History tells us that this thanksgiving tradition came from the early colonists in America where pilgrims celebrate a good harvest with Native Americans who helped them get through the previous winter. Modern day Americans are supposed to perpetually keep this fourth Thursday of November holy and as a day to give thanks to Almighty God. Incidentally, Thanksgiving holiday is also the busiest travel season in the US where families converge to share a home-cooked turkey meal and to shop during the most anticipated sales event in the US—Black Friday Sale!
In contrast, Christmas is the much-awaited holiday in the Philippines, where the spirit of giving comes out naturally brought about perhaps by the Christmas carols and colors. Last week, Christmas was celebrated in advance in the Supreme Court. It was not Santa Claus who came with a bag of gifts but Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen as he brought in a sack of mercy for his “accuser”—Solicitor General Jose Calida who filed a motion to intervene and to inhibit Leonen from the election protest of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos against Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo. Leonen purportedly threatened to sue Calida for graft for having allegedly sided with Marcos. Some lawyers opined that Calida ought to be sanctioned since his office being a non party-litigant to the case, had no standing to file such motion. Leonen was ready to fight back and fight hard as he felt offended, like any magistrate would, when he was asked to inhibit from the case.
When Leonen faced the challenge hurled by Calida, in a period where his integrity and competence are sought to be shaken, Leonen made a conscious decision about how he was going to finally react. The magistrate accepted “what is,” handed out leniency and experienced thanksgiving in his heart by choosing to forgive. He even alluded to the restrained noun “misunderstanding” when referring to the other person’s finger-pointing. Leonen’s largesse was in the form of a letter addressed to his colleagues, which stated, among others, that “forgiveness is often the more decent consequence of another’s misunderstanding.” The Leonen-Calida conflict-turned-Grace-story speaks a lot about how we respond to attacks. Some of us persevere through the hardships, others grumble and carry the heaviness in their hearts. A few presumably go for gratitude, in the spirit of thanksforgiving.
Anthony Ray Hinton was a Black American who was wrongfully convicted of murder, served 28 years in prison in solitary confinement in a five-by-seven-foot cell, allowed out only one hour a day. In 2015, when the US Supreme Court unanimously overturned his conviction on appeal and caused the government to drop all charges against him, Hinton was asked in an interview if he was angry at the people who put him in jail. Hinton responded by saying that he forgave them all. When further asked, “but they took 30 years of your life—how can you not be angry?” Hinton responded: “If I’m angry and unforgiving, they will have taken the rest of my life.” Nelson Mandela of South Africa once said, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”
Such forgiveness is an overt act of gratitude. After all the hardships Hinton went through for 28 years, he still opted to be forgiving. In the same vein, although the hurt was not as deep as Hinton’s, Leonen showed some class as he displayed a throwback “thanksforgiving” to the greatest act of mercy, and gratitude, history has ever recorded. Throwback to the time of Jesus Christ, we see both forgiveness and thanksgiving in action, grace and gratitude in motion. With particular reference to the Bible in Luke 23:34, when Jesus was crucified along with two criminals, facing pain and mockery, he still had the heart to forgive, saying: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” When the other thief was repentant, and humbly acknowledging his sin, it only took his glaring faith in the person crucified next to him to receive the promise of salvation when he pleaded (in Luke 23:42): “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Then he got this reply (v.43): “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Such an awesome act of grace! And immediate at that! I am certain that the penitent thief breathed his last in absolute thanksgiving realizing that his sins were forgiven.
Relatedly, the root word of forgive is the Latin word “perdonare,” meaning, “to give completely, without reservation.” If we were to look at the word forgive as a compound word—“For” (or Fore) being the first word and “Give” the last, then forgive can mean to bestow voluntarily to another, way before any reason to do so. In practice, however, people usually forgive another, after, not before, having any reason to respond. By etymology, the word forgive means a remission of an offense; whereas forgive, in its compound meaning, means absolution, regardless. Believers can decide to forgive others before there is a reason to forgive, even if those who wronged them do not ask for forgiveness, much less deserve it. In the Bible, Matthew 6:14-15 tells us, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
If we are on the recipient side of forgiveness (like Calida and Hinton’s accusers), we should be thankful and walk in the path of grace from that day forward. Armed with such grace, we can also pay it back in keeping with what the Bible tells us in Colossians 3:13, which says, “The Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” We cannot be grateful and at the same time sit in the chair of guilt. Once we believe and claim to have been forgiven, then our transgressions are wiped clean, and our thankful hearts will propel us to walk in righteousness. Any inclination to revert to the act for which we were forgiven would be anathema to our receipt of grace.
A heart that is both thankful and forgiving does not sow hatred against others. There is no point to be perpetually angry at anyone who hurt us. As sinners, we have been forgiven way before there was any reason to forgive. Whenever we celebrate thanksgiving, we should be reminded that we receive forgiveness only through His grace. Like coffee and sugar, grace becomes more delightful if accompanied with gratitude.
A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission.
For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.