And On That Day

One for the readings on All Saints’ Day, to the tune FINLANDIA

And on that day, the trumpet note resounding
will shake the ground and shatter sea and sky,
but they shall come, by hundreds and by thousands—
though they may die, yet they shall still survive—
the endless throng, the multitude uncounted:
Behold, they come, marked with the sign of Christ!

What shall we be, the children of the holy,
when all is done, and all has been revealed?
We do not know; we grasp this one thing only:
We'll be like God, whose name on us is sealed.
So day by day, this hope in us transforming
refines our hearts; new harvests we shall yield.

Until that day, when all our strife is over,
God, give us strength to work and watch and pray.
We journey on, as did the saints before us,
so step by step we follow in your way.
And when we fall, reach out, O God; restore us!
And draw us still into your endless day.

Come, all you saints, on earth as well as heaven;
come join the throng, alive and living still,
around the throne, with angels as our brethren,
to raise the song: All earth and heaven fill!
For Christ is Lord, the now and the forever,
and we are Christ's, the children of God's will!

By Fra Angelico – Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is/was here. Transfer was stated to be made by User:richardprins, Original uploader was Sampo Torgo at en.wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3000363

Creator of All Things That Are

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people’s sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!
Wisdom 11:22-12:2

Creator of all things that are,
of all that's been or yet shall be,
each mote of dust and shining star
is but a speck to all you see.

The universe a grain of sand,
a fading drop of morning dew,
is yet a treasure in your hand,
you hold and constantly renew.

For all that is must be upheld,
or all would crumble into dust,
and even dust to nothing melt,
if ever you abandoned us.

Do not, O maker, let us sink
into the nothingness unmade!
But hold us still, through all you think,
and let us ever be remade!

You would not fashion what you hate,
but breathe your grace in all you've called,
and early though we hark or late,
you pour your mercy on us all.

For we are yours, creator God,
called into being by your will,
and though we wander from your law,
you look on us with mercy still.

Give us the time still to repent;
give us the grace that turns our hearts;
oh, draw us to you step by step,
and from you let us never part!

The Latin “sidus” (“siderum”) means more than just a “star”, encompassing also the sun (technically also a star), the moon, and the planets, as well as all the heavenly constellations and comets and meteors.^[1] At first glance, this cosmic kaleidoscope of purple, blue and pink offers a strikingly beautiful — and serene — snapshot of the cosmos. However, this multi-coloured haze actually marks the site of two colliding galaxy clusters, forming a single object known as MACS J0416.1-2403 (or MACS J0416 for short). MACS J0416 is located about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Eridanus. This new image of the cluster combines data from three different telescopes: the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (showing the galaxies and stars), the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory (diffuse emission in blue), and the NRAO Jansky Very Large Array (diffuse emission in pink). Each telescope shows a different element of the cluster, allowing astronomers to study MACS J0416 in detail. As with all galaxy clusters, MACS J0416 contains a significant amount of dark matter, which leaves a detectable imprint in visible light by distorting the images of background galaxies. In this image, this dark matter appears to align well with the blue-hued hot gas, suggesting that the two clusters have not yet collided; if the clusters had already smashed into one another, the dark matter and gas would have separated. MACS J0416 also contains other features — such as a compact core of hot gas — that would likely have been disrupted had a collision already occurred. Together with five other galaxy clusters, MACS J0416 is playing a leading role in the Hubble Frontier Fields programme, for which this data was obtained. Owing to its huge mass, the cluster is in fact bending the light of background objects, acting as a magnifying lens. Astronomers can use this phenomenon to find galaxies that existed only hundreds of million years after the big bang. For more information on both Frontier Fields and the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, see Hubblecast 90: The final frontier. Links Hubblecast 90: The final frontier Link to Hubblesite release

Zacchaeus’ Song

Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
Luke 19:1-10

“Consider how the lilies grow,”
he heard the teacher say,
“without a thought for winter's cold:
Sufficient for the day.
Consider how the ravens caw,
content with this day's bread.”
Zacchaeus heard the words no more;
his thoughts ran on ahead:

To building barns and granaries
sufficient for the years,
to keeping winter's cold at bay,
defense against all tears.
“So, so,” Zacchaeus told himself,
“you'll never want for bread
when you have gathered strength and wealth
for all the days ahead.”

The teacher went on teaching, though,
and healing in the streets,
and crowds would follow where he'd go
and gather at his feet.
But like the lilies springing up
and crushed beneath his tread,
Zacchaeus' soul was stirring up,
so he ran on ahead.

And like the ravens in the trees,
he perched to catch a glimpse,
and looking down, what did he see
but Christ approaching him!
“Come down, Zacchaeus,” said the man,
“and let us two break bread.”
So down he came, stockstill to stand,
no more to run ahead.

The crowd began to mutter low,
“He breaks his bread in sin!”
Before they stirred a step to go,
Zacchaeus butted in:
“Behold, of all I have in store,
like crumbs, half will I spread,
so ravens, lilies, and the poor
fearless may look ahead.

“All I have stolen from today
to pay tomorrow's fears,
four times again I will repay:
Sufficient for my tears.”
So side by side he went with Christ
to eat the broken bread.
He went with Jesus side by side
through all the days ahead.

Brooklyn Museum – Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Awaiting the Passage of Jesus (Zachée sur le sycomore attendant le passage de Jésus) – James Tissot – Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2008, 00.159.189_PS2.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10904526

O Lord, Will You Save Only Some?

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.”
Luke 13:22-30

O Lord, will you save only some?
And which ones will they be
who revel in your kingdom come
while others stand and weep?

And really, what I mean to say
is, will I be there, too?
Will Ihave found the upward way
before you save the few?

Or will I still be downward bound
when you come back in might
to close the doors? Will I be out,
or there with you in light?

