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War Carol

Added Monday 20th December 2010

The prince of peace cries for dying soldiers,
Tangled in war, who fight in vain,
A thorn in the straw scratches his finger
An innocent pang of earthly pain.

Shepherds in barren fields sense danger
And tense as unnatural light appears;
An enemy, then an angel, shouting,
A chorus that calms, then summons tears.

Kings running from guilt suspect the stranger
But sign a dark treaty to survive;
Their gifts of extortion round the manger
The price that each pays to stay alive.

Pain left at the breast of his sweet mother,
The baby can hear an angel sing;
Though sorry the gifts, he loves each giver,
The soldiers have found a new-born king.

War Carol has been set to music by Alan Smith.

The prince of peace cries for dying soldiers,

Tangled in war, who fight in vain,

A thorn in the straw scratches his finger

An innocent pang of earthly pain.

 

Shepherds in barren fields sense danger

And tense as unnatural light appears;

An enemy, then an angel, shouting,

A chorus that calms, then summons tears.

 

Kings running from guilt suspect the stranger

But sign a dark treaty to survive;

Their gifts of extortion round the manger

The price that each pays to stay alive.

 

Pain left at the breast of his sweet mother,

The baby can hear an angel sing;

Though sorry the gifts, he loves each giver,

The soldiers have found a new-born king.

Advent Firesiders: The Year of Luke

Added Tuesday 23rd November 2010

There are two things I like about Luke above all others: first, his characters frequently thank Jesus for his miracles. I mean, imagine you've just been cured of leprosy or got your sight back and you just walk away without acknowledging the healer; it doesn't seem real, does it?

The second thing I like is that people repent after they've met Jesus not as a necessary precondition for meeting him. It is when people get to know him that they see the error of their ways. Now that’s what I call genuine discipleship.

This year's Advent Firesiders — fireside reading for Advent — are now available in three parts: Luke i, Luke ii and Luke iii.

Advent and Christmas

Added Friday 19th November 2010

Advent and Christmas are almost upon us, so you may enjoy hymns for the period Advent to Candlemas. The extract below is Come, Jesus, Come. This has been set to music by Alan Smith.

  1. Come, Jesus Come: we cry aloud
    To bring new hope to weary earth;
    We cannot help ourselves, yet know
    Cruel death will follow wondrous birth.
  2. Come, Jesus, come, our eyes are burned
    As pride and greed shed toxic light;
    We cannot help ourselves yet know
    Angels will promise heavenly sight.
  3. Come Jesus come: our ears are drowned
    In choirs of selfish blasphemy;
    We cannot help ourselves yet know
    Your selfless grace brings liberty.
  4. Come Jesus Come: our hearts are sore
    With beating to the idol's drum;
    We cannot help ourselves but know
    You are the one: Come, Jesus, Come!

Get your copy of Perpetua now!

Added Thursday 28th October 2010

Perpetua, a late teenage Afro Caribbean girl from South London says that she is the fourth person of the godhead. This causes a stir in Christian and political circles and after her whirlwind mission of teaching and healing, through a combination of conspiracy and cock-up she is forcibly injected with a cocktail of drugs, gang raped and murdered live on television on Good Friday 2007; but appears on every television channel in the world two days later. Her story is told by a tabloid journalist, a social worker in charge of her surveillance, an FE multimedia student and a theology graduate.

The first of four books which completely re-writes the story of Jesus in the 21st Century, Perpetua contains a searing and satirical analysis of church and state in the 21st Century.

Buy Perpetua now!

Morality and the Spending Review

Added Friday 22nd October 2010

Politicians and philosophers rightly warn us that the price of our freedom is eternal vigilance and that phrase immediately takes me to the word vigil, the act of bearing witness in the night, usually with candles, to draw attention to an injustice; and that, in turn, leads me to the question of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane: could you not watch and pray with me a while?

In Kevin Carey's latest sermon, he argues that morality is not as straightforward as we assume. Can this be applied to the recent Government Spending Review?

John Henry Newman

Added Friday 24th September 2010

Following Pope Benedict's beatification of John Henry Newman on 19th September 2010, several resources have been added to Jesus4u exploring his life, theology and ministry:

Pentecost

Added Tuesday 18th May 2010

A1. All of the time I waited,
All of the time I cried;
Crowded with those who hated,
Empty the hour you died:
O Jesus, son, you came to save
But left me in this living grave.

A2. Pierced by Simeon's warning,
Pierced by every nail;
Struck by the early triumph,
Struck by your will to fail:
O Jesus, son, with so much given
You left me when you entered heaven.

A3. Strong in the face of weakness,
Weak in the face of power;
Days when you were victorious,
Lost in that final hour:
O Jesus, son, I need your love
But you are living far above.

A4. Rose in a field of thistles,
Crowned with your own blood thorn;
Flesh for a world in torment,
My flesh so sharply torn:
O Jesus, son, I should feel free
But languish in your agony.

B. Through the tears I followed in the crowd
Through the taunts I struggled to be proud
And saw your smile in the rain
And saw it flicker through the pain
O Jesus, son, I pray to see it again:

A5. Send down the Holy Spirit,
Send down the power of grace;
Help us to face the future
Clear in your wounded face:
O Jesus may the Spirit come
Then take me to our heavenly home.

Aria—Mary from Pentecost Cantata

Gardens

Added Tuesday 30th March 2010

He knelt before his Father in the garden,
Obscured by Shadows from the Paschal moon;
"Not my will, Abba
But thy will be done."

He stood before his father in the garden,
Illumined by the gold of Paschal sun;
"Not my death, Abba,
But new life begun."

Compline for Shrove Tuesday

Added Tuesday 26th January 2010

A new Compline for Shrove Tuesday is now available for use in your preparations for Lent.

Loving father, keep us close to you through the temptations and troubles of our mortal life so that we neither sink into indifference nor into despair. Help us to learn both from our joy and from our penitence and see them as two necessary aspects of our faithfulness to you. We make these prayers to you through our beloved saviour and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Epiphany

Added Tuesday 5th January 2010

When Jesus dreamed
He heard a choir
And felt the ardour
Of the Holy Spirit's Grace;
And then He saw the golden children,
Feted pilgrims
In His Father's warm embrace.

Lulla, lulla, lulla-lulla.

Taken from Post Epiphany Carols (i. Dreams).