Gather Us In

                Light illuminating the darkness over the altar, Iona Abbey on Sunday, August 6, 2017
                "Gather Us In" was our communion hymn, and I invite you to meditate on its words.

                                                 

    Here in this place new light is streaming,
    Now is the darkness vanished away,
    See in this space our fears and our dreamings,
    Brought here to you in the light of this day.
    Gather us in - the lost and forsaken,
    Gather us in the blind and the lame;
    Call to us now, and we shall awaken,
    We shall arise at the sound of our name.

    We are the young our lives are a myst'ry
    We are the old who yearn for your face,
    We have been sung throughout all of hist'ry,
    Called to be light to the whole human race.
    Gather us in the rich and the haughty,
    Gather us in the proud and the strong;
    Give us a heart so meek and so lowly,
    Give us the courage to enter the song.

    Here will will take the wine and the water,
    Here we will take the bread of new birth,
    Here you shall call your sons and your daughters,
    Call us anew to be salt for the earth.
    Give us to drink the wine of compassion,
    Give us to eat the bread that is you;
    Nourish us well, and teach us to fashion lives that are holy
    And hearts that are true.

    Not in the dark of buildings confining,
    Not in some heaven, light-years away,
    But here in this place the new light is shining,
    Now is the Kingdom, now is the day.  
    Gather us in and hold us forever,
    Gather us in and make us your own;
    Gather us in - all peoples together,
    Fire of love in our flesh and our bone.  ~ Marty Haugen


Iona Abbey was built centuries ago as a place of Roman Catholic worship, but over those centuries, it suffered from slow decay, partly as a casualty of the religious battles between Protestants and Catholics and partly as a result of the harsh winds and rain that frequently batter this tiny holy island, until it was barely more than scenic ruins. Restored in the late twentieth century, largely due to the tireless efforts of the Rev. George MacLeod, it has now for many years served as a place of ecumenical worship, open to Christians of all denominations and none.

The Iona Community founded by MacLeod is an international affiliation of people who are committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ with a special emphasis on peace and justice and firm dedication to active, non-violent resistance to all forms of oppression wherever they are found in the world.  As a result, worship in the Abbey is quite different from what you might expect, as it is both liturgical AND informal, both sacramental AND free-wheeling, combining elements of high and low church worship in diverse ways that are unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable - which is partly the point of the gospel as it unsettles us and points us to a kingdom whose values are not yet mirrored in this world.

The hymn "Gather Us In" is one I first encountered several years ago in the supplement to our United Methodist Hymnal called The Faith We Sing.  Word and melody combine to make this a powerful vision of that kingdom for which we work and pray to come here on earth as in heaven.   It is an affirmation of the welcoming God whose love calls and yearns for ALL of us to be gathered in this place where new light is indeed streaming, where new birth is occurring just beyond those open windows and doors.  It represents our yearning to respond to the divine invitation extended to ALL, a song of the earthly communion which is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come.  It is the cry of our hearts when we meet around Christ's table to share wine and bread, nourished and fed as we are sent forth to be salt for the earth as the Church, the Body of Christ, gathered and then scattered as we experience the fire of God's love in our very flesh and bone.

If you are not familiar with this hymn, go to youtube.com and have a listen.  Read the words and meditate on actually being gathered in with all people in the common bond of Christ's redeeming love, a family reunion that includes those who don't look like you, speak the same language as you, vote like you, or seemingly have anything in common with you.  What might it mean to embrace that demand of the gospel even when it's uncomfortable and risky?   Lost and forsaken, broken and wounded, young and old, rich and poor, proud and haughty, meek and lowly -- may we all be one in the One who poured out his very life to gather us in.  In a world filled with violence and division and hatred, let us be filled with the Spirit's consuming fire in our flesh and bone.  Let us open our arms wide just as Christ did on the cross, and let us be God's love poured out not only for us but for ALL people.  Gather us in, O Lord, and let us be light of your light, fire of your fire, love of your love!

                                                   crucifix in St. Oran's Chapel, Iona