God Pause for Sunday.........

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less," LBW 293 & ELW 596 (Click to view the hymn text below.)
Nine years ago I, like many others across the country, awoke to the news that an airplane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. As I live on the West Coast, it was just after six o'clock a.m. when the second plane hit the other tower. I remember the fear I felt as I drove to work that morning. By that time another plane had hit the Pentagon, a fourth plane had crashed in Pennsylvania and we had no idea if there was more to come. That morning we gathered as a church staff in the sanctuary to pray. It was not something we did regularly, but that was certainly not an ordinary morning. We prayed for our nation. We prayed for our world. We prayed for peace and courage. We prayed for hope.

The hymn, "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less," reminds us that in the midst of a world in which acts of terror can strike fear in our hearts, God is still at work.

"In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand."

That day and the rest of that week, it felt like the ground was shifting underneath us. Since then we have learned to live with fears of terrorism and heightened security. This hymn reminds us that our ultimate security is in Christ Jesus who gave his life to forgive our sins and redeem this world. We stand securely in Christ, trusting in his care at all times.

Most gracious God, we thank you that you are the solid rock on which we stand when the ground shifts beneath us, whether due to world events or our own mistakes. We thank you for holding on to us securely and helping us to have hope in you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Andy Taylor
St. Andrew Lutheran Church, San Diego, Calif.
Master of Divinity, 1986

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less," LBW 293 & ELW 596 1 My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; no merit of my own I claim, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Refrain On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. 2 When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace; in ev'ry high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil. Refrain 3 His oath, his covenant, his blood sustain me in the raging flood; when all supports are washed away, he then is all my hope and stay. Refrain 4 When he shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in him be found, clothed in his righteousness alone, redeemed to stand before the throne! Refrain