Joy & Giving Thanks – it is probably a safe bet that those are the themes being preached in every church across the country today.
Some may focus on Psalm 100 … giving joyfully, and seeing your giving as an act of worship for God (not simply charity).
The brave will preach on the passage from Deuteronomy, and address the whole concept of tithing – specifically on giving the FIRST ten percent of your worth to God. They may even wander deeper into the fray and suggest that ten percent is the required minimum (not the maximum) – and (especially for those who dismiss the Old Testament as not applicable to the people of the Resurrected Jesus) they may remind us that Jesus asked us to give our all … 100 percent.
But I’m not feeling that brave this morning … So Giving Thanks It Is.
First – some history …The Thirty Years War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history.
Fought mainly in Germany – the war began in 1618, ended in 1649, and involved almost every nation in Europe at one time or another. It destroyed entire regions, with armies usually burning their way through village after village.
The town of Eilenburg was hit extremely hard. It was overcrowded with fugitives from the other districts and in one year alone 8,000 persons died in the town. Of the five pastors in Eilenburg, three had died and one had fled, leaving only one Martin Rinkart to do the all the pastoral work himself.
In 1636 Martin buried over 4,000 people at the rate of 15 a day, including his wife.
Famine was so extreme that people could be seen fighting in the streets over a dead crow. And in the midst of all this suffering, the Swiss army imposed a tribute/tax of 30,000 dollars on the village. Martin managed to negotiate the payment down considerably and then mortgaged his future income for twenty years in order to pay it himself.
Returning home late one evening in 1637, completely worn out, the depressed Martin began writing in his is journal: Life is darkness and death. O God, why has thou forsaken me? And at that moment, he heard the laughter of a child, and looking out the window, saw his four children running about, playing in the garden.
He crossed out the lines he had written and in its place, wrote a prayer for his children to say at bedtime. Now, you’ve probably never heard of Martin Rinkart before….but I’m almost positive you’ve heard what he wrote (in fact – we sang it last Sunday):
Now thank we all our God ,
With heart and hands and voices;Who wondrous things had done,
In whom this world rejoices.Who, from our mother’s arms ,
Hath led us on our wayWith countless gifts of love-
And still is ours today.'”
Hard to imagine such praise and confidence could emerge from such despair. But it did … and it continues to be one of the most popular hymns of the church … especially at this time of the year. I remember belting that out as a child on Thanksgiving Sunday – and feeling happy and safe – knowing that we were SO blessed, and that God was watching over us. And (even as a city kid whose only real experience with a farm was a field trip to the outskirts of town for a couple of hours) – I felt connected to the land through which so much had been provided. And an awareness of God’s fullness and presence in our world … And all of that began with the hymn – and the words of Martin Rinkart.
Knowing (now) a bit of the history of that hymn …. Especially the reality in which the author was living (yet STILL could find the words to not only express his faith – but to inspire countless believers for centuries afterwards) – help me to dig a little deeper in my own ability to give Thanks.
Because really – If Martin Rinkart could give thanks against that backdrop of war and death … surely I could do the same (because while this life might be challenging and a little uncertain – it is nowhere nearly as threatening).
Earlier this week — I caught a little bit of grief – from someone who didn’t like the Thanksgiving newsletter … didn’t like me suggesting that we get into a daily ritual of Thanksgiving. And their argument was (if we gave thanks EVERY day – then this time of year …Thanksgiving … wouldn’t be as special).
And for a brief moment, I thought about that … very brief.
And then I thought – So what … what IF everyday was a Day of Thanksgiving !
– Of truly appreciating those around us
– Of basking in the beauty of creation
– The material blessings (of food, and employment and what we may think are necessities – but in many cultures are more like riches and wants than they are actual needs)
– And of sharing with others … our observations on all of those things, and our realization that all of that has come to us NOT because of anything we have done, but because of God. And that it has come … not because of anything we may have done or not done … but freely, without condition.
The farmers in my first parish used to laugh at me on Thanksgiving Sunday … because I would pick hymns like those we sang today. About the harvest being safely gathered in (because it wasn’t …. Many still had a few weeks left of harvesting). And what they taught me – in their own way – was that Thanksgiving wasn’t something set by the calendar … it was set by the heart. Many of them would have a huge family celebration to mark the end of harvesting season … a BBQ or potluck or party – something to mark the physical end of this years cycle. But each and every day – as they rose to work the land, or tend the livestock – they showed gratitude. They (more than any folks I have ever encountered) lived that absolute life of gratitude. They were the most generous folks (not just in their church envelopes – but there too) …
Maybe it was because they saw their role in the distribution of God’s blessings (the abundance of the earth – the world God created – and the land he was using to feed his people). Saw it in a way that the rest of us (in whatever profession we served) couldn’t.
And I used to dream of what it would be like it we all could look at things the way they did … If lawyers and grocery clerks and assembly line folk and teachers could all recognize that THEY TOO were helping God’s world be all it can be … and that they were also sent from God to do that. That the goods and services and help and information they provided in their chosen professions were also gifts from God – to the people of God.
That (in its own way) it was manna for this world. The daily reminder that God is at all times watching over us, guarding us, guiding us …. Being with us. Meeting our needs. Blessing us with life, hope, and each other.
And so this weekend … when the calendar says give thanks … we do. But my prayer is that we don’t limit it to just this weekend … that as we walk through every day of every week of every month, we will continue to hear and live the message scripture gives to us this day …
Rejoice in the lord in ALL things
Yours is the work of God
Believe in the one whom God has sent (and who in turn has sent each of us) ….
Copyright ©2016 by Rob Towler.