Appear!

The days are coming, says the LORD,
   when I will fulfill the promise
   I made to the house of Israel and Judah.
In those days, in that time,
   I will raise up for David a just shoot ;
   he shall do what is right and just in the land.
In those days Judah shall be safe
   and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;
   this is what they shall call her:
   “The LORD our justice.”
Jeremiah 33:14-16

O Lord our justice,
come set things right:
Bring peace from chaos;
bring day from night,
and in our darkness
still shine your light.
Upon our weakness,
pour out your might.

Fulfill your promise:
Raise David's shoot
'til all our cities
can dwell secure.
Cut down all conquest;
uproot all war,
and reap your harvest
to feed the poor.

Your day is coming;
your hour is near.
Oh, keep us hoping
in times of fear,
and meet us working
your way to clear.
O Christ, come quickly!
O King, appear!

By André from Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Palmezel met Christus, Zuid-Duitsland, 1ste helft 14de eeuw, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7629362

When the Sun and Moon Are Darkened

Jesus said to his disciples:
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.”
Luke 21:25-28

To the tune ODE TO JOY:

When the sun and moon are darkened,
when the stars begin to fall,
when the hearts in charge are hardened,
when we cannot hear you call,
when our lives and loves are parted
by the end that comes for all,
when you come to reap your harvest,
grant us courage standing tall.

Come, O Lord, and bring salvation;
justice bring to every land.
Come to crush the serpent's wisdom;
come with mercy in your hand.
Drown the whispers of temptation
with the song the angels sang.
Come at last and bring redemption!
Come again, O Son of Man!

Give your courage to the fearful;
pour your strength into the weak.
Bring your comfort to the tearful,
your reward to those who seek.
Forge a way across the desert;
orchards in the wastelands make.
Sing your song and let us hear it:
Let the dawn upon us break!

Come On Clouds Descending

For today’s readings on the Feast of Christ the King, to the tune AURELIA (“The Church’s One Foundation”):

You came at first in chaos,
when earth and heav'n were born,
in all the clouds of cosmos
and coalescing forms.
The whisper of creation
that split the day from night
was your first revelation:
You came, and there was light.

Then in the fog of empire,
of upheaval and doubt,
the clouded skies of midnight
when all the lights went out:
You came to bring the kingdom,
a rule not of this world,
that set the heavens ringing
with songs of peace on earth.

But come again, Christ Jesus;
come fill our hearts, we pray.
To draw us to your feasting,
come overturn our ways.
Transform us by your presence
as you transform this food;
come to the cloud of witness
with holy flesh and blood.

Then come once more forever
to reign as Christ our king.
Oh, come on clouds descending,
your lasting peace to bring.
Come, Alpha and Omega,
eternal Word of truth.
Speak into us, O Savior;
make us forever new.

Gospel Book, Second Coming of Christ, Walters Manuscript W.540, fol. 14v By Walters Art Museum Illuminated Manuscripts – https://www.flickr.com/photos/39699193@N03/8509826031/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76790938

In the Days of Noah

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.”
Luke 17:26-37

To the tune ST. THOMAS (“Down In Adoration Falling”):

As 'twas in the days of Noah,
in the hours of storm and flood,
with the seas of terror growing,
peace and comfort sunk in mud,
hope rose o'er the waters knowing
somewhere still the mountains stood.

When the lightning leaps from heaven,
when the earth is swept away,
we before the storm are driven
terrified upon the waves:
Mourn what we have lost forever;
grieve for all we could not save.

Yet above the sea there rises
once again the morning sun.
Still our hearts will beat inside us
when the storm of rage is done.
On the seas our hope will find us
even when all else is gone.

Then on wings of love descending
while the earth is wrapped in flood,
bearing mercy never-ending
as he bears the weight of wood,
comes the word of life befriending
all he made and still calls good.

We lift up our hands beseeching:
Come, O Savior!  Come, bright dove!
Hear our hearts and voices pleading:
Let your sign appear above.
Fill the empty hands out reaching
with your world-remaking love!

By Anonymous early Christian author – An early Christian depiction showing Noah giving the gesture of orant as the dove returns http://www.artbible.net/1T/Gen0601_Noah_flood/pages/04%20CATACOMBES%20NOE%20ET%20LA%20COLOMBE%20SAINTS%20PIERRE.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4147336

Drive Away the Night

Jesus said to his disciples:
“In those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’
with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”
Mark 13:24-31

The sun itself has darkened;
the moon gives no more light.
Our every fear has sharpened,
but nowhere can we hide.

The night still grows yet deeper;
the stars themselves fall down,
and over all, our weeping
is now the only sound.

All this is merely midnight!
There is no sign of day,
no hint at all of dawnlight
to drive the dark away.

But there shall be no warning,
no whispers of that hour
'til suddenly the dawning
fills heaven with its power!

When shall we see that glory
and know at last that light?
O sun of justice, show us,
and break upon our sight!

