My favorite hymn is “Hymn of Promise” (UMH#707) that I am now singing aloud, and I want to invite each of you to sing each stanza with me that might usher us into the mystery of our faith in God’s unbroken promise:

“In the bulb there is a flower;

in the seed, an apple tree;

in cocoons, a hidden promise:

butterflies will soon be free!

In the cold and snow of winter

there’s a spring that waits to be,

unrevealed until its season,

something God alone can see.”

“There’s a song in every silence,

seeking word and melody;

there’s a dawn in every darkness,

bringing hope to you and me.

From the past will come the future;

what it holds, a mystery,

unrevealed until its season,

something God alone can see.”

“In our end is our beginning;

in our time, infinity;

in our doubt there is believing;

in our life, eternity.

In our death, a resurrection;

at the last, a victory,

unrevealed until its season,

something God alone can see.”

 

I sing this song, when I listen to God’s call that is “always” challenging and disruptive (see Abraham, Moses, and Paul), but then the divine call “always” moves us to another level of our spiritual journey. That is the promise of hope that has never been broken because God is faithful all the time, and God will never let us down. Please sing the song with me again in this time of grief, anger, confusion, frustration, and suffering, and know that God alone is in charge!

With love and peace, Pastor Heecheon Jeon