FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC: CELTIC PSALMS FOR LENT
Greetings, dear friends! Once again I delight to share with you some of the writings of the British priest, theologian, and poet, David Adam (1936-2020), who was for many years the vicar of Lindisfarn - known as the Holy Isle - off the northeast coast of England, one of the great ‘holy’ places of Christian pilgrimage. Adam’s creative output includes sermons, commentaries, reflections, but what drew me to him are his poetic psalms and prayers. My most cherished ‘go-to’ devotional source is his collection, Music of the Heart: New Psalms in the Celtic Tradition (London, SPCK, 2004 – sadly out of print). The psalms in this collection are presented in six sections: Singing; Seeking; Sorrowing; Straying; Saved; Seasonal. Running the gamut of the Biblical psalms, from praise and thanksgiving to lament to questioning search, Adam’s prayer-psalms address most of the states of the human spirit. From the ‘Seasonal’ section of the collection I share with you two psalms resonant of the thoughts and hopes of Lent, this time when we reach within ourselves to find our way to a deeper relationship with our Lord. May these words inspire you as they do me. WMcC
BROKEN FOR US
Lord, broken on the cross,
You were shattered for us.
We come to you:
For you alone can make us whole.
We come with all broken people,
Whose lives are shattered.
We come to you:
For you alone can make us whole.
We come with those suffering from
Broken relationships, broken promises,
Broken hopes, broken dreams, broken hearts.
We come to you:
For you alone can make us whole.
We come with those suffering from
Broken bodies, those who have suddenly taken ill,
The injured in accidents, the victims of violence,
With all who are in hospital or needing care at home.
We come to you:
For you alone can make us whole.
We come with all those suffering from
Broken minds, the deeply disturbed,
The distressed, the depressed, the suicidal.
We come to you:
For you alone can make us whole.
We come to you, shattered on the cross,
Broken for our healing.
You are the risen Lord, the giver of life,
You renew us and offer us life eternal.
We come to you:
For you alone can make us whole.
COMING TO THE CROSS
The closer we come to each other,
The closer we come to God,
The closer we come to the cross.
The closer we come to love,
The closer we come to God,
The closer we come to the cross.
The closer we come to knowing,
The closer we come to the cross.
The closer we come to loving,
The closer we come to the cross.
The closer we come to the heart of God,
The closer we come to the cross.
The closer we come to the resurrection,
The closer we come to the cross,
And the closer we come to eternal life.
David Adam: Music of the Heart: New Psalms in the Celtic Tradition
London: SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), 2004
© 2004, David Adam
Reprinted with permission – OneLicense net A-717842
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