“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” (ELW 587, verses 1 and 2)
Devotion
There's a wideness in God's mercy,
like the wideness of the sea;
there's a kindness in God's justice
which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth's sorrows
are more felt than up in heav'n.
There is no place where earth's failings
have such kindly judgment giv'n.
There is welcome for the sinner,
and a promised grace made good;
there is mercy with the Savior;
there is healing in his blood.
There is grace enough for thousands
of new worlds as great as this
there is room for fresh creations
in that upper home of bliss.
"There is welcome for the sinner, and a promised grace made good". I wonder, what does this welcome for the sinner sound like? What does it smell like? I love the images of home in the second stanza—that "upper home of bliss." I imagine the joy of coming home—an embrace from someone I love, the smells of my favorite food, the space I can relax and be refreshed in, the place to rest until the mission and ministry of another day begins. God is both our welcome to a place of rest and our push again towards a bigger mission of grace. What a beautiful paradox to be at home in both.
Prayer
God of welcome, God of rest, thank you for Sabbath rest. Thank you for gracious welcome. Thank you for the holy push to be your love in the world. Amen.