks.
That is, I’m sure, only natural; and that is probably why Paul
encourages us to try and do it, because he knows it is difficult.

But perhaps of more concern is the fact that many of us also,
possibly, fail to give thanks when our circumstances are not quite
so trying. Do we remember to give thanks when things are easy
and good? Do we remember to give things for the simple everyday
things of life, or do we just allow them to pass us by and take them
for granted?

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus encounters a group of ten men who were
suffering with leprosy. These ten all cry out to Jesus and ask him
for healing. He tells them to go and show themselves to the priests
and, as they go, they are healed. Afterwards, just one of the men

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