Devotional Thoughts Based on the Glory to God Hymnal
Matthew 17:2 (17:1-13
And He was transfigured then, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white.
At first glance people will say, “I don’t know this hymn”. Another will agree. At second glance people will say, “I don’t know this tune.” Another will say, “wait a minute, I do recognize that hymn tune, “Picardy”. Yes, that is a tune we sing with some regularity. That is: “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”. Matthew 17:2 is referenced in the second stanza of the hymn: “Clothed in light upon the mountain”. Its counterpart, “Stripped of might upon the cross” is referenced by Pilate asking Jesus: “Do you not know I have power to release you and the power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above.” John 19:10b-11
The Glory to God commentator has written:
When it was first published, the author called this text “Christus Paradox,” because so many attributes of Christ stand in tension with each other. Mindful of the works of Soren Kierkegaard, she drafted it on a commuter bus after “a particularly bad day of prison ministry.”
Prayer
O God, we thank You for being our Shepherd and for lovingly providing for us and tenderly caring for us. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