Then weeping turns to dancing,
and all our sorrows cease:
Our armies stop advancing,
and we at last have peace!

O Son of God, come quickly
and fill the earth with light!
O Son of Man, come heal us
and drive away the night!

*The Last Judgement*. The Louvre. By Jean Cousin the Younger, also called Jehan Cousin Le Jeune (lived c. 1522–1595). – Blunt, Anthony. Art and Architecture in France: 1500–1700. New Haven (CT): Yale University Press, [1957] 1999 edition. ISBN 0300077483. Page 99., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2874303

Call It Good

O God, you knit me in the dark,
wet earth you wove around a spark.
Within the waters wound in blood,
you breathed in me and called me good.

Through days of sprouting, bud, and bloom,
through falling leaves and growing gloom,
'neath circling stars and wandering sun,
you hold the earth my steps have run.

Through days of drought and pouring rains,
still, Eden flows within my veins.
Then let me hear you through the flood
cry out again that it is good.

For this is all I truly have
and all I bear into my grave;
while moon and stars wheel on above, 
I give this flesh in all I love.

An Eden where an Adam formed:
Your sons were from my body born,
and silent prayers by breaths are marked
or tears that seek you in the dark.

This is my body, giv'n to you
whose image scored it through and through,
and this I offer is my blood:
Oh, say again that it is good!

Eve in paradise. Armenian icon, 1305. Bodleian Library By Unknown author – Donabédian, Patrick (1987) (in French) Les arts arméniens, Paris: Mazenod, p. 276 ISBN: 2850880175., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95443692

Farthings

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.”
Mark 12:41-44

Though your field lay fallow
'neath the sun and rain,
neither plow nor harrow
turned your ground to gain,
worked by none but sparrows
seeking fallen grain,
still Christ makes it hallowed
through the days of pain.

Bring him, then, your harvest,
yet more tares than wheat;
bring your merest farthing;
give him your defeat.
Your despair and darkness:
Lay them at his feet.
What the world has parted
he will make complete.

Come into his temple,
all you lost and least:
wounded, bruised, and tender,
tattered, torn, and creased.
You are still Christ's members,
prophets, kings, and priests.
Come into his shelter;
welcome to the feast!

A bronze *mite*, also known as a *Lepton* (meaning *small*), minted by Alexander Jannaeus, King of Judaea, 103 – 76 B.C.. and still in circulation at the time of Jesus^[1] Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2917434

Lost Coins

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:1-10

To the tune NETTLETON.

Come, you steward of the lost coins
and the pennies in the street,
cast away for all their alloys,
left unheeded at our feet.
Come and claim these worthless tokens;
let not one of them be lost!
They will eat the bread you've broken;
they will shine with all your host.

Search the house and sweep the corners
'til the last of them is found.
Go and seek beyond our borders,
where they lie just out of bounds.
Gather all that we have scattered
in our quest for pow'r and might,
all who never seem to matter:
They are precious in your sight.

Gather all the Father gave you,
each a treasure past all price.
All your dimes and pennies praise you:
On the last day, they shall rise.
In the time of vindication,
they shall dart about like sparks,
when the light of your salvation
fin'lly drives away the dark!

Brooklyn Museum – The Lost Drachma (La drachme perdue) – By James Tissot – Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2008, 00.159.93_PS2.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10195929

Shine On

I praise you in my wonder;
I sing your holy name.
Dark shadows I walk under,
yet you fill me with flame.

Your piercing gaze from heaven,
undaunted by the gloom:
It rests on me forever,
is with me in all harm.

Though I may walk in darkness,
you show me still your light;
the end of all my longing
is somehow in my sight.

And I will sing with angels
in heaven as on earth
your care in all my dangers,
your glimmer through the murk.

Come with me, then, salvation,
through these yet dark'ning days,
when shadows overtake me
and hide your mercy's rays,

shine on, shine on and give me
a beacon in the dark.
Shine on and still come with me,
your lamplight in my heart.

15th-century candle lantern from Germany, perforated metal By Wolfgang Sauber – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12738703

In Your Hands

The souls of the just are in the hand of God.
Wisdom 3:1

You hold the caverns of the earth;
the heights are rooted in your palm.
Your fingers shaped the rocks and dirt;
they cup the seas in storm or calm.

Within your hands and by their touch
come forth all things that are or were
or shall be in the years to come:
You hold all time and every world.

You carve our ways into your skin,
our tattooed names thereon enrolled,
and life and death and grace and sin
your boundless, generous hands enfold.

If we could take the wings of dawn
or into darkness turn and sink,
still we would nestle in your palm
and never reach your fingers' brink.

Then when we cross the final pale
and leave behind all living lands,
within your grasp we travel still:
The roads of death are in your hands.

Where caverns plunge and mountain stands,
where rivers run and waves reroar,
all of our lives are in your hands
that carry us forevermore.