First Sunday in Lent (6)

George Herbert at Bemerton, by William Dyce, 1860

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”   Psalm 139: 1-3

 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”   John 14:6

As well as the appointed readings for February 27th, we also find this the feast day of George Herbert. George Herbert (1593-1633) was an English Priest and Poet. Herbert was convinced that God had chosen him for a great purpose which was to instruct kings and princes in godly rule. A hard inner struggle and prayer full of lament and anger, Herbert learned to question his ambitions and at the age of 33 he was ordained a deacon and then a few years later he accepted a parish in Bremerton and was made priest. Here he found peace in service to God and his flock.

I am sure that many of us have felt like George Herbert at some point in our lives. Is it really God leading us in the path we are choosing or are we hoping that it is what God wants us to do? As the psalmist says in Psalm 139, God knows us even better than we know ourselves and in the Gospel of John we see that Jesus is telling Thomas the words that we find in verse 6. Jesus did not simply say He would show us the way, but that He IS The Way. He is the one and only way for us to get to the father. As we wait through this season of Lent, we understand that Jesus is the way every one of us must follow. Jesus is the truth in Whom we must believe. Jesus is the life in Whom we have our hope. And Jesus said - NO ONE comes to the Father but through Me. There is no other way to God; no other truth about God; and no other life apart from God. Christ's claim is exclusive. He is a life-giving Spirit. He willingly shed His own innocent blood as the full and final payment for the sin of the world - for without this there is NO redemption!

As a poet, Herbert left behind a collection of poems later published as “The Temple”. These poems have nourished many and several have been set to music. In our Anglican hymnbook, you will find the following hymns with lyrics by George Herbert. “Let all the world in every corner sing”, “Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life”, “ King of Glory, King of Peace” , and “Teach me, my God and King”.

I want us to focus on “Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life”. 

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death
 
Come, My Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest
 
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in love.

Here we see that Herbert’s text  expands on John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” by incorporating additional metaphors: Light, Feast and Strength (stanza two), and Joy, Love and Heart (stanza three).  An interesting look at the hymn’s structure by English literary scholar Richard Watson notes: “The three-fold structure of the first verse is repeated in the other two; there is a trinity in each verse, and three verses, making a trinity of trinities.”

I would like to conclude this reflection with this collect. Let us pray:

Heavenly Father,
by the working of your love
you made your servant George Herbert
to sing of your mercies and to stand as priest and pastor at the table of the Paschal Lamb.
Grant us to hear your call
and lay hold of the gifts you have given us,
that we also may come to share
in the fellowship of your heavenly banquet;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

- Karen Hudson