HYMN FOR PENTECOST Holy Spirit, Guide Us/Come Holy Spirit, God and Lord
- Gracia Grindal
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Text: Gracia Grindal                                       Tune: Amanda Husberg
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Holy Spirit, guide us,
Guides us to the truth.
Point to Christ our Savior,
Christ who is the truth.
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Holy Spirit teach us,
Teach us there is life.
Point to Christ our Savior,
Christ who gives us life.
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Holy Spirit, show us,
Show us Christ the way,
Point to Christ our Savior,
Christ the only way.
REFLECTION
Pentecost is the end of the festival part of the year and the beginning of ordinary time, as the liturgical churches call the time between now and Advent 1. Except for Saints Days Mary’s Visitation and Assumption, and All Saints Day, the rest of the time is ordinary. This does not mean that they are banal or without life. Hardly. Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, every day is filled with new life.
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Because the Spirit is with us, we can see to see the miracles all around us in creation, for us northerners, the glories of the spring, summer and autumn days when all the earth is busy growing our food, clothes, fuel and all we need to live through the long winters. But more than that, the Spirit gives us the life we need to enjoy our family and friends, and ultimately life with God.
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These are all miracles. A miracle brought to us by our God who, unlike idols humans worship as gods made by their hands, is not a creature, but creator of all things, not a being, but being, I Am who I am or I will be who I will be, love itself, one who gave of himself so we could be friends, and enjoy him forever..
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The entire scope of the festivals of the church year is a narrative on how God has done that—by sending his son at Christmas, and dying and rising for us at Easter, and now by his Spirit, sparks new life in us, life that will last forever.
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He wants us to take pleasure in all his gifts and be what he created us to be, the salt of the earth and light of the world, so that life will also flourish among us here and now. Enjoy, enjoy and take heart—this world with its sin and sorrow is not the last word. Christ is and wherever he is, because of the Spirit there is life abundant!
HYMN INFO
This Pentecost hymn is repetitious, easily memorized and simple—if you look at the end of the stanzas you will see truth, life, and the way, which Jesus is. I wrote it for my set of texts on the Book of Mark after hearing my second cousin from Norway, the missionary Per Kivle, preach on Pentecost in which he spoke of the Holy Spirit as the one who points to God and teaches and leads us.
The late Amanda Husberg caught that simplicity with her sweet tune and descant. Husberg in her long life wrote many hymn tunes and other music for the church. After graduating from Concordia College in Seward, Nebraska, she moved to Brooklyn where she lived until she died. Along with playing the organ at her congregation for many years, she made stained glass art that was one of her many hobbies.
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LINKS
For information on the great hymn by Martin Luther on the Holy Spirit, click here.
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The Castle Church Congregation singing the hymn in Wittenberg
 Radial by the Ordharc
This link takes you to a blog of mine on the recent book celebrating the publication of the first Lutheran hymnals.
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