Thanksgiving is not only the chief of virtues, according to Roman orator Cicero, but the mother of them all.
“Every other virtue that you have begins out of gratitude,” the Rev. Bryant Barnes said at an ecumenical Thanksgiving service Sunday at First United Methodist Church in Columbia.
As the nation takes its annual Thanksgiving holiday, Barnes, the pastor of First Baptist Church, shared ways to be more grateful.
He looked at hindrances based on the example of the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son, who resented the welcome home given to his sibling.
That elder brother was “steeped in self,” Bryant said, the same way a food is boiled to take on flavors. That caused him to be separated from everyone else: He refused to go in and enjoy the party given for his brother.
Another barrier toward his gratitude was self-pity, saying he had served his father for years and never gotten as much as a goat to celebrate with. On the other hand, Barnes said he had seen the example of some who even in the face of difficulties, such as caring for an ailing family member, some have shown the joy of life and service that enabled them to face all obstacles of life with a sense of strength. He said self-pity robs us of that.
Finally, the elder brother was self-righteous, looking down on his brother and being unwilling to break down barriers between them.
Yet the father in the parable, representing God, shows how the “stirring of love” breaks down the “steeping of self,” Barnes said.
The father addresses him as “son,” reminding him of his position in the family that will never be altered. Then the father tells the elder brother that, “you have always been with me.”
“No one else may say that they are grateful for you, but you have a heavenly father who is grateful for you. He’s given you a place, and He recognizes when you serve,” Barnes said.
Finally, the father says, “All that is mine is yours.” Barnes said that’s a reminder not to be stingy because “there’s a heavenly father who is going to make sure, sadly for some of us but joyfully for others, that you get everything you deserve.”
The service Sunday at First Methodist also included songs by a combined choir along with prayers and scripture readings.
