Gather Us In, ELW 532
1 Here in this place the new light is streaming, now is the darkness vanished away; see in this space our fears and our dreamings brought here to you in the light of this day.
Gather us in, the lost and forsaken, gather us in, the blind and the lame; call to us now, and we shall awaken, we shall arise at the sound of our name.
2 We are the young, our lives are a myst'ry, we are the old who yearn for your face; we have been sung throughout all of hist'ry, called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty, gather us in, the proud and the strong; give us a heart, so meek and so lowly, give us the courage to enter the song.
3 Here we will take the wine and the water, here we will take the bread of new birth, here you shall call your sons and your daughters, call us anew to be salt for the earth.
Give us to drink the wine of compassion, give us to eat the bread that is you; nourish us well, and teach us to fashion lives that are holy and hearts that are true.
4 Not in the dark of buildings confining, not in some heaven, light years away--here in this place the new light is shining, now is the kingdom, and now is the day,
Gather us in and hold us forever, gather us in and make us your own; gather us in, all peoples together, fire of love in our flesh and our bone.
Devotion
It was a hot, August Sunday afternoon when we gathered to sing this song. After three years of planning, dreaming, praying and building, our new worship space was being dedicated. Our much smaller sanctuary could not have been more intimate and sacred, but it was dark. Now, natural light filled the new chancel and nave. Here, in this place, new light was streaming and it brought deep joy.
But it seems to me that Marty Haugen’s hymn is not necessarily a description of a dazzlingly new palace, but rather a transformed and hope-filled kingdom. By God’s design, we are called to be reflectors of God’s light to the world in which we live. And therein lies the problem.
More than we are willing to admit, it seems when we leave worship and return to our places of work and play, we tend to reflect the darkness and apathy of our world. But Christ in us, Christ through us, is exactly what the world needs to see and hear. The fire, joy, hopefulness and love is within us and we are called to share it boldly.
Prayer
Dear Lord, anyone can honk if they love Jesus! Give us courage to live our faith in the world as ambassadors of the Kingdom. Amen.