O DEAREST JESUS

1. O dearest Jesus, with your body broken
God's final sentence, God's last word, is spoken. We see with eyes that know about your crying, your crucifying.

2. Why did they mock you?
Why did people jeer you?
Aren't you the king?
The whole world should have cheered you.
Ah, but our hearts are cold, and we are blinded, so evil-minded.

3. We made your crown with
thorns from deep inside us,
hammered your hands with
nails no-one supplied us.
We need no help to stage a crucifixion — it's our affliction.

4. Yet, by your dying death has been defeated.
Life was destroyed, but life has been created.
One final cry, and though your life was ended
we were befriended.

5. Sleep, dearest Jesus, sleep until your waking.
When morning comes this
old world will be breaking.
Death cannot hold you. Death is not that clever.
God lives forever!

Alternative Verse 4 & 5

4. Yet by your dying you have drawn us near you. In your distress we love you more than fear you. Lonely we are, but now your life has ended
we are befriended.

5. Sleep, dearest Jesus, sleep until your waking. You rest in peace, but still our hearts are breaking. Take all our tears and comfort us in sorrow
until tomorrow.

1982, 1988. In 1977, we did a special service on Palm Sunday evening which retold the story of Jesus' passion with drama, narration and music and made use of special lighting brought in for the occasion. We did the same style of service on many subsequent pre- Easters. In recent years it has been done every year on Good Friday evening. These new words to this old song were written for 2 of these services. We use the song virtually every year. It translates well to a band, and it's good to use this great melody of Johann Crüger, one of the greatest hymn tune writers ever.

ALWS 5/10/23

To say I've been inactive on my website is a serious understatement! I've written nothing here since early 2021.

So, does this mean the world has stopped for us, that nothing is happening?
A major event for us in 2022 was moving house in October. We had been in Modbury Heights since July 1993.Now we're back in Klemzig.

In May we travelled to the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia, seeing work supported by Australian Lutheran World Service. Dorothy and I are Ambassadors for the ALWS programme, Lives You Touch. We are encouraging people to leave money in their will for the work of ALWS. We committed to leave a third of our will many years ago and hope many others can touch lives in this way.
Since then we have visited Box Hill & Loxton with Jonathan & Julie Krause as part of the Asante presentations, promoting the cause of ALWS. Still to come this year are Asante events in Toowoomba & Rochedale (Nov 26 & 27) and Perth (Dec 10)

Looking forward to seeing many people on these occasions.