...for ALL the saints

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,

Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,

And hearts are brave again and arms are strong.

Alleluia!

---William Walsham How, 1864

Some weeks just wear you down. Your good intentions are misconstrued, your to-do list is filled with “didn’ts”, your best effort isn’t good enough. The half-inch or restoring rain is forgotten in months of choking drought. The dream job you studied for and fought to land has turned into the shackles and chains that threaten to drag you under with the weight of stress and pressure. The last-minute, miracle touchdown drive is replaced in memory by your opponent’s last-second pass-that-defied-logic, and you lose…again.

What keeps me coming back to this place, week after week, when the world doesn’t always make sense? It’s the song I hear in the distance, peculiar to this place---this place filled with the spirits of those gone on before, and the spirits of those in the pew next to me. The song is one of triumph; and our hearts, mine and yours, are brave again, and our arms are strong.

Just in time to tackle another week in the real world, strengthened by the song I hear in this place, among these saints.

...we rise

Then hear, O gracious Savior, accept the love we bring,

that we who know Your favor may serve You as our King;

and whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill,

we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless You still;

to marvel at Your beauty and glory in Your ways,

and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.

---Michael Perry, 1982

When something wonderful happens in my life, Thank you, Lord. When I see a beautiful sunset, or watch clouds heavy with rain gathering on the horizon, Thank God. When things go right at work or with family or friends, Thank you, God. When medical tests come back and the results are better than anyone could have led you to believe or hope, Thank you, Jesus!

Thanksgiving flows from gratitude for the good we sense in us and around us. It can be a powerful emotion, and gratitude can be a transformative force in lives and communities.

This hymn text is speaking of something other, though---something that is not a response to a blessing or sensed ‘gift moment’. This other might be called blessing, awe, marvel, or praise. This offering up of our souls, ourselves, to the very center of God’s Being. Essence offered up to Essence. Joyfully offering our souls as gift and sacrifice to our Soul-Creator.

And so, independent of our circumstances, we bless God. We rise.

...from overflowing love

Because I have been given much I too must give;

Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live

I will give love to those in need, shall show that love by word and deed;

Thus shall my thanks be thanks, indeed.

---Grace Noll Crowell, 1936

The fact that you can prove anything with scripture notwithstanding, I think “prosperity” theology has it all backwards. You have heard this theology preached somewhere, sometime, and it is pretty attractive. If you give, God gives to you in multiples of what you’ve given. If you want to be rich, give away lots of money, then start raking in the returns.

I think this hymn text has it right. We don’t give to get…we give because we have. We take care of others because we’ve been provided for. We change the situations of others because God’s love has changed our situations. We give not to build up for ourselves, but because we have storehouses of the richness of life already.

When we give from the overflowing love of God in our lives, our thanks are enlivened in a way that prosperity could never do.