Rise up, rev. 2023

Rise up, old bones, return to life,

Take sinew, flesh, and breath; 

Give witness to the power of God,

A power that conquers death                     

(A power that conquers death).

 

Rise up, dear friend, return to life,

No longer in the grave; 

Give witness to the love of God

That drives the Christ to save                                 

(That drives the Christ to save).

 

Rise up, old church, return to life,

No longer drowned in fear; 

Give witness to the Word of God

The world declines to hear                         

(The world declines to hear).

 

Rise up, my soul, return to life,

No longer lost in sin; 

Give witness to the grace of God

And let new life begin                                  

(And let new life begin).

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, 2014, rev. 2023, after Lent 5A texts

MUSIC: Tune CHRISTMAS, G.F. Handel, 1728; arr. Lowell Mason, 1821.

 

The combination of Ezekiel’s “valley of bones” vision and Jesus’s raising of Lazarus (Lent 5A) became a prompt for considering new life in institutions (such as churches) or people struggling to stay afloat. (The repeated phrases in parentheses correspond to the suggested tune; they can be left out if a different tune is used.)