LBW #397, "O Zion Haste”
Devotion
O Zion haste, your mission high fulfilling
To tell to all the world that God is light;
That he who made all nations is not willing
One soul should perish, lost in shades of night. (v.1)
Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace,
Tidings of Jesus, redemption and release. (refrain)
When the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church asked for requests, this hymn was at the top of the list: the elderly members said it had served as the keynote for the church since it was founded in 1945. “From the very beginning, this has been a mission-minded church,” someone said. “We’ve always given outreach and mission support a top priority!”
Mary Ann Thompson of London started writing the hymn in 1868 while she was setting up with one of her children who had typhoid fever. The topic of the hymn is remarkable because in that context you would expect her to write about God’s healing instead of mission. Yet for those with an urgent sense of mission, the lost are never far from their thoughts. Perhaps her child’s sickness added to her sense of urgency. Let us make haste.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, stir up your people and grant them a passion for proclamation and witness. Amen.