Our Light
Revelation 7:15-17
For this reason, they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’
John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman, a bishop of the Anglican Church, was visiting Italy. He was there to discuss what he believed was a spiritual crisis in the Christian Church - a church no longer made vibrant by its worship service in and to the world On the return voyage, the ship he was on was becalmed in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and sat in a fog bank unmoving for days. To add to his misery, he contracted a flu-like illness called the “Sicilian Fever” that was spreading throughout Europe at the time. Every night he would go out on the deck, sick and restless, and ask the captain, when they might expect to resume the voyage. And every night he was told the shop could not sail until the wind returned.
After several days a single star broke through the fog. The captain pointed to it and said; ‘That kindly light is a harbinger! The wind shall soon come and we shall be on our way.” Within hours the fog cleared and the ship was under sail. On his way home, Newman wrote this hymn.
Lead, Kindly Light
Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile, which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
Prayer: O God, be our light, lead us from the darkness and in your kindness, bring us to that farther shore where we can serve you once again as Your faithful people. Amen.