Pastoral
Musings
In the dark and dismal days of
the Thirty Years’ War, Martin Rinckart, though surrounded by
poverty and disease, destruction and death, penned the great
hymn of thanksgiving which begins with the lines, “Now thank we
all our God, With heart and hands and voices.”
Can we, in the midst of a
Michigan economy that has been hurting longer than the National
economy and has a much deeper depth at present; in the face of a
stock market that has gone haywire and no one yet knows where or
when it will “bottom out”; in the midst of a congregational
financial crisis that is forcing us to face and make tough
decisions about ministry and staff cuts, which will affect the
livelihoods of folks we know and love, appreciate and thank God
for – Can we repeat and mean the words of this great hymn? And
not just now, at Thanksgiving time, but throughout the year?
Through good times and bad times? Through tough times as well as
bountiful ones? During times of crisis as well as times of joy?
We face as a people – as
Americans and as members of St. John’s, what married couples do
as they live out their vows, we always hope (and pray) for the
best, for health, for wealth (or at least welfare); not the
worse, sickness or poverty. How do people face and survive those
times? The answer is found in the relationship, in what marriage
and church is all about – TOGETHER, in relationship – loving and
caring for one another, pitching in instead of bailing out,
helping, not hurting one another.
Martin Rinckart expressed in a
beautiful way the gratitude that should well up in the hearts of
a favored people and overflow in their lives.
Yes, I said “favored”. We still
are, compared to most of the world. We remain blessed with
bounty. We can count all the benedictions which have come to us
from the open hands of Him who gives meat in due season and
satisfies the desire of every living thing. It is good for us to
take time to count our still many blessings, to see what
God has done and is still doing, though we deserve none of them.
What shall we render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward
us? Martin Rinckart has the answer, “Now thank we all our God.
With heart and hands and voices.”
We offer thanks to God from our
hearts, that’s where true gratitude stems from – a
thankful people give their hearts to God. “Not much of a gift,”
you say? True, to become grateful, hearts need cleaning and
purifying. God’s people bow penitently before Him saying, “We
confess to You, O God, that we have failed You.” Each day they
say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” When the heart is
sprinkled with the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, it becomes
pure and holy in His sight. Heartfelt gratitude is the fruit of
faith in Jesus whose blood cleanses us from all sins.
Now thank we all our God with
our hands. Our hands are gifts of God by which we earn
our daily bread and share our blessings with others. Hands can
be greedy, cruel and filthy. To the people of old God called,
“Cleanse your hands, you sinners.” (James 4:8)
The cry of the saints of old
was for clean hands so that they could then become kind and
strong, ready to do deeds of mercy and to give gifts of love.
Whatever thankful people do with their hands let it be done to
the praise of Him whose hands were pierced for them. To thank
God with the hands is to render continued service to Him.
Now thank we all our God with
our voices. What a precious gift of God the voice is! One
way in which God’s voice is heard in the world today is through
the voices of His people. Jesus said, “He that hears you, hears
me.” (Luke 10:16) To thank God with your voice means
to speak out for God, to let men hear God’s Word, His message of
salvation, to speak His commands, to offer His peace. A thankful
people speak out for God as well as to
Him.
In our congregation there are
over one thousand voices to give thanks to God. Are these voices
used gratefully to His praise, to call to the straying, to
invite the lost, to pray for the distressed? Our church will
move forward mightily when over one thousand members understand
what it means to thank God with hearts and hands and voices in
good times and bad. It is God who gives the needed strength and
love and will impress as people hear, read, and believe His
blessed Word. Unless they do so, they will not have thankful
hearts. When we sing Rinckart’s hymn of thanksgiving, may we bow
before God and dedicate ourselves anew to His holy service.
Yours
for Him,
Pastor Haupt
