Long Before the World Is Waking

This hymn by the late Herman Stuempfle narrates last Sunday's Gospel lesson, the third resurrection appearance of our Lord to His disciples.

Long before the world is waking,

    Morning mist on Galilee,

From its shore, as dawn is breaking,

    Jesus calls across the sea;

Hails the boat of weary men,

Bids them cast their net again.

So they cast, and all their heaving

    Cannot haul their catch aboard;

John in wonder turns, perceiving,

    Cries aloud, “It is the Lord!”

Peter waits for nothing more,

Plunges in to swim ashore.

Charcoal embers brightly burning,

    Bread and fish upon them laid:

Jesus stands at day’s returning

    In His risen life arrayed,

As of old His friends to greet,

“Here is breakfast; come and eat.”

Christ is risen! Grief and sighing,

    Sins and sorrows, fall behind;

Fear and failure, doubt, denying,

    Full and free forgiveness find.

All the soul’s dark night is past;

Morning breaks in joy at last.

Morning breaks, and Jesus meets us,

    Feeds and comforts, pardons still;

As His faithful friends He greets us,

    Partners of His work and will.

All our days, on ev’ry shore,

Christ is ours forevermore!

All the Earth With Joy Is Sounding

Written in 1995, the text was inspired by the tune MICHAEL.  The hymn explores lesser-used images of the resurrection: Christ as the greater Jonah, the One stronger than the strong man (the devil), Jesus as the author of salvation and the Paschal Lamb slain, raised and reigning.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

All the earth with joy is sounding:

   Christ has risen from the dead!

He, the greater Jonah, bounding

   From the grave, His three-day bed,

        Wins the prize:

        Death’s demise—

        Songs of triumph fill the skies!                                             

Christ, the devil’s might unwinding,

   Leaves behind His borrowed tomb.

Stronger He, the strong man binding,

   Takes, disarms his house of doom;

       In the rout

       Casting out

       Pow’rs of darkness, sin, and doubt.

Jesus, author of salvation,

   Shared in our humanity;

Crowned with radiant exaltation,

   Now He shares His victory!

        From His face

        Shines the grace

        Meant for all our fallen race.

                                                                                                                         

Praise the Lord, His reign commences,

   Reign of life and liberty—

Paschal Lamb, for our offenses,

   Slain and raised to set us free!                                     

        Evermore

        Bow before

        Christ, the Lord of Life adore!

Thanks to Thee, O Christ, Victorious

Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634-1703, translated by George A. T. Rygh, 1860-1942.  Tune:  WERDE MUNTER by Johann Schop, c. 1590-1667.

1.  Thanks to Thee, O Christ, victorious!

     Thanks to Thee, O Lord of Life!

     Death hath now no power o'er  us,

     Thou has conquered in the strife.

     Thanks because Thou didst arise

     And hast opened paradise!

     None can fully sing the glory

     Of the resurrection story.

2.  Thou hast died for my transgression,

     All my sins on Thee were laid;

     Thou hast won for me salvation,

     On the cross my debt was paid.

     From the grave I shall arise

     And shall meet Thee in the skies.

     Death itself is transitory;

     I shall lift my head in glory.

3.  For the joy Thine advent gave me,

     For Thy holy, precious Word;

     For Thy Baptism, which doth save me,

     For Thy blest Communion board;

     For Thy death, the bitter scorn,

     For Thy resurrection morn,

     Lord, I thank Thee and extol Thee,

     And in heav'n I shall behold Thee.

When Time Was Full, God Sent His Son

This text was written in the Easter season of 1999 and focuses upon Christ as the second and greater Jonah.   Jesus compared Himself to Jonah when He spoke about His forthcoming resurrection triumph.  In 2005, Walter Pelz wrote a tune for this text called VALIANT ONE.

1.  When time was full, God sent His Son

          To save those under Law;

     His destined path, Christ did not shun,

          But faced death's hungry maw.

     As Life was swallowed up and died,

          Creation shook and groaned:

     Its Lord and Maker crucified,

          Deposed, entombed, disowned.

2.  This holy Jonah undecayed

          Lay still with the whale;

     This Lord of Life on death then preyed,

          Hell's titan to impale:

     From gaping jaws came forth this King,

          With death the casualty!

     Colossal foe, where now your sting?

          Where grave, your victory?

3.  God's valiant One, once sacrificed,

          Is high-exalted now,

     That at the name of Jesus Christ

          Each knee should surely bow;

     Each tongue confess and praise the Lamb,

          Our resurrected Lord,

     The First and Last, the great I AM--

          Acclaimed, enthroned, adored!

The Lord Prepares a Banquet on This Mountain

I have been quite busy of late here in my parish with a series of funerals, four in the last six weeks.  Two were expected; two came quite suddenly.  Not too long ago, I wrote the Easter text below based on the Old Testament lesson for Easter, Isaiah 25:6-9.  This hymn text was inspired by the tune RED HILL ROAD by Carl Schalk, which may be found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship #760.  The third stanza is my favorite and gets to the heart of the matter with the promise of the final resurrection anchored securely in Christ, the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest. 

1.  The Lord prepares a banquet on this mountain,

        A feast of richest food and finest wine,

     That all who thirst may drink from mercy's fountain,

        That all who hunger here may freely dine:

     For Jesus wore our pall of sin with gladness;

        The veil is torn--the sacrifice complete.

     Now Christ has risen swallowing death's sadness--

        This is our God, whose life is death's defeat!

2.  God's saints and sages yearned for this salvation,

        To share the triumph of His saving grace:

     When God would wipe all sin from ev'ry nation,

        When He would dry all tears from ev'ry face.

     What joy was theirs who heard these words astounding:

        "He is not here; He's risen from the dead!"

     Loud alleluias from His tomb resounding,

        Tell us our death we need no longer dread.

3.  Still at our graves in silence we assemble,

        We know that what is sown will one day rise;

     Yet overcome by loss and grief we tremble,

        Sin's awful wage once more before our eyes:

     Here is the question--let us never fear it--

        "Can these bones live...though sight and sense deny?"

     Christ is God's "Yes!" and will through His own Spirit,

        To lifeless clay, breathe life that cannot die.