Come, Ye Disconsolate (ELW 607)
Devotion
1 Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish;
come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
earth has no sorrow that heav'n cannot heal.
2 Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure;
here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
"Earth has no sorrow that heav'n cannot cure."
3 Here see the Bread of life; see waters flowing
forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
earth has no sorrow but heav'n can remove.
Text: Thomas Moore, 1779-1852, sts. 1-2; Thomas Hastings, 1784-1872, st. 3
I'm convinced that God wants us to come home and does not want anything to stand in our way. God does not want us to think God is indifferent to our suffering. So God sent Jesus to walk among us and share our suffering. We think of his suffering primarily in relationship to the cross. But Jesus took on our human nature. No doubt just like us he knew illnesses and injuries, as well as heart-rending sorrow, throughout his life. Jesus' life among us shows that God knows exactly what it is to be a human being.
Nor did God want the burden of our faults to stand in the way of God's relationship with us. So Jesus came to carry them. God is a good and gracious parent who wants us to trust in a love that will never let us go. There is no sorrow that heaven cannot heal, no wound that God cannot heal, no sin so great that God will not cleanse it away.
Prayer
O God, from this exile we are in need of a home for our souls, where we can rest from all our fears, where all our brokenness can be mended. With all we go through on this earth, it can be hard to trust. Help us to lay our burdens down and know we are safe with you. Amen.