Archdeacon Rachel Mann shared this reflection on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day, speaking about the Oscars, thankfulness, and Julian of Norwich.
Good morning. In the midst of all the tears and the fancy frocks, the looks of surprise, delight and – for some – disappointment, last night’s Oscars guaranteed viewers one thing: lots of speeches full of thanksgiving. As an avid watcher of the ceremony, I love to witness just how long the lists of thanks go on, sometimes including not only the voters of the Academy, the makers of the film, but family and friends. Such thanks, despite the established formula, strike me as tokens of honest and heartfelt gratitude.
Reel back, then, to Friday, and a less edifying moment. As President Donald Trump nodded along, J.D. Vance the US Vice-President asked the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express his gratitude there and then for – quote – 'all the president has done to try and save your country'. Vance said, 'Have you said thank you once?'. For many commentators and diplomats it was a jaw-dropping, horrifying moment. Zelenskyy, a person who has repeatedly expressed gratitude for the unwavering support of the US, was being asked to be thankful for an approach to peace which has not included Ukraine’s voice at the negotiating table.
Thankfulness is a fundamental virtue for the Christian tradition. The prophet Isaiah reveals that giving thanks is possible in the most trying circumstances. In the midst of war as his nation faces destruction, his great prayer of thankfulness says to God, ‘I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things.’ These thanks are tokens of Isaiah’s trust that despite the violence all around, ultimately God will restore his people and rebuild the destroyed Temple.
In her ‘Revelations of Divine Love’, the mediaeval mystic, Mother Julian of Norwich says, ‘Thanksgiving is a true inward awareness.’ What she means is that thankfulness emerges from within ourselves in response to what we experience. Giving thanks cannot and should not be imposed from without. It is worked out in the midst of prevailing realities. Mother Julian, who faced considerable personal suffering in a time marked by war and division, found that as she concentrated on her vision of Jesus suffering alongside her, she was able to be appropriately thankful for the good things she found in her challenging life.
At the end of his Oval Office meeting with Mr Zelenskyy, President Trump said it would make good television. However, for all its glitzy cheesiness and excess, I think a better spectacle for our screens is found in the reactions of actors and film crew when they are given an Oscar. I see in their speeches of thanks, something that is not commanded or demanded, but flows, like joy, in reaction to good and welcome news.