This season of Lent, more than most in recent years looks as if it will be an especially hard road. Perhaps in response to this time of chaos and fear and demoralization a refrain began to sing itself in my heart: “Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the facing of this hour.”

I long to know that God is with me in my fear and overwhelm, standing beside me as I face the path ahead, just as God was Jesus’ companion as he turned his face toward Jerusalem. A road he knew would be a difficult one. I seek the comfort of knowing that though the road will not become less difficult, it will be one we walk together. From that I do take courage and strength.

The hymn from which this refrain comes is almost a hundred years old, so I’m astonished at how “God of Grace and God of Glory” still resonates. Its author, Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote it in 1930 to mark the opening of the Riverside Church in New York City, a church that was then and is to this day, an inter-denominational, multi-racial, justice-centered place of worship and welcome.

When Fosdick wrote it, in the beginning of the Great Depression, the nation was also in a time of uncertainty and turmoil, people fearful about the future. Fosdick, an advocate and preacher of the social gospel, was adamant as a champion for the rights of the poor.

While the occasion of the new construction of a cathedral-like church may have called for more celebratory lyrics, Fosdick was committed to putting aside evil and selfishness and ‘warring madness.’ His words call instead on wisdom and courage to walk in the way of service, love and praise.

As we begin Lent, I am grateful for these words of both comfort and hope, knowing that it is only through God’s presence with us that we will experience the wisdom and courage for the journey ahead.

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