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As your prepare for Thanksgiving and its time of reflection on our gifts, with feasting, it is good to hear the story of our greatest Thanksgiving Hymn Now Thank we All our God. Click below First Thanksgiving at Plymouth in 1621 Jennie Brownscombe 1914 https://www.hymnfortheday.com/post/hymn-for-thanksgiving-2023-now-thank-we-all-our-god

Text: Gustav Margerth Jensen 1845-1922.  Per Steenberg (1870-1947)   1. Jesus Christ, our King, Lord of everything, Crown of thorns is what you’re given, Then a gleaming crown in heaven. Jesus Christ, our King, Lord of everything. 2. You are King of kings. Not by sword you win your vict’ry Not by chains you have our fealty Not with worldly things Are you King of kings. 3. Truth is how you reign In your glorious train, All your people bow before you; Beating hearts in joy adore you. Freely truth sustains You, and how you reign. 4. King, come clear our minds Of the lies that bind. Let your cross now truly teach us As your truth now comes to reach us. King, come clear our minds, Of the lies that bind. 5. In your truthful Word Dwell with us, O Lord. Help us, Jesus, like no other, Help us bring the world together In your truthful Word All the world, O Lord! Tr. Gracia Grindal: Copyright © 2012 Gracia Grindal   REFLECTIONS the Last Judgement Sistine Chapel Michaelangelo The naming and renaming of an old phrase like Christ the King Sunday which used to be Judgment Sunday to escape some modern issue seems not to have worked. When Judgment Sunday was changed to Christ the King it didn’t last long given the fear of using the term King for Christ--it evoked medieval kings or divine right kings so it was quickly changed to the Reign of Christ. Now some people are going back to King!   The old Dømmer Dag/Judgment Day was considered too scary. We confess every time we say the Creed, Christ will come again to judge the quick and the dead. Maybe there were too many grim and frightening sermons preached that day that may have scared the daylights out of the congregation listening. We could ask, well, what was wrong with that? Eternity is a serious thing. One of my colleagues at the seminary would ask his preaching students if they were ready to have the souls of one of their parishioners on their hands because the Sunday before they died they had not heard a sermon that showed them the way to Christ.   Jonathan Edwards Preachers like the great Jonathan Edwards knew how to terrify his listeners and did so memorably in his “Sinners in the hand of an angry God.” It has remained a classic example of such preaching and usually ridiculed until some literature nut explains its literary genius and that the real metaphor in the sermon is not arachnaphobia, fear of spiders, but acrophobia, fear of falling.   Now we have phobias about the language of king or lord because they remind us of a monarchy and feudal system that can be brutal. But we should be careful. Maybe we are adopting the definition of king that Pilate and the people around Jesus kept using: that he is wanting to be king and displace the rulers of the day. Jesus keeps telling them over and over again, their definition is all wrong. He keeps redefining their take on the word. His kingdom is not of this world. And furthermore, we learn, it is not simply a spiritual kingdom. Herod can bring out his swords against it, but will not be able to kill it. Somehow in the weakness of a little baby, or a dying man on a cross who will be raised from the dead, everything will be made new. A more powerful king than any they can imagine. As the hymn for today has it, "Not by sword you win your vict’ry/Not by chains you have our fealty/Not with worldly things/Are you King of kings.”   HYMN INFO Gustav Margerth Jensen was a Norwegian scholar and churchman who contributed to the liturgical life of Norwegians and Norwegian Americans when he revised the Landstad hymnal in 1921 including his 1887 version of the Norwegian liturgy. Those who grew up with the revised Landstad hymnal, The Lutheran Hymnary  or the Concordia  still remember that liturgy in their bones. This hymn is based on John 18:33-37 where Jesus’ trial is reported. It was published first in 1912. Jensen was editor of Luthersk Kirektidende and served Vår Frelsers church in Oslo where he was known as a fine preacher and liturgist. Steenberg served as a church musician who lived and worked in Oslo. He was trained in Leipzig and Copenhagen, and taught at the school for the blind, and the Music Conservatory in Oslo. He compiled a book of harmonies for the Landstad hymnal, which was popular but never authorized. He also wrote liturgical music for the church. LINKS Johan Muren/organ and instruments https://youtu.be/ljvFhcr2jw0 Christiane Rothfuchs https://youtu.be/Iib8jtMVU84   Jesus the Harmony  would make a nice Christmas present. It can be read devotionally over the entire year, one poem for every day.   Blurb "With these 366 sonnets, remarkable in artistry and number, Gracia Grindal has made literary history. The scriptural and theological knowledge that supports these poems is vast, but it is the imagination infused with the holy in poem after poem that reveals the poet's grace and skill and the astonishing work of the Spirit." -- Jill Baumgartner , Poetry Editor, Christian Century, and professor of English emerita, Wheaton College https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

