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

The Bruised

Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased.
Upon him I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry out, nor shout,
nor make his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow dim or be bruised
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Isaiah 42:1-4

The bruised shall not be broken;
the light shall not go dim
until his word is spoken.
The coastlands wait for him
who comes as but as whisper
and shows but as a spark,
yet all the world shall listen
and seek him in the dark.

To all who thirst for justice
he is the living stream,
who hunger for the judgment
he is the boundless feast.
He shall not strike in temper
nor raise an angered voice,
yet Christ, the gentle shepherd,
will call us to rejoice.

For he, the reed once broken,
our brokenness shall heal,
and he, the word once spoken,
no secret shall conceal.
Now mercy's ancient brilliance
shall fill our nights and days,
for he, the light unkindled,
will never fade away.

Isaiah, fresco painted by Michelangelo and his assistants for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican between 1508 to 1512 By Michelangelo – Self-scanned, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2776989

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

O Lord, My Lamp Is Going Out

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.”
Luke 12:35-38

O Lord, my lamp is going out
before the buffets of the wind
that wails aloud as thunder shouts
to snuff the guttered light within.

But still the bridegroom does not come
while midnight stretches on and on.
How long, with hands and hearts gone numb,
can we yet stand and wait for dawn?

The storm refuses to abate;
our lights are growing yet more dim,
but still we stand and still we wait
and fight to hold some hope of him.

No ear shall hear above the wind,
but we still lift our voice in song
that our deep darkness shall be hymned
though still it stretches on and on.

Come quickly, then, to tend the flames
when hearts and flasks have all run dry.
Revive the lips that sing your name
while yet the long night passes by.

O Master, do not wait for dawn,
but come—Come now; no more delay!
For in your light the night is gone,
and you, yourself, shall be our day!

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

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!

This is a photo of a place that is recognized as a heritage site by the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel. By Chenspec – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21954587

When Did We See You?

For today’s feast of Christ the King.

 When did we see you, Lord?
 When did you meet our eye?
 Our echoes fill the weeping world;
 when did we hear you cry?
 
 We passed our days in care
 with many things to do.
 Who came to help our burdens bear?
Where, Lord above, were you?
  
 Right here in all the least.
 Your hands reach out in theirs,
 and as we hope to share your feast,
 we bear the selfsame cares:
  
 to find our daily bread
 and quench our endless thirst,
 for all, like you, have wept and bled,
 the best and, too, the worst.
  
 Oh, savior, help us see
 yourself in everyone,
 for we your hands on earth must be
 to serve God's only Son.
  
 And when you come again,
 your glory let us see,
 who was and is among us men,
 and evermore shall be.