O sisters and brothers

O sisters and brothers,
be strong, do not lose heart,
though you weep and you suffer
and the road you walk is hard,
let the grace of another
become your path to peace:
may Jesus hold you
through your grief.

Though weeping may come in the night
there’ll be joy in the morning
when the taste of our tears
is replaced with the feast of the Lord,
and our enemy, death,
is consumed in the blaze of God’s glory,
and our grief will be no more.

We are heavy with sorrow
but this burden will not last,
there is joy yet to follow,
there is glory unsurpassed,
and our strength for tomorrow
is our hope in Jesus Christ:
his love will lead us
into life.

There’ll be joy, joy, joy, joy in the morning,
though our hearts may hurt through the night
There’ll be joy, joy, joy, joy at his coming,
when our tears are dried in the day of Christ.
There’ll be joy, joy, joy, joy in the morning,
though our hearts may hurt through the night
There’ll be joy, joy, joy, joy at his coming,
and our grief will be no more,
and our grief will be no more.
 

This song came out of the 2019 edition of the 12 Song Challenge, where we decided to try and write songs suitable funeral. This is my attempt. It was inspired by friends who were suffering real grief, but also held their grief in the knowledge of future glory. In the song I try to walk the line of holding the past, the present and the future together. I can particularly imagine it being something you might sing when your church has suffered a recent tragedy and needs to hold each other through it, giving voice to the mourning while framing it in hope.