Name your blessings

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;

Who from our mothers' arms has blessed us on our way

With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,

With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;

And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;

And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;

The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;

The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;

For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

I love the old hymns. I appreciate them even more when I know the backstories behind the words.

These are the words of "Now Thank We All Our God," written in 1636 by a Lutheran pastor named Martin Rinkart. Pastor Rinkart lived in Ellenburg, Saxony, which experienced overcrowding from fugitives from the Thirty Years' War. The overcrowding produced famine which created a breeding ground for a horrible plague that devastated the community. Rinkart was the only surviving pastor in the community, and he conducted up to 50 funerals a day. The year he wrote this hymn, Pastor Rinkart led over 4,000 funerals, including his wife and family. Rinkart was able to keep going and serve as pastor amid such devastation because of a profound recognition of the reality of the presence of God that can only come through incredibly difficult times. He found strength in the Lord when he needed it the most, and he was grateful.

The last few years have been difficult, no question. But I am so aware of God's blessings upon me: family, friends, church family, the beauty of this area, and the gift of living in this great country. So, as we begin this week of Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for? As you look back on the previous year, in what ways do you see God's presence throughout the journey? And as you look forward to the new year, what are you excited about?

We begin our journey of Advent this weekend. Advent looks forward to the coming of Christ. In a few weeks, we will experience the Living Nativity and gaze into the manger as the light enters the darkness. Where do you need to experience the light of hope?

Christmas is a promise of hope; it's a promise that light will enter the darkness. Even when we journey in the dark, we are a people of that promise. Christ is coming! The light is coming! The angel is pronouncing good news of great joy! It's time to be thankful and name our blessings!

In Thanksgiving,

Bryan White