(Long hymn but worth it, revised from an older post)) Manuscript depicting the Dedication of Cluny Abbey 11th century Text: Bernard of Cluny (ca. 1100-1199) Tune: Melchior Vulpius (ca. 1570-1615) Swedish folk 1 The world is very evil, The times are waxing late; Be sober and keep vigil, The Judge is at the gate; The Judge that comes in mercy, The Judge that comes with might, To terminate the evil,T o diadem the right. 2 Arise, arise, good Christian, Let right to wrong succeed; Let penitential sorrow To heav'nly gladness lead To light that hath no evening, That knows no moon nor sun, The light so new and golden, The light that is but one. 3 Brief life is here our portion; Brief sorrow, short-lived care; The life that knows no ending, The tearless life, is there. O happy retribution: Short toil, eternal rest; For mortals and for sinners A mansion with the blest! 4 And now we light the battle, But then shall wear the crown Of full and everlasting And passionless renown; And now we watch and struggle, And now we live in hope, And Zion in her anguish With Babylon must cope. 5 But He whom now we trust in Shall then be seen and known; And they that know and see Him Shall have Him for their own. And there is David's fountain And life in fullest glow; And there the light is golden, And milk and honey flow. 6 O home of fadeless splendor, Of flow'rs that bear no thorn, Where they shall dwell as children Who here as exiles mourn. Midst pow'r that knows no limit, Where knowledge has no bound, The beatific vision Shall glad the saints around. 7 Jerusalem the golden, With milk and honey blessed, Beneath thy contemplation Sink heart and voice oppressed. I know not, O I know not, What joys await us there, What radiancy of glory, What bliss beyond compare. 8 They stand, those halls of Zion, All jubilant with song And bright with many an angel And all the martyr throng. The Prince is ever in them; The daylight is serene; The pastures of the blessed Are decked in glorious sheen. 9 There is the throne of David; And there, from care released, The shout of them that triumph, The song of them that feast; And they who with their Leader Have conquered in the fight Forever and forever Are clad in robes of white. 10 For thee, O dear, dear country, Mine eyes their vigils keep; For very love, beholding Thy happy name, they weep. The mention of thy glory Is unction to the breast And medicine in sickness And love and life and rest. 11 O one, O only mansion, O Paradise of joy, Where tears are ever banished And smiles have no alloy! The Lamb is all thy splendor, The Crucified thy praise; His laud and benediction Thy ransomed people raise. 12 With jasper glow thy bulwarks, Thy streets with em'ralds blaze; The sardius and the topaz Unite in thee their rays; Thine ageless walls are bonded With amethyst unpriced; The saints build up thy fabric, The cornerstone is Christ. 13 Thou hast no shore, fair ocean; Thou hast no time, bright day, Dear fountain of refreshment To pilgrims far away! Upon the Rock of Ages they raise thy holy tower; Thine is the victor's laurel And thine the golden dower. 14 O sweet and blessed country, The home of God's elect! O sweet and blessed countryT hat eager hearts expect!J esus, in mercy bring us To that dear land of rest, Who art, with God the Father And Spirit, ever blest. Tr. John Mason Neale REFLECTIONS: De Contemptus Mundi  by Bernard of Cluny, a three-thousand line poem on the evil of this world and the glory of the next, is considered to be one of the great poems of the Middle Ages. Bernard, a monk, wrote it while living in Cluny Abbey, one of the richest and most beautiful of its day, observing the corruptions of everything around him, from government, monastery, church, clergy, on up to the pope. Nothing escaped the venom of his pen. World weariness would be another way to talk about it. But in the middle of his screeds against the corruptions of the world are his ravishing pictures of the next. You can find in those pictures the sources of hymns on the heavenly country, Jerusalem the Golden, O Sweet and Blessed Country. The disciples listening to Jesus were not ready to hear Jesus’ prediction that soon not one stone of the temple would be left upon another. A terrifying prophecy made more awful by his prophecy of wars and persecutions: Nations will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be persecutions, families will be riven apart, friendships ruined. You will be hated. Is he talking about us and our time? Doesnt sound too different from what is going on just now in the world. As the hymn has it, "The Judge is at the gate." His promise "that not one hair on our head will perish and that by enduring we will gain our lives" is really all we have. Quite enough. Look up. "The mention of his glory/Is unction to the breast/And medicine in sickness/And love and life and rest." Amen. HYMN INFO Peter the Venerable, Abbot of Cluny Bernard of Cluny was said to be an Englishman, but spent his life in Cluny Abbey. He lived at the beginning of what has been called the High Middle Ages, a century before St Thomas Acquinas (1225-1274)-, just before Dante who knew the poem and used its imagery for his depictions of heaven and hell. John Mason Neale, the master of such translations in the 19th century, has done a creditable job in his translation. Several hymnals begin the hymn with the third stanza to avoid the rather negative first line. The tune by Vulpius, an early Lutheran composer is most often used, but the Service Book and Hymnal  used a Swedish folk tune for the very popular Christmas carol, Mitt Hjerte Altid Vanker/My Heart is Filled with Wonder, by Hans Adolph Brorson. Horatio Parker (1863-1919) an important American composer in his day wrote an oratorio based on the first lines of the hymn. Ralph Vaughan Williams made an anthem out of it. LINKS Ralph Vaughan Williams anthem on St. Alphage Brief Life is Here our Portion St. Choir of St. Mary of Warwick https://youtu.be/8HaQh1ziJgMHoratio Parker/Orchestra and Choir https://youtu.be/Hd7cn1po1kA Congregation singing the translation Brief Life is Here our Portion https://youtu.be/fXZ_E1XLl4c Bonus: My Hymn on the text for this Sunday NB: For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony . It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem that put Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies. Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

