November 30, Sem Harvey Peters

“O Word of God Incarnate” (LSB 523) O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high, O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky: We praise You for the radiance That from the hallowed page, A lantern to our footsteps, Shines on from age to age.

The Church from You, dear Master, Received the gift divine; And still that light is lifted O'er all the earth to shine. It is the chart and compass That, all life's voyage through, Mid mists and rocks and quicksands Still guides, O Christ, to You.

O make Your Church, dear Savior, A lamp of burnished gold To bear before the nations Your true light as of old! O teach Your wand'ring pilgrims By this their path to trace Till, clouds and darkness ended, They see You face to face!

This hymn gives us a few more titles for our Lord to ponder. Not only is Jesus “Wisdom,” as we have heard, He is also the “Word of God incarnate,” “Truth,” and “Light.” The Psalmist writes, “Thy Word is a light unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” and this hymn explains how it is our Lord Himself who guides His Church during her sojourn on this earth as she awaits His great and glorious return. Just as the Lord has given us the sun to sustain life on earth, so too Jesus Christ, the very Word of God, gives life to His Church through the radiance that shines through the pages of Holy Scripture. For though the Lord upholds all things “by the word of His power” (Heb 1:3), the Church relies on the revealed Words of Holy Scripture for life everlasting. Christ promises to guide us through this vale of tears, and He supplies us with Himself as the very means by which He accomplishes this. When in the hour of our deepest need, we should turn first to our Bibles, where God has promised to supply us with a light that illumines and guides us with wisdom and truth. We can be sure that we will find there a trusty guide, Christ Jesus Himself, Wisdom, Truth, and Light incarnate. We trace our paths by those faithfully trod in the Scriptures, confident by those words our Lord will guide us to Himself in heaven.

Seminarian Harvey Peters

Christ Academy: High School Student 2018 Christ Academy: College Student 2018, 2021 Christ Academy: High School Proctor 2019, 2022 Christ Academy Assistant Student Director 2022-2023