In the Searching for Sunday book study group blog at St. James West Hartford, Jackie Keen reflects on the confirmation section of the book. She talked about the music that traveled with her, so I’ve reflected on this a little. In my spiritual autobiography, I wrote a bit about different hymns that have touched me.

I thought about this, today, on the third anniversary of my mother’s death as I drove up to the funeral for the mother of a friend.

The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

We sang this hymn at the vespers service at the poetry conference at Yale Divinity School last spring. The singing of this hymn, the vespers service, and the whole conference, were important parts of me entering the latest phase of my spiritual journey.

The hymn is often thought of as an evening hymn, a vespers hymn. It was has a missionary context harkening to a day when the sun never set on the British Empire.

As o’er each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.

It struck me, that this is a great hymn for memorial services as well. The day, the life, the Lord gave has ended. There is darkness. Yet there is also hope of a new day, or resurrection, or eternity.

The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren ’neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.

So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.

As I think of this, the words of Abide With Me come to mind.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

On top of this, my wife had surgery on Wednesday. I’ve been trying to care for her, deal with food, and cleaning the house, as I’ve dealt with work and a funeral. Besides eternal rest, there is also the daily rest, and I think of that this evening as I head off to bed. There are other hymns that are on the peripheries of my mind about God giving rest to the weary, but I cannot grasp them right now.