Advent means coming. The season remembers Christ coming as the child in Bethlehem and his coming again at the end of time as King of kings. The coming of Christ is more than a past and future event. The Lord comes to us now–in the sacrament of the altar, in the reading of scripture, in the faces of the poor and neglected, and in his mystical presence in the hearts of the faithful.

Many hymns have been written to celebrate the coming of the Savior. One moving hymn praying for Christ to come is George Herbert’s seventeenth-century “Come My Way, My Truth, My Life.” I first became familiar with the hymn when I took a course from noted hymnologist Eric Routley. He preferred the musical setting that Herbert Brent Smith wrote for the boys of Lancing School. Here is the only recording I could find of this setting sung by the Salisbury Cathedral Choir. I hope you find it as moving as I do.

1 Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
such a way as gives us breath;
such a truth as ends all strife;
such a life as killeth death.

2 Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
such a light as shows a feast;
such a feast as mends in length;
such a strength as makes a guest.

3 Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
such a joy as none can move:
such a love as none can part;
such a heart as joys in love.

May Christ come to you this Advent.

Read John 14:6 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne