Thanksgiving in a Minor Key
Author: Mark Fenstermacher
November 26, 2020
These are strange days. I'll
not dance around that in an attempt to put a positive spin on things: these are
strange days. Many people are feeling a sense of loss since they cannot be with
the family and friends they love, and our hearts ache to be around a table we
can't join. The approach of the holidays may, in fact, add additional emotional
stress: these are supposed to be happy days and some of us may feel pressure to
appear happy even when our world is upside-down.
Nora McInerny wrote a column
in the November 21st New York Times titled You Don't Have to Fake It Through
Thanksgiving. In her column, Nora talks about 2014 when her husband died
after a long battle with cancer three days before Thanksgiving. The family
gathered in an attempt to have a "normal" Thanksgiving. Nora's family
did their best to pretend everything was the way it was supposed to be but Nora
didn't feel thankful at all. Looking back on that first Thanksgiving after the
death of her husband, Nora regrets the fact they all pretended the grief and
the loss had been erased by Thanksgiving gladness. We should have been honest,
she says now. We shouldn't have pressured ourselves to act normal and thankful.
Sometimes what we need, she writes, is to acknowledge the pain.
If there is one thing that
the writers of the psalms teach us it is that we can be honest to God - and
with ourselves. Don't let the pressure to be thankful and happy make a strange
season even more difficult: it's okay to admit that things this year aren't
"normal." We may feel grief. Most of us are yearning for
"normal!"
Here is a thought: we can
give thanks in a minor key.
Years ago, the music director
I worked with was a Roman Catholic opera singer in Fort Wayne. When we were
choosing hymns for worship, Carrie remarked, "You like hymns written in a
minor key." That stopped me. One musician I later read explained it this
way: "When you're listening to a piece of music, if the song sounds bright
or happy...you're probably in a major key. Conversely, if the song sounds dark
or gloomy and uses primarily minor chords, you're probably in a minor
key." (Note: I would observe that songs in a minor key are not
necessarily sad but are, in fact, often beautiful!)
I explained to my Italian
Catholic friend that it must be the Welsh part of me that has an affinity for
songs written in a minor key. Several very popular Advent/Christmas hymns, like
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," "I Wonder as I Wander", and
"What Child Is This?" are written in a minor key.
Songs in a major key add so
much to our world, to our worship, but there is a place for beautiful songs
written in a minor key.
So here is a thought: perhaps
this week we can give thanks even if the song we're singing is written in a
minor key. Our song may not be bright, brassy and upbeat, but still we can sing
the Lord's song in a minor key and give thanks.
Not because life is easy, or
things are the way we want them to be, but to give thanks because God is
faithful in every season and we have been blessed. I will still miss the people
around the table, but I know that I have been blessed in so many ways.
The verses in Philippians
4:4-7 come to mind: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say,
Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not
worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus."
We can give thanks this week
(every week) even if it is a song written in a minor key.
Giving thanks even though the
world is strange right now,
Pastor Mark
++++
Join us for worship on-line
this weekend (the service premiers at 8:30 a.m. here on our website, YouTube, and Facebook page) as
we step into the season of Advent. We are beginning a new series of messages
titled "The Characters of Christmas."
Thank you to those who have
expressed their love for God by completing a faith-promise card for 2021 and
getting those to our church office. Generous giving is a joyful thing, and is a
key to a life-changing relationship with Christ!
What about Christmas Eve? Our
worship team is planning a beautiful Christmas Eve on-line service with
wonderful music, prayers, and a Christmas Eve message. We are also watching
what is happening with the COVID virus in our area, and if conditions allow we
may offer several, brief (20 minutes each) Christmas Eve in-person services on
the 23rd and 24th. These would be simple, beautiful and brief. Attendance would
be by reservation and limited to 25 persons at each of the services. Watch for
more information about Christmas Eve (and these other possible smaller, in-person
Christmas services).
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