Agnus Dei

In the deeps of night,

a lamb is born

for the winds to bite—

Have mercy, Lord!

But he nestles in

his mother's fleece

as the stars look on—

O, grant us peace!



Then the sky is split;

a light breaks forth,

and the flock retreats.

Have mercy, Lord!

But the mother stays;

the lambkin sleeps

though it's bright as day—

O, grant us peace!



And a music sounds

like glory's horn.

Every fear it drowns—

Have mercy, Lord!

Off the shepherds run,

strange sights to see,

but the lamb sleeps on—

O, grant us peace!



For the mother knows

how hope is shorn

in the midst of cold—

Have mercy, Lord!

How the culled are torn

and the ewes weep—

Have mercy, Lord,

and grant us peace!

Agnus Dei c. 1635–1640, by Francisco de Zurbarán, Prado MuseumBy Unknown author – http://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/online-gallery/on-line-gallery/obra/agnus-dei-the-lamb-of-god/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=160338

Shepherd

I am my brother's keeper,
for there is no one else
but him who keeps the sheepfold
and loves us as himself.
He comes to me for tending,
unworthy as I am.
I am my savior's shepherd,
who comes as but a lamb.

An infant in a manger,
he entered thus our world,
and walks it in the stranger,
the Christ of God returned.
No den or nest he has here,
no place to lay his head,
but helpless in our hands now
he lies as broken bread.

How can it be, my Jesus,
that I should shepherd you?
I look to you for keeping, 
but you're my brother, too.
Then let me set a table,
in spite of all my foes,
where you can rest in safety
and mercy overflows.

William Blake‘s *The Lamb* from his collection *Songs of Innocence and of Experience* – William Blake Digital Materials from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Library of Congress, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24095348

From Every Tribe and Nation

I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
Then one of the elders said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“For this reason they stand before God’s throne
                        and worship him day and night in his temple.
            The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
            They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
                        nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
            For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne
                        will shepherd them
                        and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
                        and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:9, 14b-17

From every tribe and nation,
from every race and creed,
all kinds from all creation:
One shepherd's voice they heed.
They know him, and they follow
when Christ calls them his own,
and when they stand before him,
they worship him as one.

Their hearts have not been faultless,
but in his strength endured;
their robes were never spotless
until he made them pure.
Their languages were sundered
by pride on Babel's plain,
but now they sing in wonder
one song to praise his name.

No more shall envy take them
from Christ the shepherd's hand;
no more shall hatred shake them
who in his temple stand.
They gather in his shelter,
untouched by any fears:
The Lamb is their own shepherd,
and he will dry their tears.

Lamb of God with vexillum, Sacred Heart Church (Berlin), 1898 By WorldKnowledge0815, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70885839

Thieves and Lambs

For Advent, to the tune FINLANDIA:

When shall you come, a thief within the darkness,
marauding Lord, to catch me unawares?
My foolish heart locks doors and puts the bars up
and guards the house; my trustless soul prepares.
For I am one who knows betrayal's sharpness:
I am a thief.  Come to my door who dares.

You came here once and fell beside the highway
beneath the blows of murderers and thieves.
We waited long in dim and shadowed doorways,
with hardened hearts and daggers up our sleeves.
We spilled your blood and scattered to the byways,
before the wind, so many fallen leaves.

And will you come, a lamb that longs for slaughter?
Come yet again, a dead but holy fool
to fall as prey to your own sons and daughters
(the fate of lambs where ewes and rams are cruel)
among the rocks, your blood poured out as water?
It bubbles up, an overflowing pool!

I hide away, a thief within the shadows;
I bar the door and hope you pass me by—
to no avail.  You shatter all the windows
and stream inside, an ever-breaking light.
So here we stand, two lambs in endless meadows:
You walk ahead, I follow on behind.

*Adoration of the Mystic Lamb*, with gushing blood, detail of the *Ghent Altarpiece*, Jan van Eyck, c. 1432 – Jan van Eyck, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=691803

Lions and the Lamb

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
Isaiah 11:1-10

For yesterday’s first reading (go read the whole thing!), to the tune CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM (“Creator of the Stars of Night”).

 Oh, flow'r of Jesse's faded stem,
 you blossom born in Bethlehem,
 transform us: lions all and lambs
 conformed to you, the great I Am.
  
 The Spirit resting on you, Lord,
 is mightier than any sword.
 With truth and justice, come decide;
 for earth's afflicted judge aright.
  
 Strike down the ruthless with your rod—
 your word, your power, mighty God—
 and slay the wicked by your breath
 to spare them all eternal death.
  
 Then we shall gather on your mount
 beside your ever flowing fount.
 The wolf shall be the lamb's own guest,
 the calf and bear alike be blest.
  
 There ox and lion feed on grain
 beside you, saving Lamb once slain.
 The child shall grasp the adder's head
 and suffer naught of pain or dread.
  
 No harm or hurt on all that height,
 but all the earth filled with your light.
 When Jesse's root shall rise again
 all nations join his great Amen!