photo by Julie Garrett
There is silence around me in the peaceful winter night.
From the church down in the valley I can see the candlelight.
And I stopped for a moment in this winter paradise,
When I heard a choir singing through the darkness and the ice.
And the rays from the lights behind the window’s vaulted frames,
Have united the souls in hope that something great is waiting.
And I know that those who have left us here had the same thoughts as I.
We’re like flames in the darkness and stars up in the sky.
And I can see how they sparkle, and they fade before my eyes.
And the truth is coming closer like a wonder in disguise.
We are caught here a moment like an imprint of a hand,
On an old and frosted window or a footprint in the sand.
For a while I’m eternal, that’s the only thing I know,
I am here and we share our dreams about our destination.
It is cold out here, and the snow is white but I am warm deep inside,
I am warm ’cause I know that my faith will be my guide.
Now there is silence around me, I have heard those words again,
In a hymn of grace and glory, saying: nothing is in vain!
I can sing- and believe it, let the message reach the sky.
Oh silent night, let your promise never die!
And I long for the others, it is peaceful in the church.
He was born for a reason, and that’s why we’re here together.
Holy night, I feel like a child inside, and believe He was sent.
So I’m lighting a candle each Sunday in Advent.
~English translation of the Swedish carol Koppången
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tiZVCVT7Ko
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 2
8 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven,
“I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
John 12:27-28
There are so many people on earth who have never known what it is like to be part of a body of believers who worship together
through thick and thin, good times and ugly times, through disagreements and joyful reconciliation,
even if we would rather be doing something else on a Sunday.
Sometimes we are troubled and want to be saved from the responsibility and accountability
of being part of Christ’s body, of showing up and following through with our part of God’s covenant with His people.
Yet that is why He came to us, when we were in our most dire need and turning away.
He showed up because He was sent, He followed through even when He had doubts,
He came for a reason and purpose
to glorify the Father,
to show us the Father in the Flesh,
His Flesh.
Thank you to Carla Arnell for sharing this lovely Swedish hymn.
Barnstorming 