The Angels in Paradise. William Blake Text and Tune: Daniel Iversen (1890-1977)   Spirit of the Living God,  Fall afresh on me, Spirit of the Living God,  Fall afresh on me. Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me. Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me.   REFLECTION Jesus in the synagogue. James Tissot The debate about marying in heaven is one of the stranger debates between Jesus and the Saducees who did not believe in the resurrection. Their question begins with a premise everyone knows they do not believe: that there is a resurrection. Are they trolling Jesus as the current phrase has it? Then the situation they set up, based on Levitical law, that a woman whose husband dies should marry the brother so her husband's line will continue. On unto the seventh brother. All absurd. Of course, Jesus is equal to their questions, changing the premesis of the whole argument to who God is and what heaven is like. The Son of God knows what they believe and has a better notion of eternal life than they do.   There is no marrying in heaven, he says. And God is a living God, and those raised from the dead will be like angels not the marrying types. Besides our God is living, something they should know from the story of Moses and the burning bush, Jesus points out. The Spirit gives life to us. Jesus is speaking of another dimension, of another way of thinking. He has come from eternity to bring us eternal life. What that will look like and what that will be is a mystery as the apostle Paul exclaims in 1 Corinthians. But it will be something beyond our simple legalistic definitions. Way beyond. We will be raised up, not into spirits or ghosts, but into resurrected bodies and all will be new. We get a glimpse of that in Jesus’ conversation as well as in his appearances after his resurrection. So we call for the spirit to “fall afresh on us” so that we can be made new and fresh. This is what we have always been promised, but can only hope for, with brief glimpses into that kingdom when we see and hear Jesus. Methodist camp meeting 1819 HYMN INFO Daniel Iversen wrote tune and text for this chorus, often sung around campfires. He wrote it after hearing a sermon at a camp meeting on the work of the Holy Spirit. It was first printed in small handouts so the people at the meeting could sing it. It was first thought to be anonymous, but by the middle of the last century, Iversen was properly credited for the chorus. Iversen attended the University of Georgia, the Moody Bible Institute and Columbia Theological Seminary and then the University of South Carolina. In 1914 he became a pastor in the Presbyterian church. My hymn is a fanciful set of pictures of who we will meet and what we will do in Paradise with our Lord. It still doesn't come close to what Jesus has come to give us.   LINKS Emmaus Music https://youtu.be/19i72kDhm1U?si=3rs6FIBICvezOWXB   Sound like reign https://youtu.be/En44FTqOifs?si=nwSq4KdY8211rgaO   St. Paul’s Venture https://youtu.be/b3Qcy9tg0xg?si=tkatNDfBMJHW8x3-   NB: For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony . It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem that put Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies. Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

All Saints Day pumpkin Every Halloween for the past fifty years I have made this All Saints Day pumpkin and want to share it with you as well a a memory of a wonderful song plus.. Click the link for the recipe! https://www.hymnfortheday.com/post/hymn-for-all-saints-day-i-sing-a-song-of-the-saints-of-god-reformation-sunday

Russian icon of the Zacchaeus story Text and tune: Anonymous   Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up into a sycamore tree, for the Savior for to see. And when the Savior passed him by,  he looked up in the tree, [Spoken] and said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm coming to your house today For I’m coming to your house today.' Text: Gracia Grindal Tune: James E. Clemens He climbed into the tree a rich man To see Christ Jesus passing by, Be when he clambered down to greet him His idols he had trusted died The idols he had trusted died. For there before him stood Christ Jesus, Our God in human flesh and form, And as he felt the power of goodness, Zaccheus vowed he would reform Zaccheus vowed he would reform. "I will returen to those I've cheated Four times what I have filched from them." Chrst said, "Salvation has been given Unto this son of Abraham, Unto this son of Abraham. Zaccheus suddenly was richer that he had ever been before. Eternal life was now his portion, An heir to life, no longer poor, An heir to life, no longer poor. Rejoice! that Jesus comes for sinners And loves them for their company. He climbed another tree to save us And makes us rich eternally. And makes us rich eternally. Zaccheus and Jesus. James Tissot REFLECTION There is always time in a young child’s life when this song is perfect. I have loved to sing it for the young in my life—when they are about two. To be an older, elderly aunt prancing around singing it with the motions is one of the pleasures of my life. They look with bemusement at me. They like the wee part because they are wee. And so it is good news for them, that Jesus loves the small.   The good news doesn’t have to be much more than that. Jesus loves you. And wants to be with you. Of course, Luke, as a master story teller, is doing a lot more in this tale. He is showing how a man is utterly changed and made new by his encounter with Jesus. It is like a healing. A tax collector in the eyes of his countrymen at the time needed to be healed or changed. We get echoes of several other stories of healing in Luke’s language. One of my favorite echoes is with the song of Mary when the Angel Gabriel says what is impossible with humans is possible with God. God will do what is impossible: here he will save a rich man! Especially in Luke that is a miracle.   Icon of Jesus and Zaccheus One also hears echoes of the healing of the woman with an issue of blood, or the poor woman of the street washing Jesus’ feet, or also the turning away of the rich young ruler whose riches prevent him from doing what Jesus says. Zaccheus after experiencing Jesus' love decides to reform his life.   This healing brings joy to Zaccheus and his entire household, and to those he has cheated. He will repay them far more than the law requires. He does this as a reaction to Jesus’ coming to him with grace. They must have had quite a party at his house when Jesus came to it.   