The Church’s One Foundation (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 654)
1 The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is his new creation
By water and the Word.
From heav’n he came and sought her
To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her,
And for her life he died.
2 Elect from ev’ry nation,
Yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation:
One Lord, one faith, one birth.
One holy name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses
With ev’ry grace endued.
3 Though with a scornful wonder
This world sees her oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping;
Their cry goes up: “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the mourn of song.
4 Through toil and tribulation
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace forevermore;
Till with the vision glorious
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest.
5 Yet she on earth has union
With God, the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won.
O blessed heav’nly chorus!
Lord, save us by your grace,
That we, like saints before us,
May see you face to face.
Text: Samuel J. Stone; Music: Samuel S. Wesley; Public Domain
Devotion
As I write these devotions, I am serving as interim pastor at a congregation that is in the process of voting to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). For the majority of members of the congregation it’s a “here I stand” moment, as they see the ELCA to be turning away from values they hold sacred. Battles such as this have been a part of the church on earth since its inception. Given that we are sinners, maybe this is God’s way of keeping the earthly church alive as the Spirit moves some groups apart and others together. Regardless of institutional splits due to our brokenness, the church is still One Body in Christ—kindred spirits, brothers and sisters bound together in the household of faith. The enemy, who rejoices in our earthly church fights, has been defeated eternally. We are free to love as Christ loved, even if we are not free to worship and serve in the same place. One day, “the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.”
Prayer
Lord, forgive us the sin which separates us, not only from you, but from our brothers and sisters. In you, there is hope that, ultimately, we will be free of our disputes, and our differences will melt away in the “mystic, sweet communion” of your glorious presence. Amen.