1 A vacant place at the table
a missing face at the door,
a voice now forever silent,
an absence none can ignore.
Why were you brutally taken,
unjustly sentenced to die?
Why did we turn from you, fearful,
our friend and teacher deny?
2 A borrowed tomb in the garden,
a doorway closed with a stone;
We weep for your broken body,
now hidden, lifeless, alone.
Who will there be now to love us,
when you lie cold in the grave?
How can we still face the future
without the hope that you gave?
3 An empty tomb in the morning,
a jubilant angel voice:
“The one whom you seek is risen!
Let earth and heaven rejoice!”
Who now can question your promise?
Who now can doubt what you said?
You are alive, alleluia,
The Christ, risen from the dead!
Source: Faith That Lets Us Sing: fifty new hymns and short worship songs #6
Mary Nelson Keithahn, a retired United Church of Christ ordained pastor and church educator, has been a curriculum writer-editor, journalist, and lyricist for musical dramas and anthems. She still works out of her home in Rapid City, South Dakota, as a free-lance writer. In 2016 she published Elfie: Adventures on the Midwest Frontier, a chapter book for children, and Embracing the Light: Reflectioins on God’s Holy Word, a collection of meditations for individual or small group use. Augsburg Fortress also published Sing the Stories of God’s NEW People, the third in a trilogy of Bible story-based collections of songs for young children, written with her longtime colleague, John D. Horman. The two have written over a hundred hymns togethe… Go to person page >
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