Lent Book Club: 11th March 2022
“In thy wisdom make me wise.” Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from “In Memoriam”.
Bishop Harries tells us about the poet and about the tragic loss of his friend at the age of 22. This is the background of the poem. It reveals “the poet desperately trying to hold on to faith as he faces terrible loss.” (page36)
Today, I do not have a coherent thought to write about. What I shall do, instead is share with you some of the phases that caught my eye:
“Believing where we cannot prove” (verse 1)
“Forgive these wild and wandering cries…Forgive them where they fail in truth,
And in thy wisdom make me wise.” (verse 11)
“Our little systems have their day;
They gave their day and cease to be:
They are but broken lights of thee,
And thou, O Lord, art more than they.” (verse 5)
Father, we commend to your faithful love
those who are crying from the depths;
help them to watch and pray
through their time of darkness,
in sure hope of the dawn of your
forgiveness and redemption;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Common Worship prayer for Psalm 130)
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 