My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less, ELW 597
Devotion
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
no merit of my own I claim,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in ev'ry high and stormy gale
my anchor holds within the veil. Refrain
His oath, his covenant, his blood
sustain me in the raging flood;
when all supports are washed away,
he then is all my hope and stay. Refrain
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
oh, may I then in him be found,
clothed in his righteousness alone,
redeemed to stand before the throne!
At one senior living center where I lead mid-week worship, I'm lucky enough to have a resident play piano. She's not a former church musician—she picks a few songs and practices ahead of time. It’s more of a hobby. One time she picked "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less." As she started to play, some of us were expecting the tune, Melita, familiar to many of us. Instead, she played the version, Solid Rock, that wasn’t as familiar. We struggled to all get on the same tune, but by the second verse we were all singing together. For John the Baptist, his hope was built on a foundation of Jesus Christ. Herod and his wife had much different reactions to John's message of Jesus. We too might have different ideals of our world. How do you listen to those who are singing a different tune than you?
Prayer
Solid Rock, help us to stand on you in faith and build your church on your foundation. Show us that faith can be built in many different ways, but help us always to place our trust in your grace. Amen.