You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore (ELW 817)
1 You have come down to the lakeshore seeking neither the wise nor the wealthy, but only asking for me to follow.
Refrain
Sweet Lord, you have looked into my eyes;
kindly smiling, you’ve called out my name…
On the sand I have abandoned my small boat;
now with you, I will seek other seas.
2 You know full well what I have, Lord:
neither treasure nor weapons for conquest, just these my fish nets and will for working.
Refrain
Sweet Lord, you have looked into my eyes;
kindly smiling, you’ve called out my name…
On the sand I have abandoned my small boat;
now with you, I will seek other seas.
3 You need my hands, my exhaustion, working love for the rest of the weary—
a love that’s willing to go on loving.
Refrain
Sweet Lord, you have looked into my eyes;
kindly smiling, you’ve called out my name…
On the sand I have abandoned my small boat;
now with you, I will seek other seas.
4 You who have fished other waters;
you, the longing of souls that are yearning:
O loving Friend, you have come to call me.
Refrain
Sweet Lord, you have looked into my eyes;
kindly smiling, you’ve called out my name…
On the sand I have abandoned my small boat;
now with you, I will seek other seas.
Devotion
I love to sing this song in Spanish to my beautiful Norwegian/Puerto Rican granddaughter when it is nap time. Both the melody and the words seem to reflect the sweet intimacy of a God who knows and cares for us, who looks into our eyes and calls us by name. That intimacy has been a theme that has run through the texts of this week.
But there is so much more to this hymn. It is a powerful reminder that the breadth and depth of God’s love extends into the faith stories and rich music of those from many different traditions.
I also want her to know that while indeed God initiates a wonderful personal relationship beginning at our baptism and following us throughout the rest of our lives, Jesus also comes to call us beyond our too often diminished visions to lives of love and service to others.
Thus we are bid to leave our boats in the sand—and follow.
Prayer
O Dios tan grande, you who in love call us by name, call us to life beyond our wildest expectations. Amen.