Psalm 126
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18
And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
—-
I don’t know if this was the same for any of you growing up, but around birthday time and Christmas time, there was a rule in our family:
When you receive a gift, you always say “thank you.” Even if you hate it. Even if it is something weird. Even if you plan to exchange it the very next day. You always say “thank you.”
It was a small learning for us as kids, but the bigger lessons are profound: that gratitude transcends our own desires; that thankfulness is a disposition, not just a reaction; that we are gracious as a sign of love, compassion, and relationship to the giver.
In Psalm 126, the Psalmist challenges the people to rejoice and give thanks to God, the giver, both in times of exile and in times of restoration; in good times and in bad. For the Psalmist, rejoicing and giving thanks is a sign of faith. God has restored their fortunes before, and they can trust that God will restore their fortunes again. Therefore, they can rejoice over God’s faithfulness and give thanks. God is their creator - all life and blessings are gifts.
Every time I hear this Psalm, I hear Paul’s words to the Thessalonians ringing in my ears when he says: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
What words these are for us today, we who live in such a time of both abundance and anxiety, we who live in such a time of disparity between rich and poor, we who live in such a time of war and terrorism and fear of our brothers and sisters of different nations and different faiths!
But Paul says: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances.
It is easy for me to give thanks when the world is going my way, when it feels like God has everything under control, and I am safe, happy, and fulfilled. But to give thanks when things are difficult? To rejoice amidst the pain in our world? To be grateful even in the midst of hunger and fear and loss?
That is a much harder task.
We are broken people living in a broken world. For some of us, we face the first holiday season without a dear loved one. Some of us are unemployed or underemployed. Some of us are lonely. Some of us struggle with body image or envy or chronic illness. Some of us feel our hearts break in two every time we turn on the news.
Being grateful doesn’t mean that we ignore the suffering in our world, or pretend that our brokenness doesn’t matter. In fact, Paul’s call to rejoice and give thanks comes in a paragraph where he also urges believers to encourage the fainthearted, to help the week, to be patient, not to repay evil with evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all, and to pray without ceasing.
And so, with grateful hearts, we yet care for refugees and we feed the hungry. We weep with those who weep. We bear one another’s burdens. Because in the midst of all of it, we have faith that our God, who created all things, is the God who offers us grace and resurrection and redemption, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We can give thanks in all circumstances, and rejoice, because we have faith that pain and suffering and death and darkness will all pass away. We can give thanks in all circumstances because we hope and trust in God to bring lasting peace and light to our world.
May those who today sow in tears one day reap with shouts of joy.
May those who now go out weeping come home again with shouts of joy.
May we be thankful and rejoice, in all circumstances.
For God in Christ is faithful.
And we, in faith, have hope.
May we live each day in gratitude toward God
and generosity of spirit toward one another,
for the sake of Christ our Lord.
Amen.
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18
And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
—-
I don’t know if this was the same for any of you growing up, but around birthday time and Christmas time, there was a rule in our family:
When you receive a gift, you always say “thank you.” Even if you hate it. Even if it is something weird. Even if you plan to exchange it the very next day. You always say “thank you.”
It was a small learning for us as kids, but the bigger lessons are profound: that gratitude transcends our own desires; that thankfulness is a disposition, not just a reaction; that we are gracious as a sign of love, compassion, and relationship to the giver.
In Psalm 126, the Psalmist challenges the people to rejoice and give thanks to God, the giver, both in times of exile and in times of restoration; in good times and in bad. For the Psalmist, rejoicing and giving thanks is a sign of faith. God has restored their fortunes before, and they can trust that God will restore their fortunes again. Therefore, they can rejoice over God’s faithfulness and give thanks. God is their creator - all life and blessings are gifts.
Every time I hear this Psalm, I hear Paul’s words to the Thessalonians ringing in my ears when he says: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
What words these are for us today, we who live in such a time of both abundance and anxiety, we who live in such a time of disparity between rich and poor, we who live in such a time of war and terrorism and fear of our brothers and sisters of different nations and different faiths!
But Paul says: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances.
It is easy for me to give thanks when the world is going my way, when it feels like God has everything under control, and I am safe, happy, and fulfilled. But to give thanks when things are difficult? To rejoice amidst the pain in our world? To be grateful even in the midst of hunger and fear and loss?
That is a much harder task.
We are broken people living in a broken world. For some of us, we face the first holiday season without a dear loved one. Some of us are unemployed or underemployed. Some of us are lonely. Some of us struggle with body image or envy or chronic illness. Some of us feel our hearts break in two every time we turn on the news.
Being grateful doesn’t mean that we ignore the suffering in our world, or pretend that our brokenness doesn’t matter. In fact, Paul’s call to rejoice and give thanks comes in a paragraph where he also urges believers to encourage the fainthearted, to help the week, to be patient, not to repay evil with evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all, and to pray without ceasing.
And so, with grateful hearts, we yet care for refugees and we feed the hungry. We weep with those who weep. We bear one another’s burdens. Because in the midst of all of it, we have faith that our God, who created all things, is the God who offers us grace and resurrection and redemption, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We can give thanks in all circumstances, and rejoice, because we have faith that pain and suffering and death and darkness will all pass away. We can give thanks in all circumstances because we hope and trust in God to bring lasting peace and light to our world.
May those who today sow in tears one day reap with shouts of joy.
May those who now go out weeping come home again with shouts of joy.
May we be thankful and rejoice, in all circumstances.
For God in Christ is faithful.
And we, in faith, have hope.
May we live each day in gratitude toward God
and generosity of spirit toward one another,
for the sake of Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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