Let others come from east and west—
I do not grudge them grace!
But tell me, when the table's set,
will I, too, have a place?

For I have tried, Lord; I have tried,
but I have failed and failed.
So will you leave there outside
to gnash my teeth and wail?

Or will you leave the door ajar,
forget to bar the gate?
Oh, let it still be mercy's hour
if I should get there late!

A small, elegant gate to a meadow path CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=565680 OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

When the Rivers Turn to Deserts

For a long time I have kept silent,
I have said nothing, holding myself back;
Now I cry out like a woman in labor,
gasping and panting.
I will lay waste mountains and hills,
all their undergrowth I will dry up;
I will turn the rivers into marshes,
and the marshes I will dry up.
I will lead the blind on a way they do not know;
by paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them,
and make crooked ways straight.
These are my promises:
I made them, I will not forsake them.
Isaiah 42:14-16

When the rivers turn to deserts
and the seas to barren sands,
on what pathways will you send us
through those dry, untrodden lands?
On such unknown roads, O Shepherd,
we are lost without your hand!

When the shadows all have lengthened
and the night we fear descends,
let us find in it our shelter
and the refuge of your wings.
As our crooked ways are straightened,
may we greet the dark as friends.

For the days are surely coming
when the skies dissolve in flame,
and the earth is rent asunder
by the sounding of your name.
When you come to us in thunder,
Savior, may we not be shamed!

When you come, come with compassion
for the creatures you have made.
Come and fill all that's found wanting
when you weigh us in the scales.
May we come to meet you gladly
on the roads that you make straight!

Sun, moon, and large telescopes above Chile’s Atacama Desert By ESO/S. Brunier – http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1218a/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24975825

Be Merciful, O God

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14

Have mercy on me, O my God,
though none do I deserve,
but crush me not beneath your rod
nor drive me from the earth.
If I have any hope, it's you;
if I have faith at all.
And though my love is far from true,
be merciful, O God.

I long to stand before your sight
upright and lift my head,
but do not dare to raise my eyes.
I stand far off instead.
For I collect those taxes, too,
far more than I am owed,
and hold back what I owe to you—
Be merciful, O God.

If you are ruthless to me, Lord,
there is no God in heav'n,
no grace in all the fallen world,
no hope beyond our death.
For mercy is your very name,
the truth of what you are.
I am a sinner, in my shame.
Be merciful, O God.

The painter signed the work BENIN BORIN DIPINGEVA ΝΕΙ PRIMIANNIDEL SECOLOXVII. It was the name Venediktos Emporios used. By Venediktos Emporios – Page 165, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=120981385

Because You Are My Shepherd

Because you are my shepherd, 
O Lord, I should not want.
I should embrace the desert,
and love the endless drought,

should not desire the pasture
or hunger for the feast.
Beside no restful waters
should I lie down and sleep,

but to that very meadow
you lead me day by day,
and when I walk in shadow,
that longing lights my way.

For you have set a table
and bid me sit and eat.
You kneel amid my craving
and ask to wash my feet.

If I had no more hunger,
I'd have no need for bread.
Your wine would be no wonder,
your mercy could not bless.

You know my deep desiring,
for you have thirsted, too;
let my want entice me,
that I may thirst for you.

Fifth-century Ravenna mosaic illustrating the concept of The Good Shepherd By Meister des Mausoleums der Galla Placidia in Ravenna – The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=155308

The Restless Labor of Our Hands

Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Luke 12:13-21

The restless labor of our hands,
the plotting of our minds,
the ceasless harvest of our lands:
We leave them all behind.

The goods we still are storing up,
the gold we stash away,
are water spilling from the cup,
and not a drop will stay.

But we will lose all we have gained
when moths devour the robes,
the weevils hatch within the grain,
and silver coins corrode.

All that we have will be poured out—
our love, our blood, our breath—
then let our hands be open now,
that nothing hold in death.

Then grind the grain to make a feast;
pour out the wine in pools.
Bring glorious robes for all the least;
pay out the gold in full.

So break and share the daily bread;
let heaven's feast begin!
Why wait 'til we ourselves are dead?
The kingdom usher in!

The rich man counts over his riches. The rich man dies. By Unknown author – The story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59928047

We Lift Our Hands Before You

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Luke 18:1-8

We lift our hands before you
and raise again our voice;
though weary, we implore you
for reasons to rejoice:
an end to endless hunger
and justice for the weak.
Come, savior, walk among us
and bring the light we seek!

Yet as we wait to see you,
our pleading hands held high,
stand with us in our need here,
already at our side.
Our power unavailing,
our voices growing hoarse:
When our own strength is fading,
O savior, give us yours!

And thoughwe have grown weary
in waiting for the day,
in hoping and in fearing
we rise again to pray:
A thousand years it may be,
or just a watch at night,
but come at last to save us
and bring your endless light!

*Victory O Lord!*, 1871 painting by John Everett Millais, depicts Moses holding his staff, assisted by Aaron and Hur, holding up his arms during the battle against Amalek. – Originally uploaded on en.wikipedia by Paul Barlow (Transferred by lux2545), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18811161

Ash From Ash

Ash from ash we are;
dust, and dust again.
But on us shines a star,
and music fills the plain.
Deserts meet the seas;
earth and rain make mud:
Christ wed himself to these,
God's life in flesh and blood.

Flowers fade at dusk;
rivers chase the sea—
Christ came as one of us.
O God, how can it be?
Heaven filling earth;
God-with-us drawn near
to join us by birth,
though we are nothing here.

Dust our dust has blest,
frailty treasured now:
Eternity enfleshed,
and every knee shall bow.
Jesus, Son of God,
mercy born as man,
who shaped us from the sod:
Oh, hold us in your hand!