Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song (ELW 808, focus on verse 1)
1 Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey;
I’ll tell ev’rybody about you wherever I go:
you alone are our life and our peace and our love.
Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.
2 Lord Jesus, I’ll praise you as long as I journey.
May all of my joy be a faithful reflection of you.
May the earth and the sea and the sky join my song.
Lord Jesus, I’ll praise you as long as I journey.
3 As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant,
to carry your cross and to share all your burdens and tears.
For you saved me by giving your body and blood.
As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant.
4 I fear in the dark and the doubt of my journey;
but courage will come with the sound of your steps by my side.
And with all of the family you saved by your love,
we’ll sing to your dawn at the end of our journey.
Text: Les Petites Soeurs de Jésus and L’Arche Community; tr. Stephen Somerville, b. 1931
Text © 1987 Les Petites Soeurs de Jésus, admin. Augsburg Fortress. Tr. © 1970 Stephen Somerville, admin. Augsburg Fortress.
Reprinted under OneLicense.net #A730924
Devotion
A few years ago, I realized that I always have an “ear worm” playing in the back of my consciousness—a song “stuck” in my head.
But what do you do when the song that is stuck in your head is an awful tune, one that drives you crazy? You know, like the Kars 4 Kids ad tune.
In Greek mythology, the most dangerous “ear worm” singers were the sirens, whose song would lure sailors to their deaths. Odysseus avoided the sirens by stuffing wax in his sailors’ ears. But Orpheus had a better solution—he pulled out his harp and sang a more beautiful song.
That’s how you defeat an ear worm! You sing a more beautiful song. And what better song is there than Jesus himself: “Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.” With Jesus figuratively and literally as our song, we have nothing to fear from the deadliest siren or ear worm.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, may we sing your love each morning, your grace each day, and your forgiveness every evening. Surround us with your beauty. Amen.