HYMN FOR PENTECOST 22 By gentle powers faithfully surrounded Von guten Mächten

Text: Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) Tune: Sigfried Fietz, et al. By gen­tle Pow­ers faith­ful­ly sur­round­ed, Protected won­drous­ly, con­soled by grace, That’s how I long to live these days to­ge­ther, Close by your side, to start the com­ing year; Our hearts are tor­tured ev­en now by ev­il days, The bur­dens of the past are hard to bear, Oh Lord, grant our scared souls the sal­va­tion, Therefore You have cre­at­ed us and saved. And if You pass the hea­vy cup of suf­fer­ing, The bit­ter cha­lice, filled to the high­est brim, Then we will take it, grate­ful with­out trem­bling Out of Your good and so be­loved hand. But if You will grant us once more the joy to see This world, the splen­dor of its beam­ing sun, Then we will sure­ly all the past re­mem­ber And our whole lives will be Yours alone. Let warm and bright the can­dles’ flames light up to­day, Which You have brought in our gloomy times, Lead us to­ge­ther back again if that can be! We know for sure, Your light shines through the night. When now the si­lence spreads around, help us to hear And list­en to the full em­brac­ing sound Of this world, which un­seen around is wid­en­ing To all Your child­ren’s high­est hymns of praise. By gen­tle Pow­ers won­der­ful­ly shel­tered, Awaiting fear­less­ly what there will be. God is near at dusk and in the morn­ing And with us cer­tain­ly on each new day.’             Dietrich Bonhoeffer, December 19, 1944 Tr. Eckhard Becker Translation used by permission of author   REFLECTION After James and John have asked Jesus whether they can sit at his right and left hand in his kingdom, which embarrasses the other disciples, Jesus speaks vividly of what his kingdom is. It is not the kind of kingdom they imagine. It is of another dimension, one with “gentle powers” completely upside down from their expectations. Even though they think they can drink the same cup as he, Jesus challenges them. They do not know what they are asking. When they drink from his cup, as they will, they will face as much suffering as joy. They will learn that, and we know it as we read the story again. For now they still haven’t gotten it. Bonhoeffer’s hymn, which has been translated into many languages and set to many tunes, dwells on those opposites in a way that points to the kind of kingdom and power Christ would establish. This is appropriately a Christmas hymn as Bonhoeffer wrote it in a Christmas greeting to his family some three months before his martyrdom. It has candles in it, but more than that—it has a particular pleasure of each day in the world, something the Incarnation was all about. These joys however were not undimmed by human tears. Christ suffered for us at our hands, but also suffers with us. The suffering he speaks of is incomprehensible to most of us, but the suffering of the Christian is a given—even as is it for all human beings. Christians live in a great drama in which our Lord, who came to save us from death and destruction, has to submit to the worst suffering that could be meted out to a person—a crucifixion. Add to that, it was for his friend who betrayed him, and the religious and secular powers of the day who wanted him gone. They could not bear his goodness and his wisdom. He had to be destroyed. But even as they destroyed him, he loved them and died for them. His sacrifice made things right for us. And his resurrection is the victory that defeated all his enemies.   Only when we submit to him and serve him, will we find place with him in his kingdom. A promise of joy in the midst of terrible suffering. Thanks be to God for our Lord’s gentle powers.   HYMN INFO This hymn text, “Von guten Mächten,” appeared in Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison , written in the last days of 1944 while he was facing death at the hands of the Nazis.  Since its publication, the hymn has received many tunes and translations. The translation above is by Eckhard Becker, a German writer and composer. He has included his own setting for the text on his website here. for much more, other translations and tunes click here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4G_TfKePYgLUkq5_0YjJkDTBCTeFgZNF Kurt Grahl's setting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-pKhvyFrNw   Kurt Grahl's setting with Sophano voice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mckxI4CSvs Many tunes and transaltions https://www.dietrich-bonhoeffer.net/bonhoeffer-aktuell/bonhoeffer-einzelmeldung/news/80-jahre-von-guten-maechten-wunderbar-geborgen/ The tune most popular in Germany today is by Sigfried Fietz which you can find in the links below.   LINKS Sung and played by Sigfried Fietz https://youtu.be/3l9QEnKsL74?si=vPMUsgz-jEaoUL18   New Choir https://youtu.be/kRJSimmhu3c?si=W565MmWJTadyhfFu Moses https://youtu.be/ZGs3iSP4aJw?si=tGGfaRb2FUum-P4r All Saints Anthem NB For a lovely anthem for All Saints Day click here https://youtu.be/Wh0JdRLgJ-I? si=_KsIIdbBLpYMOHgB