Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song (ELW 808)
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.
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Devotion
In the ancient world people generally received their faith from their homeland. The Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, others all had their many gods. The early Christians were different. Their faith did not belong to a particular place, and with the rapid spread of the faith in the decades after Christ’s death, Christianity did not belong to a particular people either. Christians identified as sojourners without a land. I am reminded of this fact whenever I hear this hymn. As Christians we are all travelers in this life. We do not really have a singular homeland. But wherever two or three are gathered, Christ is with us. Jesus is with us in our joys and our sufferings. He is with us as we journey.
Prayer
Most loving God, thank you for being with us on this journey of life. Thank you for walking with us, supporting us in our happiness and our struggles. Amen.