a poor wayfaring stranger
We See Through A Mirror Darkly
Hymn of Joy – Easter Day
Alleluia, alleluia! Hearts to heaven and voices raise: sing to God a hymn of gladness, sing to God a hymn of praise. He, who on the cross a victim, for the world’s salvation bled, Jesus Christ, the King of glory, now is risen from the dead. Hear the roar of the earth quaking and the…
Questions – Easter Even (Holy Saturday)
The incarnation of Jesus raises many questions. Who is this man? Who is the Son of Man? Why did the God-man die? And perhaps most commonly on Holy Saturday, where was Jesus on the evening of Good Friday until Easter morn? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified…
O Sacred Head, Embodied Sacrifice – Good Friday
O sacred head, sore wounded, defiled and put to scorn; O kingly head surrounded with mocking crown of thorn: What sorrow mars thy grandeur? Can death thy bloom deflower? O countenance whose splendor the hosts of heaven adore! The Anglican Church of North America and orthodox Global Anglicans profess the 1662 Book of Common Prayer…
When I Survey – The Sunday Next before Easter
When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. How can words express with greater clarity what God the Holy Ghost hath revealed in St. Matthew’s account of our Lord’s Passion? My words lack any insight, and…
O Love, How Deep – The Fifth Sunday in Lent
O love, how deep, how broad, how high! How passing thought and fantasy, that God, the Son of God, should take our mortal form for mortals’ sake! When I was a teenager, I left the United Methodist Church (UMC), and after a period of wandering (quite literally, as I would drive around on Sunday mornings),…
The Comfort of Thy Grace – The Fourth Sunday in Lent
I need thee every hour, Most gracious Lord; No tender voice like thine Can peace afford. There is perhaps no more outstanding example of grace than being a guest at a dinner. The table is set and prepared by another. The bounty and delightful dishes are bought and cooked at another’s expense, time, and labor….
“Lightning” the Way – The Third Sunday of Lent
Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee; let the water and the blood from thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, cleanse me from its guilt and power. A strange thing happened Saturday evening. My gaze was fixed upon the stars and my back was warmed…
Just As I Am – The Second Sunday in Lent
Just as I am, without one plea,But that Thy blood was shed for me,And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,O Lamb of God, I come. We bring a lot of variables into the great equation of God’s plan. As we pray in the daily office, “Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred, and…
Forty Days, Forty Nights – First Sunday in Lent
Forty days and forty nights Thou wast fasting in the wild; Forty days and forty nights Tempted, and yet undefiled. Forty is a number of significance. As I write, I enter the year in which I will turn forty, Lord willing. Culturally, we consider it the notable age in which one is half way in…
Life, Love, & Lent: Ash Wednesday
Kind maker of the world, O hear The fervent prayers with many a tear Poured forth by all the penitent Who keep this holy fast of Lent! Our call this Ash Wednesday and throughout Holy Lent is to exercise our mouths by confessing our sins. We are beckoned to empty our hearts and our bellies…