A hymn inspired by John 9: 1 – 41…As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned Tangled in prejudice, lost in presumption, locked in our judgments, so sure of our ground; others are sinful, but we are the righteous, this is the truth we are sure we have found. This is our blindness and now we must own it, owning suspicion of those we deride; painting them wrongly, unjustly with hatred, side-stepping honesty, trying to hide. For like the Pharisees' we are self-serving, gaining our wealth from the ones we oppress; sometimes we bring down the ones who would challenge, this we have done and now this we confess. In this confession we seek your forgiveness, God who has touched both the broken and frail. We were thought strong, but we plead for compassion, we, the successful, have found we can fail. Yet you astound us, 'your sins are forgiven', words that have echoed down into our time. How can we warrant such scandalous mercy? Only through grace can you offer this sign. Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 2011 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd. Metre: 11 10 11 10 Tunes: EPIPHANY HYMH; IN THE BEGINNING GOD PLAYED WITH THE PLANETS
Category: Bible
A dramatic reflection on Romans 5: 1 – 11 – Justified by faith?
A scribe is working on the letter to the Romans. The scribe is sitting at a table, muttering while looking over a scroll, pen in hand:
Riddles, riddles, riddles…
‘Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…’
What on earth did he mean, that fall – oops – Paul guy? Freudian!! Sorry!
I mean, what did he mean? That’s the problem with this Greek, no punctuation. I mean you have commas and full stops and what-not. We haven’t. So what did he mean? You don’t get it?
Well let me read it to you. ‘Therefore since we are justified by faith (exaggerated pause) we have peace with God’. Did he mean that, or did he mean, ‘‘Therefore since we are justified (exaggerated pause) by faith we have peace with God’. See what I mean?
No? Ok, let me spell it out to you. You all seem to think that Paul meant to say that we are justified, made right with God if you like, by faith. No problem with that. Consequence, ‘we have peace with God’.
But I just got to wondering. What if Paul reckoned that we are justified. Accept it! Just trust it is so and that’s the way to peace with God? See what I mean? No?
Riddles, riddles, riddles…that old scribe playing with words again? I know what you’re thinking. But words are my stock in trade. I do think about them, not just write parrot fashion – if you’ll pardon me mixing my metaphors?
But perhaps you’re right. I make too much of these details sometimes. I’m a right pedant!
Ok. I’ll get to the point, whatever Paul thinks.
At the end of the day, We have peace with God – don’t we? No beating about the burning bush then?
Wonder what’s next? Think I’ll just make a cuppa (gets up and strolls off).
© Andrew Pratt 14/2/2011
She’s the one Christ should have hated – Jesus and a Samaritan woman – a hymn
Lent 3 The gospel reading (John 4: 5-42) tells of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman. This hymn reflects on this story. 1 She's the one Christ should have hated, every law set her apart, woman, foreign, faith betrayer, yet compassion warmed his heart. 2 Was he thirsty? Human nature giving us a reason why he would cross these rules, these bound'ries, does this story give the lie? 3 Yet whatever choice we fathom Jesus talked and spoke with her; sought to find a new direction, new found faith began to stir. Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 2011 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd. Metre: 8 7 8 7 Tune: ALL FOR JESUS
Nicodemus meets Jesus, a hymn
This coming Sunday (Lent 2) one of the gospel readings is John 3: 1 – 17 it is the account of Nicodemus visiting Jesus. This hymn reflects on that.
1 The riddle of salvation,
not of a cross or tomb,
confronted Nicodemus
within a quiet room.
Christ took him back to childhood,
and challenged all he knew,
his intellect was tested
by hearing what to do.
2 ‘To reach the end you hope for
you must be born again’.
He looked uncomprehending,
and wondered, was this sane?
But Jesus answered gently,
‘you have your life and worth,
another change is called for,
just like a second birth’.
3 The change that he was facing
would turn his life around,
that was the riddle’s answer,
what he had sought he found.
The life that Jesus offered
required a different frame,
and from that moment forward,
he’d never be the same.
4 And now that call still echoes
in every place and time,
the movement of God’s dancing,
the rhythm and the rhyme
disrupt and change, transform us,
move to another plain,
and those who follow Jesus
will never be the same.
Andrew Pratt (born 1948) based on John 3 vs 1-17 Nicodemus
Words © 2011 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 7 6 7 6 d
THORNBURY; WOLVERCOTE
A Hymn for the Beginning of Lent – Jesus’ temptation
A Hymn for the beginning of Lent – Jesus’ temptation Wild wilderness, pathetic desolation, as Jesus walked, then rested for the night, for forty days his strength was tried and tested, for forty days he sifted wrong and right. He woke to hunger tangled in his being, what miracle might turn these stones to bread? But God within the centre of his spirit was food enough to keep his body fed. His faith was such that it could move a mountain and God could save him from the greatest fall. But faith like this need not be tried or tested; the love of God will never slip or stall. He climbed the mountain, saw the world in splendour, then thought of ruling all his eyes could see; yet power like this was not the thing he needed - devoid of wealth he'd set the people free. Beyond temptation love would live incarnate, his human flesh would laugh and cry and weep, in Christ God's love and grace would not diminish, dynamic love would never die nor sleep. Andrew E Pratt (born 1948) Words © 2015 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd. Metre: SM Metre: 11 10 11 10 Tune: INTERCESSOR
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