Today he comes, the Scripture says. And Zacchaeus is restored to being a “son of Abraham.” All is set right. This is what we teach the little ones when we sing this song to them, joy all around when Jesus is there.   HYMN INFO We know little about this chestnut of a Sunday school song, but it, like the best of them, doesn’t even need to be printed. We hear it a couple of times and we can sing it over and over again. Enjoy! The hymn I wrote on the story has a bit of that joy and maybe even humor in it. But even more so—Zaccheus climbed tree to find Jesus, Jesus hung on a tree to make his salvation possible!   LINKS Praise in Motion Music https://youtu.be/ONRxHcjvCM4?si=AQwqZvNLXJCRCVao   3LittleWords https://youtu.be/ONRxHcjvCM4?si=AQwqZvNLXJCRCVao   Veggie Tales Official https://youtu.be/ONRxHcjvCM4?si=AQwqZvNLXJCRCVao   NB: For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony . It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem that put Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies. Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

Text: Cornelius Elven (1793-1873).   Tune: Penitence The Pharissee and Publican 1 With broken heart and contrite sigh A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry: Thy pardoning grace is rich and free O God, be merciful to me. 2 I smite upon my troubled breast, With deep and conscience guilt oppressed; Christ and His cross my only plea: O God, be merciful to me. 3 Far off I stand with tearful eyes, Nor dare uplift them to the skies; But Thou dost all my anguish see: O God, be merciful to me. 4 Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done, Can for a single sin atone; To Calvary alone I flee: O God, be merciful to me. 5 And when, redeemed from sin and hell, With all the ransomed throng I dwell, My raptured song shall ever be, God has been merciful to me. REFLECTIONS The pharisee and publican James Tissot (Sorry I didn't get this out to you on time. I have been in Norway and Denmark and couldnt access the site.) The story of the Pharisee and publican is a picture of the world in which we are living. There are a lot of people very sure of their piety and opinions and look down on those who do not share it. Pharisaism is not new, but today we see it vividly before us. People think those on the other side are evil or stupid or something else. Alexander Solzhennitsyn, who suffered the terrors of the Stalinist death camps, saw what it was and its remedy. While thinking of the brutal guards who could do unimaginable things to their prisoners, he realized that they were certain that all the evil lived outside of them and in the other whom they were trying to destroy so the regime would be successful. What he discovered was that the line of evil ran directly through every heart, his own included. Realizing that, he disavowed the Stalinism he knew, and became a Christian because he knew that he was as capable of the evil of his persecutor as the other was. To be a Christian is to admit that one is a sinner in need of a Savior. It makes one aware of one’s own complicity in evil. It makes one humble. That is what Jesus is teaching us here. Those who say the right and acceptable things, virtue signaling is what we call it today, are not always those who do the right. And that person could be me. This parable should make us examine our own hearts. As the hymn say so well " Far off I stand with tearful eyes, Nor dare uplift them to the skies; But Thou dost all my anguish see: O God, be merciful to me. HYMN INFO Elven, Cornelius , was a Baptist pastor in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk. He wrote it for his own congregation in 1852. It was used in several hymnals especially in the hymnal Psalms and Hymns, 1858. It uses the lesson for this next Sunday as a confession for every singer.   LINKS Accra Wesley Cathedra l https:// youtu.be/uaS1jVHlgx4?si=mCqsgZvqICFUCoRP Saint Patrick Presbyterian Church https://youtu.be/KupYfOSntTE?si=I2ViUkAQ3kOy9aeE   Methohymns Official https://youtu.be/yRhN52cX-qk?si=BzKWi3v4KPEhoP1L NB: For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony . It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem that put Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies. Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

Text: Peder Hygom (1692-1764) Tune: Folk tune from Ryfylke 1. Jesus, I long for your blessed communion, Yearning possesses my heart and my mind. Break down all barriers that hinder my union. Draw me to you, O Redeemer most kind! Show me now clearly my need that is crying. Show me the pain of the wrongs that I do. That unto sin I may daily be dying, And in the Spirit live only to you. 2. Quicken my soul thro’ your blood and your merit. Send me your Spirit and help me to prove I am your captive in soul and in spirit. Lead me and draw me to you with your love. Come, let my heart from all idols be severed; So that you only can dwell in my soul. Grant me your peace that continues forever, Peace beyond all I can fathom or know. 3. Jesus, when shall I find rest in your haven? Take up my burden, Lord, lift it from me! When shall I see you, my Savior, in heaven? Waken and quiet the wild, troubled sea. O loving Jesus, come help me, be speedy; Hide not your face from me, always be near. You are the wealth of the inwardly needy. Come, fill my heart with your mercy and cheer. 4. Jesus, let not my love go unrequited: See my poor soul growing weary, O Lord, Let us, Immanuel, now be united, When you are with me, my soul is restored. Once you did say, “They will hunger and perish, If I permit them to go on their way! ”Love everlasting! Refuse not to nourish Souls that are hungering for crumbs for today. 