Date: 14 Nov 2000
Time: 18:45:51
It seems that this is a "quintessential" (whatever that means exactly) reading for Thanksgiving season. As of now, it does not seem that anyone else who uses DPS is using this passage for this coming Sunday, so I may be writing this purely for myself--but that is one of the gifts of this site: it helps me, at least (and others too, I'm sure) put their thoughts in a cogent, coherent form.
Eugene Peterson wrote a book years ago--titled "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction"--on the "Psalms of Ascent." And this Psalm 126 is one of those. Peterson picks up on the theme of "joy" for this scripture. In distinction from the version rendered on this site, Peterson uses the "old" RSV which renders the last phrase of verse 3 in the PRESENT tense: "We are glad." Or (as it is in "The Message" translation Peterson has developed) "We are one happy people."
What is key here is that all that precedes this statement is PAST tense, while all that follows is FUTURE tense.
"Thanksgiving"--in other words--is that joyful suspension between blessings remembered and blessings desired. "Thanksgiving"--as a general spiritual condition--comes in the midst of a prayerful rehearsal of God's work in the past and a hopeful petition for God's work in the future. "Thanksgiving"--either Israel's particular celebration or that of the U.S.--involves a recounting of restoration God worked in times past as well as an accounting of anticipation for what God will do in times ahead. "Thanksgiving" is the net result of the blend of memory and hope that has always characterized the people of God at their worshipful best.
Some might think of the image of Thanksgiving as a "coin with two sides" at this point--with memory on one side and hope on the other. But, having just recently visited the circus with our three-year old, the image I have in mind is of a somewhat different nature: think of the "flying trapeze" athlete-artists--there comes a time when they leave the security of the platform and fly through the air on the swing, thrilling enough perhaps, but not the whole deal, not much suspense, but at some point the one swinging must also let go of the swing and sail through thin air to find is or her arms clasped by the one who is swinging the other way. It seems to me that true "thanksgiving" comes not from "standing on the elevated platform" (days of blessings past) nor even from "being grasped by the strong hands of the catcher" (days of blessings future). Nor is "thanksgiving" about "cruising on the swing" (those seasons of spiritual renewal which thrill us); and it is not even about finally "jumping into the safety net at the end of the show" (that eternal rest for which we long are and are promised someday). But "thanksgiving" happens as we "sail through the air between the letting-go and the catching-hold"(trusting God in the daily grinds and the crucial times which make up our lives). "Thankgsiving" happens in the "flying-waiting" reality of our days--surrounded by memory and hope, full of danger and delight--that "fullness of time" between the once-was and the shall-be. "Thanksgiving" is prepared for as we "take a deep breath" and it is completed when we "breathe a sigh of relief." But "thanksgiving" itself is finally found in "holding our breath."
I also find Psalm 126 (indeed, all of Psalms 120-134) compelling at this time of year because, as a "Psalm of Ascent" (composed, in part, for a journey to Jersualem) it is, truly, a "Pilgrim Song" (a hymn for travellers of many kinds).
TK in OK
Date: 17 Nov 2000
Time: 18:42:59
TK in OK,
You aren't the only one using this text. While I was going to go with the "non-Thanksgiving" texts for this week, I gradually shifted into the Thanksgiving mode when looking at hymns for this Sunday. And this text struck me. I'm thinking about using time during the sermon to have people verbalize some of the things they are thankful for (personally, communally) and how that thanksgiving grounds our hope in what is to come. It is in being thankful for the past(standing on the starting platform in your illustration) that we can have hope as we leap forward.
Peace,
Alaska Jim
Date: 18 Nov 2000
Time: 07:14:05
TK in OK,
Could you post Peterson's translation of Psalm 126 so I could read it?
Alaska Jim
Date: 18 Nov 2000
Time: 19:03:03
Alaska Jim,
Here it is:
"It seemed like a dream, too good to be true, when God returned Zion's exiles. We laughed, we sang, We couldn't believe our good fortune. We were the talk of the nations--- "God was wonderful to them!" God WAS wonderful to us; we are one happy people.
And now, God, do it again--- bring rains to our drought-stricken lives. So those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing."
Beavis in Bermuda (Where it's a lot warmer!)
Date: 18 Nov 2000
Time: 19:05:03
Beavis,
Thanks!
Alaska Jim (Where it's a lot colder)