This week’s hymn, “Love Divine All Loves Excelling,” is another of the most well-known hymns, even ecumenically. Its text is another one we could consider committing to memory for that (those?) moment(s) when we will really need it. The text is a gift from one of the early formers of the Methodist Church, Charles Wesley, and the tune we sing it to from the Welsh.
What this points out is how diverse our hymnody has always been. What we call the “Lutheran” tradition has always been open-armed, yet hopefully, fully discerning about what is worthy of our heart, soul, and voices.
As I age myself, the last part worries me less and less, as it is time itself, and the Spirit of God that will do the bulk of the discerning, and will carry what we need to future generations.
Enjoy.
-Cantor David Cherwien