5. Merciful Jesus, I pray, hear my pleading. Do not forget what you said in your word: “Ask and receive; you will find when you seek me This you have said and your people have heard. I, like the woman at Cana, keep pleading, Crying to you till my longing is stilled. And you have spoken with grace to my needing, “Amen, yes, Amen; be done as you will.” Tr. Carl Døving; Georg Rygh; REFLECTIONS The importunate widow is much the same as the Caananite woman whom this hymn refers to in Stanza 5. In both accounts, Jesus is recommending prayer that is insistent and constant. It indicates what kind of relationship these two women had to the Lord and what he recommends to us. When he says pray without ceasing, he does not mean sit in your prayer chamber all day and night in prayer. He means keep in touch all the time while going about your daily chores and pleasures. And never to give up asking. As the hymn points out, Jesus has said, ask and you will receive, so, the author of the hymn says to Jesus, keep your promise. That is a feature of the psalms and great sermons. Psalm 42 in particular has the psalmist remembering the past when God seemed present and active, and asks that he be so again. One of the great hymn writers of Iceland in his Hymns of the Passion in telling the story of Christ’s passion, always includes stanzas in which the singer reminds God and the believer that if God could forgive Peter’s denial, he can forgive any of your sins. Every person we hear about in Scripture should edify us by teaching us that truth: If Christ could forgive a sinner who did this, like Mary Magdalene, he can forgive you. So the importunate widow keeps coming back and coming back. Finally the judge wearies of her and grants her request. If that is what happens in the parable, it is also a lesson for us. Except in our case, God will not weary of us and our infinite number of requests. He wants us to, Jesus advises us to: always be asking and even wrestling with God. Any good and honest relationship does that and so should our relationship with Christ. I can see my mother sitting in her chair at morning devotions with a Bible on her lap, listening and talking with God. Sometimes she would argue with, even wrestle with him and shout, why oh why? That was not a sign of her losing faith, but of her deepening faith. God already knew everything about her and her life, she might as well tell him and see what he would do about it. That is one of the mysteries of the Christian life, to put your problems before the Lord and see what he does. S he often describe faith and waiting for those surprises and trusting they were always more than she had asked. HYMN INFO Hans Nielsen Hauge A German hymn by J.L.C. Allendorf, this translation by Peder J. Hygom (1692-1764) of Denmark came to Norway through the 1740 hymnal of Erik Pontoppidan (1698-1764), Dano-Norwegian bishop. The second stanza of the hymn is what Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824), the lay evangelist, was singing when he had his spiritual experience. On April 5, 1796, he was out plowing in the fields near Fredrikstad, singing, and was struck down by a light from heaven, which made him insensate. When he awoke everything had changed for him and he wanted to spread the Gospel and serve his neighbor with all his heart. He began publishing books, walking through Norway meeting with entire communities in farmhouses along the way, speaking and writing letters to his followers. Norway was utterly changed by his work. Some historians call him the first modern Norwegian. I added a stanza four above. LINKS Sissel https://youtu.be/jMFKIHbnCmk Knut Nystedt choral arrangement https://youtu.be/IMAJUIkxLU8 Sondre Bratland—He is Norway’s expert in using quarter tones common in folk tunes https://youtu.be/FAxDbNjv5JY NB: For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony . It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem that put Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies. Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

Text: Katherin Kennitcott Davis (1892-1980). Tune: Ashgrove Welsh Folktune   Jesus healing the ten lepers. James Tissot 1 Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving To God the Creator triumphantly raise, Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us, Who guideth us on to the end of our days. His banners are o’er us, His light goes before us, A pillar of fire shining forth in the night, ‘Til shadows have vanished and darkness is banished, as forward we travel from light into light. 2 His law He enforces: the stars in their courses, The sun in His orbit, obediently shine; The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains, The deeps of the ocean proclaim Him divine, We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing, With glad adoration a song let us raise, ‘Til all things now living unite in thanksgiving To God in the highest, hosanna and praise. REFLECTIONS The story of the ten lepers is widely known and well remembered in the memory of the church. Only one of those healed, and he an outsider, a Samaritan, who stops to give thanks. Jesus almost seems hurt that his countrymen do not give thanks. But this is a true story about human beings. We want something terribly, we cry for it, and then when a miracle happens, we return to normal life almost forgetting the good thing that has happened. I remember that I once had terrible arthritic pain in my knee that was almost deranging. I could not sleep for the hurt and could hardly move when I was trying to make it through the day. I went to physical therapy and within two weeks I was almost without pain and able to sleep and go about my daily  tasks. While I was grateful and still am—occasionally the pain flashes through me—I can’t really remember how awful it was. I am busy with other things and hardly think to thank God! It is good the nine could go on their way into a new and normal life. The miracle, however, needs thanksgiving. Every day we receive myriads of gifts to thank God for.. As the hymn says, God keeps all life going with his tender care and love. It is something we forget until pain or loss hits us. Then we reach out to the Lord. But take this story and this hymn as reason to give thanks throughout each day. We have been given so much that we do not deserve. Even those who are still suffering know that even so much of the good in their lives comes from the Lord. “Til all things now living unite in thanksgiving/To God in the highest, hosanna and praise.”
