Author: Frederick Pratt Green (1903-2000) Hymnal: Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #373 (2008) Meter: 7.7.7 Scripture: Matthew 27:24 Lyrics: 1 All is ready for the Feast!
Every Jew is wondering how
God will liberate them now.
2 Pilate, fearful of revolt
he, at all costs, must avert,
puts the Legion on alert.
3 Listen! Galilean crowds
hail the Man from Nazareth,
Jesus, riding to his death.
4 What authority he wields!
With a whip of cords he clears
temple courts of profiteers!
5 Watched by priests and pharisees,
all he says and all he does
fans the hatred of his foes.
6 Now he gathers those he loves
in a room where bread and wine
turn to sacrament and sign.
7 In that dark betrayal night,
moved by hope, or fear or greed,
Judas sets about his deed.
8 Jesus in the olive grove,
waiting for a traitor's kiss,
rises free from bitterness.
9 As he wakes his comrades up,
torches flicker in the glen:
shadows turn to marching men.
10 In that dawn of blows and lies
Church and State conspire to kill,
hang three rebels on a hill.
11 Innocent and guilty drown
in a flood of blood and sweat,
how much darker can it get?
12 How much darker must it be
for a God to see and care
that men perish in despair?
13 It is God himself who dies!
God in man shall set us free:
God as Man - and only he.
14 Let him claim us as his own,
we will serve as best we can
such a God and such a Man!
Final verse:
15 What does our salvation cost?
Jesus, we shall never know
all you gave and all we owe. Topics: Christ Incarnate Passion and Death; Christian Year Holy Week Languages: English Tune Title: HEILIGER GEIST
All is ready for the Feast!