The Stated Clerk’s Column from the PC (USA) by Gradye Parsons November Column
In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful,
In the Lord I will rejoice!
Look to God, do not be afraid;
Lift up your voices: the Lord is near,
Lift up your voices: the Lord is near.
This song by Jacques Berthier (Sing the Faith #2195) is one of my favorites of all the Taizé music. It combines the ingredients of gratitude, joy, fear, and the desire for the Lord to be near.
November is the season when we celebrate the harvest of the year and gather with family and friends to give thanks to God. That joy is diminished by the reality of so many folks out of work, so many neighbors who have lost their homes because of finances or natural disasters, and the many people who have lost all hope.
In the early 1930s, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “[Jesus] is the Lord of fear; it knows him as its Lord and yields to him alone. Therefore, look to him in your fear. Think about him, place him before your eyes and call him. …The fear will yield and fade, and you will become free through faith in the strong and living Savior Jesus Christ” (I Want to Live These Days with You, p. 134).
This was a strong affirmation to make in the midst of Depression-era Germany. I especially like the image of Jesus as Lord of fear – a Lordship based on our resurrection hope in the face of our greatest fear, death, and estrangement from God. Bonhoeffer also acknowledges the enslavement that fear can exert on our lives and faith; yet, in Christ we are freed up to live as God’s children in this world.
It may be tough to pray thankfully at your house this year. So pray the prayer that is honest and allows God in Jesus Christ to hear your fears. And may the peace that passes all understanding enter your heart and the hearts of those you love.