HYMN INFO Katherine Davis was born in St. Joseph, Missouri and attended Wellesley College where she Katherine Davis studied piano and composition. After graduation she studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. On completing her studies she returned to Wellesley where she taught piano and music theory until retirement. During her teaching she studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. She often used pseudonymns for her work. This hymn, written to the folk tune Ashgrove in 1939, has a unique form which means the rhymes are very tight. We hear echoes of Exodus 13 and the Lord's guiding the people through the wilderness, plus images from Psalm 148. It has been used in harvest festivals and thanksgiving services ever since. She is also the writer of The Little Drummer Boy and many other choral pieces.. LINKS  The Gracias Choir https://youtu.be/ZtfPG7vOpTo?si=QdEtCMrkwxSgyTC- Lutheran choir https://youtu.be/C59-Hai_SlI?si=lA6J9-Q1O5Yq6g_4 NB: For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony . It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem placing Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies. Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

English: Entrust while on Your Journey German: Befiehl du deine Wege Norwegian: Velt alle dine veier Text: Paul Gerhard (1607-1674) Tune: Johann Crüger (1598-16) Jesus The Good Shepherd Mosaic in Mauolemu of Galla Placidia, Ravenna 425 1. Entrust , while on your journey, All that which grieves your heart, Into the care most faithful Of him who rules the stars, To him whose power governs A way for clouds and air, For he will also find you The way he has prepared. 2. To God , whom you must trust in To bless you here on earth, Look to his works around you So that your work has worth. Your own consuming worries, Your tears or grief or cares Will not bring God to help you: Go to the Lord in prayer. 3. Your faithfulness and mercy, O Father, know and see All that is good or hurtful For all your children’s needs, For what your will has purposed You do, Almighty One, And what your wisdom pleases Is by your counsel done. 4. Ways you will find, yes always, You never lack the might, Your deeds are purest blessing, Your path is purest light, Your work cannot be hindered Your labor never rests, When you would give your children All that would serve them best. 5. And even if all devils Would try to hold their sway It never can be doubted That God will win the day. What he himself created And what he wants to be Will in the end live always Through all eternity. Paul Gerhard 6. Hope always, weary Christian, Hope, never, never fear, For God will grasp you out of The pit of sheer despair. God’s mercies will relieve you Of your anxieties. Wait patiently, his sunshine With joy you soon will see. 7. In him, rest all your sorrows, Give them a glad good night. Let go of all that troubles Your heart and causes fright. So rest, God is the ruler Of everything that is, He governs well from heaven And everything is his. 8. Him , him, let him now govern, The wisest Prince whose ways Will manage all things wisely So you will be amazed. When he, as is his nature, Will rule with power and truth And he will find solutions For all that troubles you. 9. He may delay a season And seem to let you go, As though he had intended To leave you all alone And let you be suspended In anxious groans of rue, As though he had forgotten His promises to you. 10. Will you stay true and faithful To him in whom you rest, Then he will yet deliver You when you least expect. Then he will lift your burden, And set your spirit free. You’ll see your sorrows ended In glorious liberty. 11. Yes , soon, oh child most faithful! You have your battle won! With glory and thanksgiving You’ve now received your crown! For God himself has given A palm in your right hand And now you sing in heaven With those victorious bands. 12. Bring it about, O Father, Now end our pain and need. And strengthen for our journey Our weary hands and feet And let your care surround us Steadfastly on our way As every step will lead us Toward heaven’s brighter day. Entrust to God your ways and hope in him, he will, yes, bring it about. Psalm 37:5 Tr. Gracia Grindal 2007   REFLECTION Jesus teaching his disciple James Tissot Jesus’ exchange with his disciples in Luke 17, is strange and takes some digging to get. The disciples want him to increase their faith and he tells them about a servant coming home from his daytime job, expected to do his evening duties as well, rather than get special treatment. What! Maybe the mustard seed parable helps—you don’t need much faith for it to be enough. Ultimately that should be encouraging for us. The issue isn’t whomping up more faith, the issue is going about one’s work faithfully and responsibly. That is enough. In the same way that his grace is sufficient for us in any situation, so also our faith whether great or small is sufficient. It isn’t how much, it is simply that it is there.   The Gerhard hymn above is about trust and believing in God’s care for us. Note how the first word in every stanza when combined become v. 5. “Entrust to God your ways and hope in him, he will, yes, bring it about.” That is why the hymn was sung for every occasion in the German and Scandinavian Lutheran traditions. Filled with good advice on living the faith, it teaches that faith is trusting in God, believing that his Son came to save us. From there on we are to live, strengthened by him for our journey. Quite simple. Maybe too simple Fortunately for us, as Jesus prayed once, “I thank you Father that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.” Matthew 11:25.   The older I get and the more I know, the more I realize how really complicated I have made it, but how simple it really is. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. Trust him.   