Come, let us join our friends above,
That have obtained the prize;
and we are all one as we entrust our dead to the Lord of Life—
Father, in Thy gracious keeping,
Leave we now Thy servant sleeping.
And when, wearied of earth and longing to depart and be with Christ,
we lift our eyes to the eternal city, our Father’s house on high, the
hymns of St. Bernard of Cluny or of Samuel Crossman are on the lips of
all—
O happy place, when shall I be,
My God, with Thee to see Thy face?
There are many times when, amid the strife of tongues, we feel that
reunion is a dream never to be fulfilled; but already we have found
common ground in lowly ministries to the poor and the distressed. And
they who are labourers together in the humblest and divinest tasks,
also join in the songs which, even on earth, none but the redeemed can
sing. In the service of love, in the prayer of penitence, and in the
sacrifice of praise, we are already one in Christ Jesus.
Our goal, too, is the same, our diverse ways converge as we draw
nearer to God and Heaven. ‘Many ways have one end.’
Jerusalem, where song nor gem
Nor fruit nor waters cease,
God bring us to Jerusalem,
God bring us home in peace;
The strong who stand, the weak who fall,
The first and last, the great and small,
Home one by one, home one and all!