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A song and a prayer for Easter
Song for Easter
Jesus of the Scars
If we have never sought, we seek you now;
Your eyes burn through the dark our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-marks on your brow,
We must have you, O Jesus of the scars.
The heavens frighten us, they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place
Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by your scars we know your grace
O Jesus of the scars we seek you now
O Jesus of the scars we seek you now
We must have sight of the thorn-marks on your brow
We must have you, O Jesus of the scars
The other gods were strong but you were weak;
They rode, but you did stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds but you alone.
music by Garth Hewitt
poem by Edward Shillito, written at the end of the First World War
Prayer for Easter 2020
O God, whether in India, Greece or Bethlehem
Or anywhere else in our global village
Lead us through the wilderness of worry, despair,
Illness, sorrow and suffering
And lead our wounded world to the resurrection of hope.
May we all learn from this world wide virus
That we are all in this together.
So no more violence and war,
No more greed and selfishness –
It is time to support one another
And genuinely love our neighbour as ourself.
God of the just heart
God of the just heart
In the challenging words of the Sermon on the Mount
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice
They shall be satisfied’
You remind us that satisfaction does not lie
Where we might expect it
In the security of wealth and privilege
But in the joy of doing what is right
And in working to assert the value and dignity of other people
Because this is the calling of your community
This builds relationships and just societies
This brings deep satisfaction
As all are made welcome.
So keep us hungering and thirsting
For the values that make us all whole
And then we know the healing fountains will start.
Holy Dreams to Feed the Soul
SPCK
.
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Garth Hewitt writes redemption songs
and then sings them without fear.
His voice comes through clearly,
challenging us by his witness to act for justice. His is a brave voice,
needed more than ever in a fearful world, and in a sometimes timid church.
Please God, it will help us
sing redemption songs of our own.
The Revd Lucy Winkett
Rector, St James’s Piccadilly
previous Chair of Trustees of Amos Trust