HYMN INFO There are way too many hymns for the lectionary lessons this time. For more on this great hymn by Paul Gerhard see   https://www.hymnfortheday.com/post/hymn-for-easter-4-entrust-while-on-your-journey-heidi-s-hymn   Great is thy faithfulness works with the Lamentations lesson—see here for a sweet memory of the first days of the pandemic and something about the hymn https://www.hymnfortheday.com/post/hymn-6-great-is-thy-faithfulness LINKS Entrust while on your journey Iver Kleive De Unsynlige/Troubled Water  2008 https://youtu.be/4JQKSX5L4Zc Oslo Gospel Choir https://youtu.be/aPNhxVVDcKE Jars of Clay/Lift Up Your Head https://youtu.be/voYptcSfIUo Give to the Winds your Fears/John Wesley's translation https://youtu.be/UTDobMKOM64 Great is thy Faithfulness Cathedral singing https://youtu.be/dTKIqmdfHSk Veritas https://youtu.be/N2i7_X8RQis My latest book is available now as both book and ebook! https://www.amazon.com/What-Fellowship-Remembering-Augsburg-Seminary/dp/B0DSTBWQHG/ref=zg-te-pba_d_sccl_2_2/141-3290927-0452340?pd_rd_w=4kESz&content-id=amzn1.sym.081392b0-c07f-4fc2-8965-84d15d431f0d&pf_rd_p=081392b0-c07f-4fc2-8965-84d15d431f0d&pf_rd_r=75NWSDJBJZ3KR8D55SZ3&pd_rd_wg=gwGhv&pd_rd_r=e5b74c46-9ab4-41b6-99b9-e8ead9a9e2c8&pd_rd_i=B0DSTBWQHG&psc=1

Text: Medieval English ballad Tune: English folk tune Lazarus at the rich man's gate Fyodor Bronnikov 1886 1. As it fell out upon a day, Rich Dives made a feast, And he invited all his friends, And gentry of the best. 2. Then Lazarus laid him down and down, And down at Dives' door; Some meat, some drink, brother Dives, Bestow upon the poor. 3. Thou’rt none of my brother, Lazarus, That lies begging at my door; Nor meat nor drink will I give to thee, Nor bestow upon the poor. 4. Then Lazarus laid him down and down And down at Dives' wall; Some meat, some drink, brother Dives, Or with hunger starve I shall. 5. Thou'rt none of my brother, Lazarus, That lies begging at my wall; Nor meat nor drink will I give to thee, But with hunger starve you shall. 6. Then Lazarus laid him down and down, And down at Dives' gate; Some meat, some drink, brother Dives, For Jesus Christ his sake. 7. Thou'rt none of my brother, Lazarus, That lies begging at my gate; Nor meat nor drink will I give to thee, For Jesus Christ His sake. 8. Then Dives sent out his merry men, To whip poor Lazarus away; They had no power to strike a stroke, But flung their whips away. 9. Then Dives sent out his hungry dogs, To bite him as he lay; They had no power to bite at all, But licked his sores away. 10. As it fell out upon a day, Poor Lazarus sickened and died; There came two Angels out of Heaven, His soul therein to guide. 11. Rise up, rise up, brother Lazarus, And come along with me; There's a place in Heaven prepared for thee, To sit upon an Angel's knee. The Rich Man in Torment. James Tissot 12. As it fell out upon a day, Rich Dives sickened and died; There came two serpents out of Hell, His soul therein to guide. 13. Rise up, rise up, brother Dives, And come along with me; There's a place in Hell prepared for thee, To sit upon a serpent's knee. 14. Then Dives looked with burning eyes, And saw poor Lazarus blest; One drop of water, Lazarus, To quench my flaming thirst! 15. Oh! had I as many years to abide As there are blades of grass, Then there would be an end: but now Hell's pains will never pass. 16. Oh! were I but alive again, For the space of one half hour, I would make my peace and so secure That the Devil should have no power! REFLECTIONS (a repeat but it still says what I would say today--with an added hymn on the text from my Treasury of Faith) The rich man and Lazarus is one of the great parables of Jesus. Its images make it vivid—we see the poor sick man outside the gate, the dogs licking his sores, while the rich man carouses indoors. Then the ending when the two receive their just desserts, Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom and Dives to hell, where he suffers his well-deserved punishment. His thirst humiliates him: he has to ask Abraham to send Lazarus to him with one drop of water. Abraham tells him there is no passage between heaven and hell. Then the rich man makes a strange, and uncharacteristically generous request: send Lazarus to my five brothers to warn them. Abraham says that is unnecessary. They have Moses and the Prophets. If they haven’t heard from them how they should treat the poor, they won’t be able to hear even a dead man tell them. For me Jesus' observation is the most interesting part of the parable. While the folk tradition, rightly, focuses on the rich man’s lack of charity, Jesus is making a prediction about his own death and resurrection. It sweeps through all of Scripture: If they haven’t heard Moses and the Prophets, they are not going to be able to hear even a man raised from the dead, namely Jesus. It isn’t just that they will be deaf to the message of the Gospel and unable to hear, they will not understand how Jesus is there in Moses and the Prophets. The more I study the life of Jesus, the more I realize one has to know Moses and the Prophets to fathom who he is. One of the most prominent Lutheran theologians of the last era, Robert Jenson, a professor at Luther College, Gettysburg Seminary, almost always preached from the Old Testament. He said once: “You enter into the world of the Old Testament text, noting its twists and turns and its yearnings, and you promise the fulfillment of the yearnings by speaking of Jesus and of His resurrection.” ( Lutheran Forum , Winter 2021, p. 18.) Amen! THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS [C] “Send Lazarus to my brothers so they repent,” Said the rich man to Abraham, “All five!” Hell’s chasm could not be crossed; one must be sent Back from the bosom of Abraham alive. Will they believe a risen man’s report, Having read in Moses and the prophets Their obligations to the sick and poor? That is enough. But if none of them saw fit To follow Moses and treat their neighbors right, Why listen to a man raised from the dead? Preachers ask this question as they write Sermons to give witness to what Scripture says, That Jesus Christ is risen and standing here: Will anyone wake up and see him near? Luke 16:19–31; Psalm 17:14; 2 Timothy 4:1–5 Gracia Grindal.  