Kyrie eleison

We come with self-inflicted pains
Of broken trust and chosen wrong,
Half-free, half-bound by inner chains,
By social forces swept along,
By powers and systems close confined,
Yet seeking hope for humankind.

Lord God, in Christ you call our name,
And then receive us as your own;
Not through some merit, right, or claim,
But by your gracious love alone;
We strain to glimpse your mercy seat,
and find you kneeling at our feet.

Text by Brian Wren, 1973 © 1977 Hope Publishing Co.

So much of my theology, the how and why and what of my beliefs is set forth in poetry, music, art, etc. The texts of hymns are a major place that my beliefs hang. This is the text of two stanzas of a work by Brian Wren, one of my favorite contemporary hymn writers. For me, it bids us all welcome, reminding us of Christ as the one who came to serve, and who calls us to do the same.