God is Near

‘Lo, I am with you always’

Wide fields of corn along the valleys spread;

The rain and dew mature the swelling vine;

I see the Lord in multiplying bread; '

I see him turning water into Wine;

I see him working all the works divine

He wrought when Salemward his steps were led;

The selfsame miracles around him shine;

He feeds the famished; he revives the dead;

He pours the flood of light on darkened eyes;

He chases tears, diseases, fiends away;

His throne is raised upon these orient skies;

His footstool is the pave whereon we pray.

Ah, tell me not of Christ in Paradise,

For he is all around us here today.

John Charles Earle late 19th—20th century?

“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

These are Jesus' last words, his final commission. The eleven poor fishermen, still shaken by the experience of the crucifixion, must have listened with astonishment. “Make disciples of all nations”, when we barely know one language and are most of us good only for fishing! But they started where they were, in Jerusalem. If Francis Xavier, that globe-trotting missionary, was alive today, he would no doubt start where we are, on line, and linking far and near across the net as we do, to reach people in a score of languages. The Lord is with us as he was with the disciples -- how otherwise can you explain the 1.8 billion on earth today who call themselves Christian? 

Prayer: Lord, your are with us whenever we speak of you to others. Give us the courage to speak your name. Whilst some of the first disciples doubted,7 yet you spoke to them all. Jesus send us, just as you did them in spite of our hesitations and weaknesses. Help us to take your words, `I am with you always,” and allow them to settle in our hearts. Amen