Jesus the Harmony HYMN INFO The ballad is an old English ballad that tells the whole story of the parable, but not Jesus’ ending. Ballads are always stories. The theology is in the story. It was used as a Christmas carol in medieval England. There are many ballad tunes for it. It has been set by great composers, none greater than Ralph Vaughan Williams. There is no hymn exactly on the parable, although mine from the A Treasury of Faith with the tune by James Clemens comes closer. LINKS English Ayres https://youtu.be/yfNhUydn6ZQ   Ralph Vaughan Williams Five versions of Dives and Lazarus https://youtu.be/RQoP9iLwoos   NB: For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony . It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem that put Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies. Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

The Unjust Steward. Rembrandt Text: William W. Howe Tune: Lowell Mason, ed. 1 We give thee but thine own, whate'er the gift may be; all that we have is thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from thee.   2 May we thy bounties thus as stewards true receive, and gladly, as thou blessest us, to thee our first fruits give.   3 To comfort and to bless, to find a balm for woe, to tend the lone and fatherless is angels' work below.   4 The captive to release, to God the lost to bring, to teach the way of life and peace— it is a Christlike thing.   5 And we believe thy Word, though dim our faith may be; whate'er for thine we do, O Lord, we do it unto thee.   The Unjust Steward REFLECTION In the lesson for this Sunday Jesus commends to us a dishonest man for his understanding of the way things work. What? The lesson, however, is not to be dishonest, but to observe how shrewd the man is about life. By dishonest ways, he creates friends who will help in the future. His virtue, in Jesus’ eyes, is he knows the truth about this world and operates by that truth.   Jesus is telling us how the kingdom of heaven works and how to flourish in it. We are to invest our lives in his kingdom, not this one. The dishonest manager shows us how it works: you see where the advantage is and you then act to make it yours. His idol is money and his well-being; he worships and serves it shrewdly. He has saved himself for this life, but not the next.   So that means for us that we should lay up our treasures where they will grow for our eternal reward, not for our worldly one since it cannot go with us into eternity. We perish before our stuff does; and then it belongs to someone else. We are mere stewards of our worldly wealth, as the hymn makes clear, but our eternal wealth is ours because it is given to us by someone whose riches are fabulous and forever.   This one of the great themes of our faith—it is called the divine exchange: when we give all that we have to Christ—and that is a sin filled mess of failures and evil—and he gives all he has to us, which is redemption, life, eternal life. Quite a bargain! The goods we have are already his. But when we give our sinful heart to him, he takes it all and exchanges it for his life. “All that we have is thine alone/A trust O Lord from thee.” Praise God!   William W. How HYMN INFO William W. How, like many of the great English hymn writers of the 19th century, was a supporter of the Oxford Society which urged a return to the Catholic heritage of the Church of England. He gained a reputation for his ministry in the crowded neighborhoods of London. He became bishop of Wakefield where he continued his scholarship and working for the improvement of the life of factory workers in west Yorkshire. During his lifetime he wrote several theological works attempting to understand the biblical account of creation in light of Darwin’s theory of evolution. He jointly edited Psalms and Hymns (1854) and Church Hymns (1871). During his time as rector in Whittington, he wrote about sixty hymns, many for chil­dren. In 1886 he published his Poems and Hymns . His poetry was not very successful, but this hymn became a must for most Protestant churches in the English speaking world, especially after the offering . The tune is attributed to Robert Schumann and edited by Lowell Mason and Webb for their book Cantica Lauda in 1850. It was a common ploy by Mason, to use old melodies in popular music from the past and make the suitable for congregational singing. This, with its sturdy simple steps, makes it the equal of many English tunes. LINKS From the Christian Reformed Church hymnal https://youtu.be/IHR1PQ5YwLo Andrew Remillard https://youtu.be/ISoPbyXjQjg Organ accompaniment to the tune Energy https://youtu.be/bqrY9itpPLQ Second Church https://youtu.be/8fJ70-bTxX4 My hymn on the Gospel lesson A good Christmas present for someone who likes American Lutheran History and memoirs. Link to What a Fellowship Amazon https://www.amazon.com/What-Fellowship-Remembering-Augsburg-Seminary/dp/B0DSTBWQHG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1HSFVV0QCDEF3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.IhOwhS0q_6IPnLGWOu5g-ER7RsorQfaFzSi0bQ1CQ5qqag1bPGRkTsyfCwf4vZ3gvkO1Mz7QpcDFa6s8vCXAxxBHDZ5J_-HF5vUgBpF_xzJNA32FGJKmDcg6P3EASaqCCKXop4LC8slEcCt9Nn5k6ePme7habs5xA71RJB6B7DkEkV7KIkNGt8KwdrjgtsibyZrj7jLsYolYqzflMWWZhhJGBZ4avwCGz-mUmoO53IQ.woL128VFbn7DaqjCPGxiMN7JI1f6zMW2roOuby-NKms&dib_tag=se&keywords=what+a+fellowship&qid=1757883404&sprefix=%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1 Fortress Press https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9798889834045/What-a-Fellowship