Fling Wide the Door
Fling Wide the Door
1 Fling wide the door, unbar the gate;
the King of glory comes in state;
the Lord of lords and King of kings,
the Savior of the world who brings
his great salvation to the earth.
So raise a shout of holy mirth
and praise our God and Lord,
Creator, Spirit, Word.
2 He is the rock of our belief,
the heart of mercy's gentle self.
His kingly crown is holiness;
his scepter is his loveliness;
he brings our sorrows to an end.
Now gladly praise our king and friend,
and worship him with song
for saving us from wrong.
3 Oh, happy towns and blessed lands
that live by their true king's commands.
And blessed be the hearts he rules,
the humble places where he dwells.
He is the rightful Son of bliss
who fills our lives and makes us his,
creator of the world,
our only strength for good.
4 Come, Lord, our Savior, Jesus Christ;
our hearts are open wide in trust.
Oh, show us now your lovely grace,
upon our sorrows shine your face,
and let your Holy Spirit guide
our journey in your grace so wide.
We praise your holy name,
from age to age the same!
Text: Georg Weissel, 1590-1635; tr. Gracia Grindal, b. 1943
Text © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, admin. Augsburg Fortress.
FLING WIDE THE DOOR
This lovely carol, previously unknown to me, was written toward the end of the Reformation Era by the German Georg Weissel. Consider those uncertain and turbulent times: The Bubonic Plague or Black Death killing a sizeable percentage of Europe; The longest war in Europe called the Hundred Years War from 1337-1453; and then the budding, growing, and spreading Reformation.
The carol Fling Wide the Door is an invitation to Jesus Christ-the Rock of our belief. It is an invitation for Jesus to come into our lives and make us His. Then to experience the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He leads us along the pathway of God's lavish goodness. It concludes with our praise to His Holy Name-unchanging now and forever.
This is a carol for our time. Many consider these to be uncertain and turbulent times: mass violence; utter disregard for honesty and truth; and a culture pointing us down the slippery slope of thinking a few more things will fill our lives with meaning. Instead we find it an empty delusion and our lives starved for meaning. Fling Wide the Door invites us this Advent to build anew on the only Rock of the ages- Jesus Christ. His Presence, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, brings purpose and meaning to our lives.
PRAYER: This Advent season, beginning today, we fling wide the door of our heart and life, and we pray Lord Jesus, come into my troubled life, straighten it out and fill me with Your very presence. Then use us as an instrument of Your peace sowing love instead of indifferene, faith instead of doubt, and hope instead of despair. This we pray in the matchless strong Name of Jesus Christ.