Tag: questions

We strain to hear the voice of God – hymn Epiphany 2

Hymn: We strain to hear the voice of God



We strain to hear the voice of God,

this God who knows us inside out, 

a whispered voice of gentleness 

that never seeks to force or shout.



Christ's voice was heard in Galilee 

by those who had the ears to hear, 

he challenged hypocrites with truth 

while sinners, sensing love, drew near.



His crazy, crafted way of life, 

gave little hint where it might lead,

and yet the people followed him,

each word of Christ met hidden need;



for he addressed with present sense

a desert way of wilderness, 

or else the intellectual task 

within the city's busyness.



'Come follow me', hear Jesus say, 

to those who answered to his call; 

and in our present time and place 

may we respond and give our all. Amen.



Andrew Pratt 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 8 8 8

Tune: GONFALON ROYAL
Second Sunday after Epiphany, 1 Samuel 3: 1-10 (11-20), Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; John 1:43-51

The depth of interstellar space – a Cosmic Christmas Carol

The depth of interstellar space,
the ultimate beyond,
the cosmic span of all that is
with Christ the common bond:
Word before world’s had come to be,
our common source and ground,
we stare into this starlit void,
that stellar craft will sound.

We fashion answers, look with awe,
and seek to understand
our place within this finite time,
this time in which we stand;
countless millennia plot the course
down to the present day,
but who can chance or even guess
what more may come in play?

Through this continuum of time
we surf on history’s wave,
we long for answers, never found,
that generations crave.
When will we settle trusting still
that peace is found through grace,
while all is relative in life –
and can love fill this place?

Andrew Pratt 5/11/2019
News that Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977 had left the Solar System and are ‘exploring the outer reaches of our cosmic neighbourhood ‘. BBC News November 4th 2019 – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50289353 accessed 5/1/2019

Words © 2019 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, http://www.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.

Tune: CHRISTMAS CAROL (Henry Walford Davies) Available at https://hymnary.org/tune/christmas_carol_davies;
Metre: CMD