Saturday 28 February 2009

A Hymn for Lent

Here’s a hymn for Lent, by Rachel Parkinson.

To the tune: Beneath the cross of Jesus

1. “Lord, save us from the desert”
is what we often pray
yet cushioned by securities
we often lose the Way.
So lead us into wilderness
and gently strip us bare;
That, trusting in your grace alone,
we find your blessings there.

2. The desert meant for Hagar
she met God face to face;
A burning bush made Moses see
the desert’s sacred space.
The manna in the wilderness
led Israel to rejoice
And Elijah in the wasteland heard
the whisper of God’s voice.

3. The wilderness, for Jesus,
was preparation ground
and later, wanting time to pray,
deserted space he found.
So may our journeying take us to
that place of solitude
where God’s own Word, not bread alone,
becomes our daily food.

Rachel Parkinson March 2009

3 comments:

Jan said...

I really enjoyed singing this to myself. Thanks for the tune! We Baptists don't celebrate lent, and I realize now we've really missed out on a blessing!

Olive Morgan said...

Hi Jan! Thanks for your comment, because I was quite unaware that Baptists don't celebrate Lent. Some Methodists don't celebrate Ash Wednesday, while others do see Amy's blog at http://lifeattheriverbank.blogspot.com .

Jan said...

Of course I shouldn't speak for all Baptists! Where we live, we don't really celebrate Lent or Ash Wednesday. Of course some individuals surely do. My husband is taking a course on church worship and it has motivated us to look at our denomination and think about what we do and why we do it. It's been quite interesting. We're lay people who have been very involved in our church, but have not been in the ministry in a professional sort of way.