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HOLY GOD, HOLY
AND GLORIOUS
Holy God, holy
and powerful, power without peer,
you bend to us in
weakness; emptied you draw near, and we behold your power.
Holy God, holy
and beautiful, beauty unsurpassed,
you are despised,
rejected; scorned, you hold us fast, and we behold your beauty.
Holy God, holy
and only wise, wisdom of great price,
you choose the
way of folly: God the crucified, and we behold your wisdom.
Holy God, holy
and living one, life that never ends,
you show your
love by dying, dying for your friends, and we behold you living.
Text: Susan R.
Briehl, b. 1952
Used by
permission. © 2000 GIA Publications. All rights reserved.
I learned this
song just a couple of years ago, and it immediately became a
favorite. I enjoy singing it, but it is the words that get me
every time.
God comes to us
in totally unexpected ways — in fact, the exact opposite of what
we expect or what we see. We know that God is glorious, powerful,
beautiful, only wise and very much alive. But we learn these
truths by seeing the exact opposite in the life of Christ.
Not so long ago,
we were celebrating the birth of Christ and experiencing the awe
and wonder of God coming among us. Christ, the Word made flesh,
stooped to earth and became human. And in that act of humbling
himself, Christ showed us his true glory. As we journey toward the
cross during these days of Lent, we hear about the life of Jesus.
He reaches out to
those in greatest need, allowing himself to be vulnerable. And in
that weakness, we see his incredible power. We see and experience
Christ’s beauty in spite of, and possibly in light of, the ways in
which he was rejected by those closest to him. As we hear again
about Christ’s final days, we may wonder about the decisions that
led to Christ’s crucifixion and see them as a way of folly. Yet,
we know the whole story, and we see the infinite wisdom in
Christ’s death and resurrection — the act that saves us from our
sins.
That leads to the
final verse, and the best news of all. Christ shows his love for
us by dying, but we behold him living. During Lent, we reflect on
our own weakness, the ways in which we have despised and rejected
God, and our many ways of folly. We recognize our need for
forgiveness — our need for a Savior. In that need, we cling to the
One who is holy, glorious, powerful, beautiful and only wise — and
who lives among us now and forever.
Holy God, you are
more than we can ever expect or understand. May we always cling to
you and continue to be amazed by the incredible ways you come to
us and surprise us each and every day. In your holy name we pray.
The Rev. Kristin Neitzel, Associate Pastor
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