LBW #551, "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee"
Devotion
In the early 80’s I was with a group of Lutheran bishops in war-torn El Salvador. The visit included time with Pastor Medardo Gomez and his congregation, Resurrection Lutheran. Pastor Gomez expected to be killed but chose to stay in spite of death threats. This little congregation took responsibility for a refugee camp and they sponsored a school for war orphans.
When a choir of boy sopranos, all orphans from the school, sang this “Ode to Joy” hymn which they had learned in English, every bishop’s eye was misty. The congregation was a powerful example of the paradoxical conjoining of suffering and joy. Their very life together shouted both suffering and joy.
The words “Teach us how to love each other; Lift us to the joy divine” suggest that as we love each other as Jesus commanded, we may find joy even in hard places.
Prayer
Gracious God, give us strength and wisdom as we face the test of daily life. Lift us to that joy divine. Amen.