“That morn shall tearless be”
That was a phrase in last week’s Chancel Choir anthem at the 11am worship service.
“That morn shall tearless be.”
It took my breath away. It’s a reference to one of my favorite lines from the Psalms. “Weeping may come in the night, but joy comes in the morning”. I first learned that verse from my friend Tammy in graduate school. I would find her pacing in the halls near midnight studying for an exam. And she would say with a wink, “Weeping may come in the night, but joy comes in the morning.” She also said it to console a fellow student who had just broken up with a boyfriend or girlfriend.
In last week’s anthem, “O Love” by composer, Elaine Hagenberg, I was reminded of the joy that sometimes comes after a long lament. After three days of the silent treatment from a spouse, the couple’s conversation finally unfolds: “I’m sorry, I forgive you.” And the morn shall tearless be. After waiting for the biopsy results, the doctor calls with good news. And the morn shall tearless be. After a long winter, the tulips push through the dirt. And the morn shall tearless be.
We are all too aware of the starvation in Gaza, the fear in Ukraine, the fractures in our own nation and the brokenness in our beloved families. For many, it will be a long time before the morn shall tearless be. Lent invites us to name our honest longing for hope and new life. We walk alongside Jesus who knew that same longing. We look forward to all the ways that Easter arrives in the human journey and the worldwide community. We celebrate the abundant joy of God who leads us to new life and the morn that tearless be.
See the Chancel Choir’s full anthem from Sunday, HERE.
