"God Pause Daily Devotional" The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Saturday, 11 June 2016 "Canticle of the Turning" (ELW 723)

"God Pause Daily Devotional" The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Saturday, 11 June 2016 "Canticle of the Turning" (ELW 723)
The text for today's hymn cannot be published due to copyright limitations. We apologize for the inconvenience.

1. My soul cries out with a joyful shout

that the God of my heart is great,

And my spirit sings of the wondrous things

that you bring to the one who waits.

You fixed your sight on the servant's plight,

and my weakness you did not spurn,

So from east to west shall my name be blest.

Could the world be about to turn?

Refrain:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.

Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears,

For the dawn draws near,

And the world is about to turn.

2. Though I am small, my God, my all,

you work great things in me.

And your mercy will last from the depths of the past

to the end of the age to be.

Your very name puts the proud to shame,

and those who would for you yearn,

You will show your might, put the strong to flight,

for the world is about to turn.

Refrain:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.

Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears,

For the dawn draws near,

And the world is about to turn.

3. From the halls of power to the fortress tower,

not a stone will be left on stone.

Let the king beware for your justice tears

every tyrant from his throne.

The hungry poor shall weep no more,

for the food they can never earn;

These are tables spread, ev'ry mouth be fed,

for the world is about to turn.

Refrain:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.

Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears,

For the dawn draws near,

And the world is about to turn.

4. Though the nations rage from age to age,

we remember who holds us fast:

God's mercy must deliver us

from the conqueror's crushing grasp.

This saving word that our forbears heard

is the promise that holds us bound,

'Til the spear and rod be crushed by God,

who is turning the world around.

Refrain:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.

Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears,

For the dawn draws near,

And the world is about to turn.

[Paraphrase of Luke 1:46-58 (Magnificat),  Words: Rory Cooney (1990)]

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"Could the world be about to turn?"
We're not sure. Sometimes it doesn't feel like healthy, Spirit-filled transformation is catching us up in the magnificence of creation. Instead, it can feel like we're dragging each other along, bickering about the details and guarding what was once the most important thing. All the more reason to wonder aloud in song! When we sing and pray about the possibility of the Spirit's work, we're more likely to long for it, sense it and move with it. The way we sing and pray in the present has the capacity to change our future. Own those question marks, sisters and brothers, and own the possibilities that the Lord has in store for us.
God of change, thank you for weaving your promises through our human story and for calling us forward into the possibilities of things still to come. Give us courage to wonder and hope when we sing out as the body of Christ. Amen.
Meta Herrick Carlson
Zion Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
Master of Divinity, 2008
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