I think I can be forgiven for thinking they were singing about a rose and some gravy. I was a kid, and that's the best my little mind could do with what I heard.
All about me, folks were singing their hearts out. It was obvious this hymn meant a lot to them. The word to describe this forceful and heartfelt kind of singing, I would later learn, is "gusto." They were singing with gusto.
Listening to the hymn’s chorus, all I could picture was a rose rising up out of a bowl filled with gravy. In my childish imagination, it just sort of hovered there over the gravy bowl, looking blood-red beautiful.
Fast forward about 10 years. I am paging through a hymnal and come across a song. Something about the lyrics seems familiar to me. As I read through the verses, I come to the chorus. For a few seconds, I just sit there.
Then, I burst out laughing!
Like many children before me, I had heard the lyrics in a way that my childish mind could handle, but not as they actually were. There are lots of stories about kids mot understanding hymnal lyrics. Perhaps the best known: "Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear."
In my case, what I thought I heard as a small child was "Up from the gravy: a rose!" The actual lyrics are: "Up from the grave He arose!"
It's a song celebrating what is at the very heart of Christian belief: that Jesus rose from the grave on the third day following his crucifixion. This Easter, when you are taking a moment to reflect on what, to many, is the part of the story that actually makes the Gospels the good news, I hope you will recall my experience with a smile.
And when you do, share that smile with a child, knowing that even though they may not quite understand things right now, it will come in time.
Happy Easter!
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Listen to the old hymn here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BYMCZNHPmg
LYRICS
Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Text: Robert Lowry, 1826-1899
Music: Robert Lowry, 1826-1899
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PHOTO (and proof I wasn’t the only one who heard “gravy”):
http://www.central-christian-church.com/2021/04/20/up-from-the-gravy-a-rose/
BONUS LISTENING
“You Saved the Day” by Phillips, Craig and Dean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a4Gk-y56F4
“GraveRobber” by Petra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKyhGyTW_TM
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Friday mornings are a special time for us. It's at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast that we celebrate the Word. We read and discuss the scriptures, pray for ourselves and our community, and there is a lot of laughter to complement the meal. Join us on Zoom** or in person at Our Breakfast Place.
It is not necessary to bring a rose.
But you could…
Blessings,
Steve
**Contact me for the Zoom link
NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Find them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=38
Print them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_ResurrectionoftheLord.pdf
Jeremiah 31:1-6
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Colossians 3:1-4 OR Acts 10:34-43
John 20:1-18 OR Matthew 28:1-10
Resurrection of the Lord (April 9, 2023)
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Table of Easter Lectionary Readings
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/lections.php?year=A&season=Easter
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