Bring Many Names

Bring many names, beautiful and good,
celebrate, in parable and story,
holiness in glory, living, loving God.
Hail and hosanna! Bring many names!

Strong mother God, working night and day,
planning all the wonders of creation,
setting each equation, genius at play:
Hail and hosanna, strong mother God!

Warm father God, hugging every child,
feeling all the strains of human living,
caring and forgiving till we're reconciled:
Hail and hosanna, warm father God!

Old, aching God, grey with endless care,
calmly piercing evil's new disguises,
glad of good surprises, wiser than despair:
Hail and hosanna, old aching God!

Young, growing God, eager, on the move,
saying no to falsehood and unkindness,
crying out for justice, giving all you have:
Hail and hosanna, young, growing God!

Great, living God, never fully known,
joyful darkness far beyond our seeing,
closer yet than breathing, everlasting home:
Hail and hosanna, great, living God!


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Words: Brian Wren
Words © 1989, revised 1994 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188.

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You can listen to an extremely reserved version of the entire song here (scroll down to November 28, 2004 service and turn it WAY up), to a tiny snippet which gives you a little better sense of it here here, and to the whole thing banged out on the cyberhymnal piano here.

What you can't hear, unfortunately, is the incredible power our organ and congregation brought to this hymn this morning -- one of my very, very favorites. (It seems that there are certain pieces in contemporary music that reach me loud and clear!) I'm sorry that I can't bring to you the alternating voices of the choir, the women, the men and, finally, the entire church simply blazing with music.

I don't have much to add. The usual paradoxes of life: great opening to the church year this morning, with an adult class packed with people discussing what the Bible does and doesn't mean to them; terrific worship service; a mind full of (what I presume are to be expected) doubts and consternation about the seminary journey; and, foundational to all of it, this magnificent hymn.