Blessed be the name of the Lord

It became plain this afternoon that the child we had hoped to hold in our arms has been called home to Christ. We are going to name the child Patrick, for no one should be nameless in grief. We also do so in determination of faith, in reflection of today and also because of one of our favorite hymn based on the Christian confession of St. Patrick; "I Bind unto Myself Today"found in Lutheran Service Book #604.

I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever, by power of faith Christ's incarnation, His baptism in the Jordan River, His cross of death for my salvation, His bursting from the spiced tomb, His riding up the heavenly way, His coming at the day of doom, I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, His might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need. The wisdom of my God to teach, His hand to guide, His shield to ward, the Word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin, the vice that gives temptation force, the natural lusts that war within, the hostile foes that mar my course; of few or many, far or nigh, in every place and in all hours, against their fierce hostility, I bind to me those holy powers.

I bind unto myself the name, the strong name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same the Three in One and One in Three, of whom all nature has creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word. Praise to the God of my salvation; salvation is of Christ the Lord.

We are crying for our loss here in time, even as we believe and confess that we have lost nothing in eternity because just as we are always in the hands of the Lord, so is this child. Though we will not have the blessing of holding this child in our arms here, the child is safe in the arms of Jesus. We do not know why we were given the hope of having this child, and we do not know why the child was taken from us. My brother Paul comforted me last evening with the last chapters of Job. Job gets exactly what he asks for with a completely different result than he desired. He wants God to answer the question why? The Lord commands Job to answer His questions first and begins to show that there is no possible way for anyone to understand His ways and what He is doing, much less fathom the why of it all this side of heaven. As Job learns the lesson he makes a confession and demonstrates his renewed faith in the Lord by doing the only thing that he can; being still and placing his hand firmly over his mouth.

“I know that you can ^hdo all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

^{3 i}‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things ^jtoo wonderful for me, which I did not know.

⁴ ‘Hear, and I will speak;

^kI will question you, and you make it known to me.’

⁵ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye sees you;

⁶ therefore I despise myself,

and repent¹ in ^ldust and ashes.”

The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001, S. Job 42:2-6