O love divine, how sweet thou art!

When shall I find my longing heart

all taken up by thee?

I thirst, I faint, I die to prove

the greatness of redeeming love,

the love of Christ to me.

 

I love the hymns of Charles Wesley. We are familiar with his great hymn 'Love divine, all loves excelling', either to the rather sedate tune of 'Love Divine' by John Stainer (1840-1901), a former Organist of the University Church, or the bouncier Welsh hymn tune 'Blaenwern' by William Rowlands (1860-1937). The hymn 'O love divine' is perhaps less familiar but I think the sentiments expressed within it are a fitting starting point for the season of Lent. Wesley often captures the passion and intensity of God's love for us, while drawing our attention to a human response which is often more hesitant, reticent, or too easily distracted by the cares of the world.

 

Lent is a season when we choose intentionally, sometimes through fasting, prayer, and acts of service, to explore the depths of God's love. It should be for each of us a time of renewal and a time of growth in our Christian discipleship. But remember that Lent should never be a time for allowing yourself to be overwhelmed by an obsessive scrupulousness, or pretending that it is wicked to be you. It is a time when we discover again the depths of God's mercy, and 'the greatness of redeeming love, the love of Christ to me.'

 

Please join us on Ash Wednesday as we begin our journey through Lent. There will be a celebration of the Eucharist with distribution of ashes at 12.15pm in the Chancel and the Intercollegiate Choral Eucharist with distribution of ashes at 8pm.