Within the Father’s House

This morning we sang the hymn “Within the Father’s House.” (LSB 410, LW 80, TLH 133) I picked the hymn, however, I had not look at the words until we sang it just prior to the sermon. I find too often that I sing a hymn and once I close the hymnal I have no idea what I sang. I’m using this time to review what I sang this morning.

When the 12-year-old Jesus entered into the Temple, even though he had come from his home in Nazareth, He found his true home. Suddenly the Lord of life was present. Yet the secret of who he really was escapes everyone there. Even Mary and Joseph don’t know and understand. Even you and I, who ponder in our hearts Jesus our Lord of life, “wait the full epiphany.”

In stanza 5, the author James Woodford, leads us to prayer.

Lord, visit Thou our souls and teach us by Thy grace

each dim revealing of Thyself with loving awe to trace

till we behold Thy face and know as we are known

Thee, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, coequal three in One.

The best we can ever do is have a dim picture of the full import of who Jesus is and what he did and still does for us. Even those dim pictures are revealed to us by God, because, as the hymn writer says in stanza 3, The secret of the Lord escapes each human eye. Thus we pray in the Epiphany Collect, “Lead us, who know you by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence.” In the meantime we await the full epiphany.