My Lord, What a Morning, ELW 438
Devotion
Refrain
My Lord, what a morning;
my Lord, what a morning;
oh, my Lord, what a morning,
when the stars begin to fall.
You will hear the trumpet sound,
to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God's right hand,
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
You will hear the sinner cry,
to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God's right hand,
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
You will hear the Christian shout,
to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God's right hand,
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
We know quite a lot from the collected knowledge of the human race. Scientifically speaking, we've discovered how bold we can be with questions like, "is there intelligent life elsewhere in the universe?" I'm a follower of news about the space probes Voyager One (and Two), which are chugging along near interstellar space, a mere 14 billion earth miles away. The vastness of the universe is staggering, especially when one thinks of the self in relation to it. This knowledge makes a hymn about "falling stars" sound antiquated and primal. The biblical idea is that the night sky is some type of canopy, and beyond the canopy are primordial waters. What we know empirically shifts the biblical idea from being a literal description to the function of metaphor.
This hymn still has a place for us. Together we hope for the healing and restoration of all creation, including and especially this place we share called Earth.
Prayer
Jesus, when the stars of our wishes and hopes begin to fall, turn the gaze of our hearts toward you. Let us, today, live out and practice the resurrection. Amen.