O Zion, open wide thy gates, Let symbols disappear; A priest and victim, both in one, The Truth Himself, is here. The Presentation of Christ in the Temple is an oft-neglected feast of the church, despite being a “red-letter day.” Although forgotten or overlooked by busy Anglicans and utterly foreign to non-liturgical Christians, this day…
Alleluia, song of gladness, Voice of joy that cannot die; Alleluia is the anthem Ever dear to choirs on high; In the house of God abiding Thus they sing eternally. “Life is complicated,” the saying goes, yet our faith is simple. God holds us, Christ keeps us, and the Spirit fills us for all is…
Fight the good fight with all thy might; Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right; Lay hold on life, and it shall be Thy joy and crown eternally. A shark will sink if he does not keep swimming. A Christian shall succumb to the depths, should he not keep running. A Christian is not…
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in God’s excellent Word! What more can be said than to you God hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled? Whom do you trust? Our age is a time of distrust. Distrust in government, in corporations, and…
Love divine, all loves excelling,joy of heaven, to earth come down,fix in us thy humble dwelling,all thy faithful mercies crown.Jesus, thou art all compassion,pure, unbounded love thou art;visit us with thy salvation,enter every trembling heart. The stage is set. Christ Jesus has set His face towards Jerusalem, where He knows He is journeying towards certain…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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….