Lent Book Club: 8th March 2022
“God moves in a mysterious way” – absolutely.
Olney in Bedfordshire gets a mention with reference to the composer of today’s poem/hymn. The only other fact I have about the place is that it is famous for its annual pancake race.
Bishop Harries tells us a bit about William Cowper’s life and that he suffered from depression. That is alluded to in another of his hymns: “O for a closer walk with God” in which he expresses a sense of distance from God, yet in the end, has a reason to hope.
Meanwhile, “God moves in a mysterious way” is peppered with words like dread, frowning, and bitter. These are set alongside others like bright, mercy and sweet. His answer to the statement that “God moves in a mysterious way” is that “God is his own interpreter, And he will make it plain”
For further reflection on God’s mysterious ways I was going to include a link to the hymn on YouTube. However, I found this instead:
This year #LentBookClub are reading “Hearing God in Poetry. Fifty poems for Lent and Easter” by Richard Harries published by SPCK. In this book Bishop Harries introduces us to a number of poets and poems. Some may be familiar, some are old and some are new. You may follow the # on Twitter or find us on Facebook.
Sundry Times Too 