Friday 2 October 2009

Green Grow'th the Holly

Green grow'th the holly,
So doth the ivy;
Though winter blasts blow ne'er so high,
Green grow'th the holly.

Gay are the flowers,
Hedgerows and ploughlands;
The days grow longer in the sun,
Soft fall the showers.

Full gold the harvest,
Grain for thy labour;
With God must work for daily bread
Else, man, thou starvest.

Fast fall the shed leaves,
Russet and yellow;
But resting buds are snug and safe
Where swung the dead leaves.

Green grow'th the holly,
So doth the ivy;
The God of life can never die,
Hope! saith the holly.


The words are attributed to Henry VIII. I don't know how true that is, I mean, would you argue if he said "We wrote that, We did," when actually you'd written the words?

I'm singing this with Petite Violinist and Shiny Soprano. I couldn't find it on YouTube etc, so I guess we'll have to record it sometime. I wanted to post it here because it illustrates so beautifully the way I see the world. I was going to write "the natural world" but that implies that any of it isn't natural, that the things humans make aren't included.

The God of life can never die.

Do I need to believe more than that?

Right now, I don't think so.

3 comments:

Ernest said...

Song,

"The God of life can never die,
Hope! saith the holly".

I think your prescription for belief is quite to the point.

The next line, "Hope" is the thing I have, in God and Jesus sent as our Savior.

I sense a great deal of hope, and perhaps yearning in your writings.

Tom Wright in his book 'Simply Christian' gives some real insights which I have found helpful into things I have thought through on page 3.

One is "we all feel 'The Echos of a Voice' ... which goes on calling, beckoning us, luring us to think that there might be such a thing as justice in the world - as the world being put to rights. Even though we find it elusive"

Perhaps I am imagining it, but your writings remind me so much of this quote.

I lived my life in this state unknowingly for many years, until last year - he spoke to me directly, and I had what I have heard called 'A Conviction Moment' that he actually existed and loved me unconditionally.

Everything changed at that moment and life is now full of joy, wonder and awe. I live every day now for him and in hope.

Song in my Heart said...

I liked "Simply Christian" for much of the book but was very disappointed by the anti-homosexuality stance Tom Wright took toward the end of it.

When I sing, I hope and believe. When I stop singing I don't always dare to... I believe in God but I get hung up on technical details, concerns about whether the events in the New Testament actually happened and so on. I don't sit very comfortably with Mystery.

At the moment my best response to that is to sing more, and to hope (there it is again) that I will either be able to integrate my rational, intellectual concerns into my faith, or be more comfortable with the fact that some of this stuff doesn't make sense.

In the meantime I try to act with lovingkindness, because it seems clear to me that whoever or whatever Jesus was, that was the message he brought.

Ernest said...

I think that John 20:24-29 is the passage I read in this contex

!' Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.' And Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'"

I read and remember it, when I have doubts and questions. Questions are a part of a healthy faith and belief.

I hope and pray that you are able to reconcile your doubts in the time of your seeking.