Dag Hammarskjöld’s journal, published in 1963 as “Markings,” was found after he, as the U.N.’s second General Secretary, was killed in a plane crash on the way to peace negotiations in the Congo in 1961. Henry Van Dusen, the theologian and president of Union Seminary, wrote that “Markings” was “the noblest self-disclosure of spiritual struggle and triumph, perhaps the greatest testament of personal faith written … in the heat of professional life and amidst the most exacting responsibilities for world peace and order.”
What is best known from Hammarskjöld’s only book is the single sentence: “For all that has been, THANKS, for all that is to be, YES!” Christians often hear in his famous sentence a shorthand for a biblical outlook – acceptance and gratitude. As if Hammarskjöld came up with a spiritual mnemonic device for:
Colossians: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
or
Thessalonians’ “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
I often hear it paraphrased in church as “Yes and Thank you are the only prayers you ever need.”
I have always thought there was also an implied causality in his connection between the past and the present/future. To a great extent, spiritually, one needs to be able to be thankful for what has happened if one is going to say yes… be open to what is and what is to come.
I know that in this time of fear and intimidation, many of us feel a deep, protesting “No” welling up from within. But still, I think there’s great power in identifying what we are thankful for.
Worship on Sunday, July 5, will invite you to share what we’re thankful for about our nation, despite or alongside current struggles and losses. What about America are we nevertheless thankful for?
I’m looking for four leaders to prepare/share their answers to that question as part of our worship. Hopefully, our service will invite us all to identify what we can be thankful for, but we need four people to “lead the way.” It’s just 2 or 3 minutes of telling the church what you are thankful for… and you can’t be wrong, because it’s just how you feel…
To help you imagine what a Thanksgiving might be like, I’d say:
“Every time I have lived outside the U.S. for any length of time (Germany, Switzerland, India, Nicaragua, Italy), I am shocked by how American I am. When I lived in Hamburg as a high schooler, I was so impressed with Germany’s environmental commitments (way earlier than the US), its public transportation systems, and the biking culture that I wondered if I should emigrate.
I am always intrigued and can deeply appreciate aspects of others’ cultures and different ways of doing things. It’s not unusual for me to ask myself, “Could I live here? What would the advantages be?” But they also make me realize more about my own culture and myself. In Hamburg, and everywhere since, I have come to know – even when I don’t particularly like it about myself – how I am deeply, thoroughly American.
What do I mean by that? America is so vast physically, with its many regions and landscapes. There’s always some place else to go, some frontier where you can start over or remake yourself.
But America is big in other ways too. Our nation is so diverse, racially and ethnically, made up of people and cultures from around the world. In our differences and in their cross-fertilization, we have a kaleidoscopic society. There’s permission in our breadth. But also, we began with a demand for freedom. Justice has become part of our fabric, too, in part because we have so often fallen so short. Maybe that’s where our almost neurotic drive for constant self-improvement comes from?
The American character is self-reliant, independent, and maybe a bit non-conformist. We tend to be informal, familiar, and open. Also practical and optimistic. Rooted in the nation’s history and diverse landscape, it blends a productive, pragmatic approach with a deeply held belief in personal freedom.
Of course, there are shadow sides to all this too, but I am an American, and without getting jingoistic or claiming ANY exceptionalism, I am comfortable in that skin.”
You might want to lift something quite different – a city or natural wonder. A civic or cultural tradition. Some episode in our history. A particular person, an institution peculiar to our society. Even a certain food.
Your gratitude will bless our worship. (Let me know if you want to prepare and share one of our four formal reflections.)
In faith and courage,
Michael
Rev. Michael Caine is the Senior Pastor of The Old First Reformed United Church of Christ i Old City Philadelphia.
Edited and Published by Rev. Renaldo McKenzie, Editor_in_Chief, The Neoliberal
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