“Faith of our Fathers,” ELW 812 and LBW 500
1 Faith of our fathers, living still
in spite of dungeon, fire and sword.
Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
whene'er we hear that glorious word.
Refrain
Faith of our fathers, holy faith,
we will be true to thee till death.
2 The martyrs, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free;
And blest would be their children's fate
If they, like them, should die for thee.
Refrain
3 Faith of our fathers! We will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
Proclaim thee, too, as love knows how,
By saving Word and faithful life.
Refrain
Alternate text, ELW 813
1 Faith of our fathers, living still
in spite of dungeon, fire and sword.
Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
whene'er we hear that glorious word.
Faith of our fathers, holy faith,
we will be true to you till death.
2 Faith of our mothers, daring faith,
your work for Christ is love revealed,
spreading God's word from pole to pole,
making love known and freedom real.
Faith of our mothers, holy faith,
we will be true to you till death.
3 Faith of our sisters, brothers too,
who still must bear oppression's might,
raising on high, in prisons dark,
the cross of Christ still burning bright.
Faith for today, O living faith,
we will be true to you till death.
4 Faith born of God, oh, call us yet,
bind us with all who follow you,
sharing the struggle of your cross
until the world is made anew.
Faith born of God, O living faith,
we will be true to you till death.
Devotion
“Faith of our fathers, living still in spite of dungeon, fire and sword. … ”
Listen to Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, from his book God Has a Dream – A Vision of Hope for Our Time:
“It is because we were so improbable that God chose South Africa and will point to us and say to the Israelis and Palestinians, to the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, to the Tibetans and the Chinese, to the Muslims and Hindus in Kashmir, to people throughout the world, ‘They had a nightmare, the apartheid nightmare, in South Africa. It has ended. Your nightmare will end, too. They had what was considered to be an intractable problem. Well, they have solved it, and so nowhere in the world can people again speak of facing intractable problems.’”
That is the principle of transfiguration at work. And so no situation is utterly hopeless, utterly untransfigurable.
Prayer
Dear God,
Call us by your tender mercy.
Clean us with a holy fire.
Give us courage so to live
As you have willed above.
Mold us into an instrument of your peace
for all who struggle in times of great trial.
Spark in us the fire of hope
when faced with our biggest problems. Amen.