How Good, Lord, to Be Here! (ELW 315)
1 How good, Lord, to be here!
Your glory fills the night;
your face and garments, like the sun,
shine with unborrowed light.
2 How good, Lord, to be here,
your beauty to behold
where Moses and Elijah stand,
your messengers of old.
3 Fulfiller of the past
and hope of things to be,
we hail your body glorified
and our redemption see.
4 Before we taste of death,
we see your kingdom come;
we long to hold the vision bright
and make this hill our home.
5 How good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
but since you bid us leave the mount,
come with us to the plain.
Devotion
It is good to be on the mount, to experience this blazing sight. But the mountain top is not where we live. The Lenten journey and all the realities of life wait for us as we come down from the mountain and continue to follow Jesus on the way of discipleship.
The assurance of this hymn is that Jesus does not stay on the mountain top either. The journey to Jerusalem and the cross wait for him. He knows the pains and stress we face. Unlike the disciples at this point in their lives, we know where this story is leading—that Jesus’ journey does not end with the cross and grave. Because of that, we have the assurance that he will journey with us no matter what the future holds, and his love will conquer all, even death.
Prayer
Christ, may your presence be known to all of us, especially to those who are ill or whose earthly life is drawing to a close. May we each bring a ray of your shining love and hope to all those in dark times. Amen.