Beautiful Savior, ELW 838
Devotion
Beautiful Savior,
King of creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love thee,
truly I'd serve thee,
light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
Fair are the meadows,
fair are the woodlands,
robed in flow'rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer,
he makes our sorrowing spirit sing.
Fair is the sunshine,
fair is the moonlight,
bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
than all the angels in the sky.
Beautiful Savior,
Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine!
Years ago, I created a book of photographs entitled, "Mount Rainier: Splendid Beauty." While hiking its trails during these past four decades, I took innumerable photographs of this magnificent mountain. These photographs attempt to capture some of its infinite beauty and mystery, but they never quite capture the full beauty of the mountain.
We Christians have thousands of pictures, stories and images of Jesus living within us. For us, Jesus of Nazareth is the personification of the love of God within a human being. For us, Jesus lived the most beautiful life of any human being ... ever. And none of our images ever capture the full beauty of Jesus’ life.
Prayer
Jesus, our Lord, may the images of your glory in all their variety and beauty shine in and through us as we serve our neighbor and your world. Amen.