Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing (ELW 545)
Devotion
1 Lord, dismiss us with your blessing,
fill our hearts with joy and peace;
let us each, your love possessing,
triumph in redeeming grace.
Oh, refresh us; oh, refresh us,
trav'ling through this wilderness.
2 Thanks we give and adoration
for your gospel's joyful sound.
May the fruits of your salvation
in our hearts and lives abound.
Ever faithful, ever faithful
to your truth may we be found.
3 Savior, when your love shall call us
from our struggling pilgrim way,
let no fear of death appall us,
glad your summons to obey.
May we ever, may we ever
reign with you in endless day.
Text: attr. John Fawcett, 1740-1817, sts. 1-2, alt.; Godfrey Thring, 1823-1903, st. 3, alt.
Sometimes when I sing this song at the end of worship, it fills me with a warm, fuzzy feeling: God will fill my heart with joy and peace and protect me as I go out into the world. But when we sing the same words in light of this week's readings about the urgency of proclaiming justice in a hostile world, the picture becomes instead that of a wilderness alive with the dangers inherent in the work to which we are called.
We are filled with questions to ponder in the week ahead: What does faithfulness to God's truth look like in our world today? How will we manifest the fruits of salvation in our hearts and lives? Given the grim realities of the world, how do we hold on to the joy and peace of Christ?
It has been a pleasure and honor to journey with you this week through these readings. May God's blessings be yours as you faithfully fulfill God's call in your life!
Prayer
God of blessing, send us out into the world as the bearers of your good news to a world that is hurting. May we be the beacons of joy and peace that we have been called to be. Amen.