Sixth Sunday of Easter

The song of hope and celebration for this Sunday is based on a question that was first asked (at least in written form) in 1563. It was the opening question of the Heidelberg Catechism, a tool designed for three purposes: 1) to teach the faith to young people, 2) to provide a preaching/teaching tool for pastors, and 3) to help Reformed churches in 16th century Germany define their theological unity and identity.

The Heidelberg Catechism is set up in a question/answer format, with 129 questions that are posed to the listener about everything from sin to conversion to worship and more. Adherents learned the answers to the questions, as well as the Scriptural basis for each question and answer.

The catechism begins with this question:

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

And the answer:

That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

The catechism, like any human-derived document, is not perfect by any means. But I do love the way it begins, because this first question calls us to remember whose we are and from where we derive our hope. In a time when hope often seems in short supply, it is important to remember that Christ is our only hope. When there is a shortage of hope, we will often seek it in ways that will ultimately come up empty. This song calls us to not only remember, but also to declare:

Now and ever we confess
Christ our hope in life and death.

It reminds me of a lyric from another song:

In Christ alone, my hope is found.
He is my light, my strength, my song.

The song for today, like a catechism, consists of a number of questions, many of which ask us to consider what it is we cling to when the storms of life are raging. And the invitation is clear: if we are clinging to anything but Christ, we need to let go and return to “the rock of Christ.” He alone will see us through.

He alone gives us hope.

O sing hallelujah!
Our hope springs eternal;
O sing hallelujah!
Now and ever we confess
Christ our hope in life and death.

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Scripture for Reflection and Worship

1 Corinthians 3:23 (GW)

You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Ephesians 1:3-14 (NRSV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.