The Thanksgiving Joy of Harvest ..

Saturday, November 29, 2008

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The Thanksgiving Joy of Harvest Dr. Jack Hayford The term "HARVEST" appears frequently in Scripture, as the people of the Bible lived in an agricultural society. At Thanksgiving, the imagery of harvest frames our own nation's history, inspiring us with things reflective of Early America. Yet Thanksgiving is about more than that. It is a call for us to celebrate not only God's provision and restoration, but also His promise and presence--even amid delays, restricting circumstances, or tears. Thanksgiving also calls us to constancy, for the journey to harvest will usually be harder than we think, longer than we expect, and more rewarding than we can ever imagine. Scripture says, "Though weeping may endure for a night, joy comes in the morning" (Ps. 30:5). For many of us, it's been a demanding year. But as you and I come to Thanksgiving, the joy of celebration makes everything else incidental. When we finally see the harvest, it no longer matters how tough things were, how much time they took, or how heavy the pressures were. What's important is that we have answered the call to faith. There is joy in that call. The Bible likens this joy after travail to a woman who has delivered a child. After the difficult months of pregnancy and the pain of labor, the baby is born, and what it took for that to happen doesn't matter anymore. There is only the songs of rejoicing. These songs are a celebration of God's purpose through and beyond trial. It reminds us that triumph ultimately outlasts trial. And the triumph is en route, folks. Even if we can't see what God is doing, there's evidence in our hearts that He will be faithful. This song is an invitation to constancy of focus--to go forth with sacks of seed, not just one. So today, ask yourself: What are you sowing? Even with the wind in my face, the sand in my eyes, the weeping from circumstance or adversity, we must keep sowing the promise of God. Not as one who is mindless or superstitious, but as one who knows that the God who makes a promise to His people never forgets it. God has done more things of love and goodness in our lives than any of us can imagine. When you face the thing that hasn't happened yet, keep sowing. With a heart of Thanksgiving, find joy in the harvest to come. Do you have joy today with thanksgiving from what God has done this year? Silent Night History The carol was first performed in the Nicola-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on December 24, 1818. Mohr had composed the words much earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the church service[1]. In his written account regarding the composition of the carol, Gruber gives no mention of the specific inspiration for creating the song. According to the song's history provided by Austria's Silent Night Society, one supposition is that the church organ was no longer working so that Mohr and Gruber therefore created a song for accompaniment by guitar. Silent Night historian, Renate Ebeling-Winkler says that the first mention of a broken organ was in a book published in the U.S. in 1909. Some historians believe that Mohr simply wanted a new Christmas carol that he could play on his guitar. The Silent Night Society says that there are "many romantic stories and legends" that add their own anecdotal details to the known facts. Silent Night Museum and Memorial Chapel in Oberndorf The Nicola-Kirche was demolished in the early 1900s due to flood damage and because the town's centre was moved up the river to a safer location, with a new church being built there close to the new bridge. A tiny chapel, called the "Stille-Nacht-Gedächtniskapelle" (Silent Night Memorial Chapel), was built in the place of the demolished church and a nearby house was converted into a museum, attracting tourists from all over the world, not only but primarily in December. The original manuscript has been lost, however a manuscript was discovered in 1995 in Mohr's handwriting and dated by researchers at ca. 1820. It shows that Mohr wrote the words in 1816 when he was assigned to a pilgrim church in Mariapfarr, Austria, and shows that the music was composed by Gruber in 1818. This is the earliest manuscript that exists and the only one in Mohr's handwriting. Gruber's composition was influenced by the musical tradition of his rural domicile. The melody of "Silent Night" bears resemblance to aspects of Austrian folk music and yodelling. Another popular story claims that the carol, once performed, was promptly forgotten until an organ repairman found the manuscript in 1825 and revived it. However, Gruber published various arrangements of it throughout his lifetime and we now have the Mohr arrangement (ca. 1820) that is kept at the Carolino Augusteum Museum in Salzburg. It is believed that the carol has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects around the world, and it is one of the most popular carols of all time. It is sometimes sung without musical accompaniment. Although written by Catholics, it is given special significance in Lutheranism. The song was sung simultaneously in English and German by troops during the Christmas truce[2] of 1914, as it was one of the few carols that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew. The song has been successfully recorded by over 300 artists, particularly successful by Stevie Nicks, Bing Crosby and Mahalia Jackson, and an instrumental version by Mannheim Steamroller. In 1943 the Austrian exile Hertha Pauli wrote the book "Silent Night. A Story of a Song", in which she explained to American children the origin of the song. The book was illustrated by Fritz Kredel and published by Alfred a. Knopf. [3] A 1988 dramatised television documentary called Silent Mouse tells the story of the creation of the carol from a mouse's point of view. It featured Lynn Redgrave as narrator, and Gregor Fisher in one of the leading roles.