"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Sunday, 30 October 2016 "O Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts" (ELW 658)

"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Sunday, 30 October 2016 "O Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts" (ELW 658)

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"O Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts" (ELW 658)
"O Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts" (ELW 658)
1. O Jesus, joy of loving hearts,
the fount of life, the light of all:
from ev'ry bliss that earth imparts
we turn, unfilled, to hear your call.
2. We taste you, ever-living bread,
and long to feast upon you still;
we drink of you, the fountainhead;
our thirsting souls from you we fill.
3. For you our restless spirits yearn,
where'er our changing lot is cast;
glad, when your smile on us you turn,
blest, when by faith we hold you fast.
4. O Jesus, ever with us stay!
Make all our moments fair and bright!
Oh, chase the night of sin away!

Shed o'er the world your holy light.
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"From ev'ry bliss that earth imparts we turn, unfilled, to hear your call." St. Augustine made the same point in his Confessions: "You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you." We long for so much, and much of what we yearn for is good: purpose, direction, relationships. But finally even such good things are among the treasures moth and rust consume and thief breaks in to steal. We remain restless, unfilled, longing for what we know not. We remain unfilled until the one we were made for, the one who would share with us all that he is and has, finds us.
Someone is baptized. Sinners kneel to receive bread and wine. A word of hope is shared between friends. You meet a hungry man, a lonely woman, a fearful child. Here is Jesus! Here is God's own son, finding you, breaking into your life, easing the restlessness we all know with his peace that passes all understanding. 
What can we say, heavenly father, except thank you--for your spirit who finds us, your son who abides with us, your own love in which we live and move and have our being. We thank you, dear God, that we are. We marvel that we are yours and can rest in you. Amen.
Bradley Edin, '84
Pastor, Kathryn-Nome-Fingal Lutheran Parish, Fingal, N.D.
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