HYMN FOR EASTER 3 Lord, Take my hand and Lead me

There are few hymns that address specifically the text for Easter 3, but one that comes to mind is Lord Take my Hand and Lead me which uses many of the themes in the Gospel reading from John 21. See the link here for information on that hymn. https://www.hymnfortheday.com/post/hymn-44-lord-take-my-hand-and-lead-me    And my text and tune on the reading Jesus and the Maraculous draught of Fish. Duccio Text: Gracia Grindal                                      Tune: James Clemens He stood beside the lake and said, “I am the shepherd, feed my lambs; Give them my Word, they will be fed. I am your God, the great I AM, And I will lead you to the spring That bubbles with the life I bring. I wondered where it all would end, But reaching out I followed him, I trusted him, my God and friend, Who was the new Jerusalem. And every step ahead I take I follow in his sparkling wake. So long ago, but now I see Ten thousand thousands round the Lamb The crystal stream, the living tree. The gate to life, the great I AM For he has opened heaven’s door To wonders never seen before!   JEsus on the beach with his disciples. James Tissot REFLECTION This reading is inexhaustible. And way too much for one sermon. Jesus is showing his disciples that his resurrected body can cook and eat fish, so he is like he was, but then, he also shows he is God by the miracle of the draught of 153 fish whatever that strange number means. Then, he gives Peter a chance to say three times that he loves him, somewhat erasing his three denials. Plus, there is that line of Jesus looking at Peter to say “When you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”   While the first actions are important, in these latter days, as I cared for my dying father and now my sister with dementia, I think not of Peter’s coming death, which Jesus is predicting, the scholars say, but of what it means to get old. We will need help and stretch out our hands for help. I have been the one giving the help in both those cases and hardly ever am I not thinking of what Jesus said. They need the help, but they do not want to go where they must. Despite that we have to go there and we do need help. Our family and friends for the most part will give us help, as will maybe medical people, but we do go over the river alone,, knowing that after the darkness there will be the dawn, the Lord standing there welcoming us home. And that will be glory, glory for us, “wonders never seen before.”   HYMN INFO Although there are hymns that fit this text generally, I can’t think of many that really ponder the mystery of the miracle of the fish, or Jesus’ command to Peter to feed his sheep. My hymn works with the last idea of reaching out to follow him to where we might not want to go, but will forget that in the glory of the next moment. Another hymn would be John Ylvisaker's Breakfast on the Beach. LINKS The hymn can be sung to St. Catherine, the tune for Faith of our Fathers, but the tune below is fun! Mormon Tabernacle Choir https://youtu.be/uxuLFgajZ04?si=vsfVyg0hn3vNpdM2