Gather Us In, ELW 532, v. 1, 4
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.
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
In this beautiful hymn by Marty Haugen, we see the Church at its best-a place of welcome for the outcast, a place of vision for the spiritually blind, a place of healing for those who limp through life. And it is now...in this life...this time...this place. When we reject others who come through our doors because they are different and therefore not welcome, we forget that we are the lost, forsaken, blind and lame. God gathers us to his place of light and hope and love. It is God who gathers. It is God who unites us and forms us into the precious Body of his Son. Even though we don't merit such a place, because of his Son, Jesus Christ, we belong.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you gather us to yourself and you form us into your Church. Forgive us for the times we fail to welcome others and remind us that without your Son, Jesus Christ, we would not be your Church. Amen.