Ever hear a seventeenth century praise band?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYnizZskFQ8

This is an aria for four voices on the hymn “Jesu meines Lebens Leben” (Christ the Life of All the Living) set by the German-Danish composer Dietrich Buxtehude. It’s what you might have heard sung in a Danish or Northern German Lutheran Church around 1680-1700.

(For the musicians among you, it’s a chaconne. The bass line repeats the same 16 notes over and over again. Oh, and imagine dragging that theorbo–a type of giant lute–around with you to lessons.)

I ran into this recording as I was thinking about Lenten hymns. It’s one of my favorite to sing even though the text is all about the suffering of Christ.

You have suffered great affliction
And have borne it patiently,
Even death by crucifixion,
Fully to atone for me;
You did choose to be tormented
That my doom should be prevented.
Thousand, thousand thanks are due,
Dearest Jesus, unto you.

Each of the stanzas (I think there were originally seven) comes to the line: “Thousand, thousand thanks are due, dearest Jesus, unto you.”  Christ makes his sacrifice for our sake, and we give thanks.

We don’t think of Lent as a season of thankfulness, but this hymn emphasizes it. That’s an interesting change from the usual theme of repentance. I am going to try to make thankfulness part of my daily prayer this Lent. Maybe something simple like: “Thank you Jesus for all you’ve done for me and for all you’ve given me. Amen.” It might give Lent an interesting perspective.

Read Colossians 4:2 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne