Like Lazarus we stumble into light (Rory Cooney)

Up from the earth, and surging like a wave,
Rise up, O Christ! your God defies the grave.
Up from the earth push blade and leaf and stem,
They rise for Christ, and we shall rise with them!

Up from the cross a billion voices strain,
Cry for a hand to lift them from their pain.
Up from the cross but scarred in limbs and side,
A wounded Church brings healing far and wide.

Up from the night Christ morning star awakes.
O what a light upon earth’s darkness breaks!
Up from the night Christ sows his life like wheat,
And death itself lies fallow at his feet!

Up from the tomb of all the past conceals!
See how our God a brighter day reveals.
Up from the tomb! Though death had bound us tight,
Like Lazarus we stumble into light.

Cry to the cross where tyrants work their dread!
Shout to the tombs where parents mourn their dead!
Sing to the earth, for God all newness gives!
Alleluia! Christ Liberator lives! 

To hear Rory Cooney’s hymn Up from the Earth, click on the video below:

Image source: Jesus Mafa Project, Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life (1973), https://elmensemble.org/2021/04/02/called-with-lazarus-to-a-new-dying-and-a-new-life%E2%80%A8/
Video source