Tuesday, April 16, 2024  

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Today's Hymn
“In Christ There Is No East or West”

Join hands, disciples of the faith,
whate'er your race may be.
All children of the living God
Are surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both east and west;
In him meet south and north.
All Christly souls are one in him
throughout the whole wide earth.

by John Oxenham
Hymn 317, Glory to God
verse 3–4 

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Reflection

As with many hymns, “In Christ There Is No East or West” is thoroughly steeped in the biblical text. There are echoes of Paul’s proclamation in Galatians 3:28 that “there is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

There seems to be an explicit quoting of the promise Jesus gives in Matthew 8 as he tells a Roman centurion that “many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” One can even find connections to a handful of promises given in the prophetic texts of Isaiah, Micah, and Zechariah — all of which point to a future expansion of God’s people.

In this season of Eastertide when we are reflecting on what Christ’s resurrection means for our lives and for our wider world, texts like these remind us of how we are called to expand our understanding of who belongs, who matters, and who is beloved. There will always be a temptation to isolate and insulate ourselves from the challenges and troubles around us, but just as the risen Christ persistently pushes the disciples to think outside traditional boundaries, so too we are called to think and act more expansively than the bounds we so often set for ourselves.

“All children of the living God are surely kin to me” our hymn states, and so we are called to view others the same way — treating them not as strangers, but as brothers and sisters in Christ. May it indeed be so, this Eastertide season and beyond.

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Prayer
Holy God, in you there truly is no east or west, south or north — for your love is the same for all people. Help us live in a way that proclaims this truth, tearing down whatever limits we place around our love. Amen.

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Written by Matt Helms, Associate Pastor for Children, Family, and Welcoming Ministries

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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