Friday, May 8, 2009

Giving Our Hands

At church on Sunday, we sang one of my favorite songs (which seems to also be a favorite at many of these churches, since it is sung frequently and with gusto!). It's called "Fe y Esperanza Viva" and it affirms Christ's call to a life of celebration, service, and prophetic struggle.

Tonight as I've reflected again on the words, I was caught up in this phrase from the second verse: A aquel que nos necesita vamos a darle la mano (To the one who needs us we shall give a hand).

These words stand out to me tonight in their relationship to the task of accompaniment, which is fundamentally about relationship and our interconnectedness as children of God. I think the song intends the figurative expression of lending a hand, i.e. helping someone out. At least that's how I've always understood it. But tonight I'm thinking about what it means to literally reach out and offer someone our hand, to make physical contact, whether for the purpose of helping or just for the sake of connection. It seems to me that there's something powerful here to reflect upon.

Fe y Esperanza Viva
Y andaremos por el mundo con fe y esperanza viva,
Celebrando, cantando, sonriendo, luchando por la vida.

1. Y vamos a celebrar a nuestro Dios de la vida.
La mesa de la unidad para todos está servida.

2. Y vamos a sonreir junto al niño y al hermano.
A aquel que nos necesita vamos a darle la mano.

3. Ahora vamos a cantar con toda nuestra garganta
Porque le estamos cantando al Dios de la alabanza.

4. Nos vamos a organizar con fuerza y sabiduría
y seguiremos cantando y luchando por la vida.


Faith and Living Hope
We will walk through the world with faith and living hope,
Celebrating, singing, smiling, struggling for life.


1. And we are going to celebrate our God of life.
The table of unity is served for all.

2. And we are going to smile with the child and our brother.
We’ll give our hand to whoever needs it.

3. Now we’re going to sing with all we’ve got
Because we are singing to the God of praise.

4. We’re going to organize with strength and wisdom
and we will continue singing and struggling for life.

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