Blest Be the Tie That Binds (ELW 656, Verses 1-2)
1 Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in Christian love;
the unity of heart and mind
is like to that above.
2 Before our Father’s throne
we pour our ardent prayers;
our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares.
Devotion
My widowed mother-in-law was getting remarried. Her groom had been formerly married. The service would be small—bride, groom, my spouse and I as witnesses, and the pastor who was a good friend. The bride had jokingly said I should be the soloist. I jokingly agreed—after all there would be no congregation to witness.
At the appropriate time in the service, my mother-in-law looked to me for the solo, and I sang the first verse of “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds” a cappella. It turned out to be a good moment. What better prayer for a couple who brings all their past, their former spouses, their children and in-laws, and their hopes and dreams to a new binding, a new marriage.
The faithful community regularly brings their ardent prayers, their fears, their hopes, their aims and comforts and cares to the throne of God. We regularly pray for new beginnings in unity as one—one in Christ for our lives together.
Prayer
Hear our ardent prayers, O God. Let us together live lives that witness to your unity. Amen.