Tuesday, May 23, 2017

"For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us..."


Hymn: “For the Fruit of All Creation” – Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000)
Typical Tune: AR HYD Y NOS

This hymn has a recurring phrase that ends many of the lines: “Thanks be to God!” It’s a phrase many of us say every Sunday morning in response to the statement, “This is the Word of the Lord.”  As we sing this great hymn, it becomes our repeated common proclamation.

“For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.”

“Nothing surprises me anymore,” I hear people say often. When we get to the point that we are beyond being amazed, astonished, or even flabbergasted, we have stepped outside that realm where God can still astound us… where our reaction can still be awe – even child-like wonder. The great mysteries of God still throw me a curve; I am rarely involved in serious Bible study or theological conversation when I don’t have a flash of amazement. It’s that mystery that keeps me coming back for more. I don’t even WANT to discover all the answers; I want to keep digging and learning, and growing from what I find.

The truth we discover can confound or befuddle us. In fact, it probably SHOULD stupefy us and cause us to stand astonished. Knowing the truth and letting it set us free: what a goal for those of us who are God-seekers.

As Fred Pratt Green concludes, we should be most astounded and confounded by the fact that love has sought us out – that God has been worshiper-seeking (John 4:23), and we have been found. It’s like a grand game of hide-and-seek in which WE were hiding, love was seeking.

For all this, we say as if prompted by Sunday’s lector, “Thanks be to God.”

Hear This Hymn Tune Played at the Organ

Hear a Congregation Sing This Hymn

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Hymnlines - Hemlines: Get it?! :)

Hymnlines - Hemlines: Get it?! :)