Lent and Several Rabbit Holes

Last Sunday, when I wrote here what I was going to write about for the next six weeks, I naturally didn’t have a clue what kind of rabbit holes I would go down. I thought I would, on an internet search, find six appropriate songs or hymns which focus on Lent, Good Friday, Easter morning. You get that, right? Shouldn’t be so hard.

For starters, that initial list of songs which I found has already gone out the window. Oh, I shouldn’t say that. They are still here staring at me, but not speaking to me. So, I reverted back to the old Lutheran hymnals I have laying around the house.

Yes, there are two. The first one – The Lutheran Hymnal – is from 1941 and belonged to my mom’s dad’s cousin, I think. The second one – Lutheran Worship - replaced that first one in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in 1982. In 2006, we switched to the Lutheran Service Book, and aren’t you glad I don’t have a copy of that sitting around the house. (I really need to downsize!) (Or get on medication for attention deficit.)

Anyway, looking through both those old hymnals, I stumbled across – in the second one – the song below. The words were written by the daughter of a pastor, who went on to also marry a minister. She devoted herself to writing hymns, over 150 of them, many of which were geared towards children.

I could tell you why I like the words, but you should read them for yourself and come up with your own thoughts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any YouTube videos which didn’t make me cringe. I guess you will just have to enjoy the words as they are.    

O Lord, throughout these forty days

you prayed and kept the fast;

inspire repentance for our sin,

and free us from our past.

You strove with Satan, and you won;

your faithfulness endured;

lend us your nerve, your skill and trust

in God's eternal word.

Though parched and hungry, yet you prayed

and fixed your mind above;

so teach us to deny ourselves

that we may know God's love.

Be with us through this season, Lord,

and all our earthly days,

that when the final Easter dawns,

we join in heaven's praise.

Words by: Claudia Frances Hernaman (1873)

I arrived in Ayacucho, Peru on Easter Sunday in 2009, for a one-week volunteer experience.
This cross was on the hill overlooking the city, left behind from Good Friday.