Food for the Journey
May 27, 2021
Michael Fuchs, FLC Director of Choral Activities
One of the many aspects that I enjoy about being a choir director is the constant interaction with meaningful poetry. Today, I have been thinking about the text, For the Beauty of the Earth by F.S. Pierpoint (1835-1917). The choir will be recording a musical setting of this text by John Rutter for worship this Sunday. As I enjoyed the beautiful May weather earlier today, the words automatically sounded through my mind:
For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise.
As is often the case however, this idyllic and comforting picture is interrupted by the reality of our broken world. Racial injustice continues to persist and pervade our society. We continue to use the natural world in an unsustainable and selfish manner. Our economy continues to benefit the few at the top at the expense of the majority at the bottom. And our sinfulness and fear stop us from solving these monumental problems.
As I quietly face both my despair and discouragement thinking about these problems, three words from the above text pop out at me. Lord of all. Our faith tells us that God is Lord of all this world, and that just as Christ was raised from the dead, so can we and our communities be raised to new life and a new vision of our world.
Gracious Lord, hear our prayer and our cries. Help us to have the joy of your presence that is all around us, and grant us the courage to walk in your name and carry your redemptive and healing word to our community. Through Christ we pray, Amen.