Saturday, June 15, 2019

Devotion

1Beautiful 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.

2Fair 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.

3Fair 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.

Text: Gesangbuch, Münster, 1677; tr. Joseph A. Seiss, 1823-1904

I think I understood God better when I was a child. The longer I live, the less I understand. I am sometimes baffled by God's ways in the Old Testament, destroying nations on behalf of one nation; or baffled by God's seeming silence in a world full of troubles. For sure it's an old question, but I still ask it: If God is all powerful and full of goodness, then why? God too often seems like an absent parent, not noticing that we are doing terrible things to one another, and to ourselves.

So I hear Jesus' prayer from the cross: "My God, my God, why ...?" But then I read again the story of Jesus. Then I see again his followers at work in the world today, doing good. And I realize once again that I like Jesus. Good story teller. Great with kids. Sits down to dinner with all the relatives. Treats women as equals. Pays attention to those considered less.

I "get" Jesus. Jesus gives me hope. Jesus keeps me.