Saturday, April 07, 2007

"Now the Green Blade Rises..."

Now the green blade rises
from the buried grain,
wheat that in dark earth
many days has lain;
love lives again,
that with the dead has been:
Love is come again like wheat that springs up green.

In the grave they laid him,
Love whom hate had slain,
thinking that never
he would wake again,
laid in the earth
like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again like wheat that springs up green.

Forth he came in quiet,
like the risen grain,
he that for three days
in the grave had lain,
quick from the dead
the risen Christ is seen:
Love is come again like wheat that springs up green.

When our hearts are wintry,
grieving, or in pain,
Christ's touch can call us
back to life again,
fields of our hearts
that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again like wheat that springs up green.




Words: John Macleod Campbell Crum (20thC)

Music: Noel nouvelet, medieval French carol
Sequence: Dall Forsythe, Church of St. John the Evangelist


Photo One courtesy of Oregon State University Ag School.
Photo Two courtesy of Google Images.
Photo Three, "Morning Glory",
by Fred of Floyd, VA

7 comments:

Cathy said...

One of my favorite hymns and beautiful photos to accompany it. Thanks

Dennis said...

Happy Easter, Catherine! Looks like we will have rain up here for the day - hoping that things are dry and sunny down south there in Oregon for Easter day.
(by the way, hope I'm forgiven for confusing the star wars stuff over at Eileen's blog... this being Easter and all)

episcopalifem said...

Lovely, Catherine+!

I especially like the last verse.

Happy Easter.

Anonymous said...

He is risen indeed. I celebrated the Easter vigil at All Saints Scottish Episcopal Church in St. Andrews and participated in the liturgy at St. Andrews Scottish Episcopal Church this morning as a friend's 4 month old was being baptized. As far as throwing off Lent goes, I had a fried Mars bar after church this morning. Ha. Happy Easter.

Dan

Alan said...

Thank you Catherine for the hymn and beautiful photos. One of my favorites as well with images of recycling life.

Catherine said...

I first sang this hymn on Easter of 2006, and--being the sensitive, emotional type--I wept true tears of joy. It so spoke to my heart and spirit that the song wrote itself on my heart for always. I find myself humming the tune almost anywhere very suddenly, and I a reminded of His eternal and faithful presence in my life.

Alan said...

Thanks for the story. You might enjoy The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, edited by Stephen Mitchell.
New York: Harper and Row, 1989 Not sure if it's still in print, but some library might have a copy.