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Reflections November 2014

Hymns of Thanksgiving

By Carrie McWhorter

“A lot of our thanksgiving comes out of these periods of wrenching experiences: pain, suffering, sorrow, war, and violence. In the midst of all that’s swirling around us, there’s an opportunity to lift our hearts in thanksgiving to God.”

During the Thanksgiving season, we like to focus on the blessings of life, including family, friends and good health. Unfortunately, many of us face struggles that do not magically disappear during the holidays.

The history of many beloved Thanksgiving hymns shows that thankfulness is often inspired by extremely difficult circumstances.

Gratitude often comes out of great struggle, says Timothy George, Dean of the Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

“A lot of our thanksgiving comes out of these periods of wrenching experiences: pain, suffering, sorrow, war, and violence. In the midst of all that’s swirling around us, there’s an opportunity to lift our hearts in thanksgiving to God,” George said.

This connection between suffering and thanksgiving is rooted in the Bible, according to Paul Richardson, professor of hymnology at Samford.

“From biblical times to our own, persons have often gained a clearer understanding of the presence of God when they have faced difficulties. That is reflected in song from the Psalms to those by today's writers,” Richardson said.

The tradition of giving thanks despite troubling situations is evident in many beloved Thanksgiving hymns.

For example, “Now Thank We All Our God,” by Martin Rinkart, was written during Germany’s Thirty Years War (1618-1648). Rinkart was a Lutheran minister in his native city of Eilenburg, a walled city that became a haven for refugees from the surrounding country. As the war progressed, the besieged city suffered from famine and then the plague, which claimed 8,000 lives in 1637, including the lives of Rinkart’s wife and other clergymen in the city. Historians estimate that Rinkart conducted services for as many as 50 people a day until the number of daily deaths required mass burials.

In the face of these hardships, Rinkart wrote the familiar words of thanks, based on the apocryphal text Ecclesiasticus 50:22-24 :

Now thank we all our God,

with heart and hands and voices,

who wondrous things has done,

in whom this world rejoices;

Though written originally as a table grace, today the hymn remains popular for worship, especially at Thanksgiving.

Another familiar hymn, “We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessings” also was written during wartime. During the 1500s, the Spanish rulers of Holland forbade Dutch Protestants to gather for worship. The Dutch waged a battle for independence from Spain, defeating the Spanish at the Battle of Turnhout in 1597. Though the Dutch did not gain independence until 1648, they saw the victory at Turnhout as the hand of God at work, as expressed in the hymn’s first stanza:

We gather together

to ask the Lord's blessing;

he chastens and hastens

his will to make known.

The wicked oppressing

now cease from distressing.

Sing praises to his name,

he forgets not his own.

The hymn’s military undertones made many 20th century Christians uncomfortable, so in 1902, Julia Cady Cory wrote new words to the melody of “We Gather Together.” The alternate version, “We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer,” emphasizes “grateful devotion,” “praise” and adoration over the stronger message of freedom in the original.

Though war and suffering have inspired many thanksgiving hymns, others celebrate the traditions of the harvest so closely connected to the Thanksgiving holiday. For example, Henry Alford’s “Come Ye Thankful People, Come,” celebrates the agricultural harvest, called Harvest Festival or Harvest Home in Britain. Finally, “Count Your Blessings” by Johnson Oatman, Jr., urges us to be thankful no matter what the season or trial.

As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, give thanks for your blessings and remember that difficult times often shine a brighter light on the blessings of family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Carrie Brown McWhorter writes about faith, travel and social issues from her home in Alabama. Contact her at www.carriebrownmcwhorter.com

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