HYMN: When Jesus Went To Egypt

When Jesus Went to Egypt

PASSION CHORALE 7.6.7.6 D ("O Sacred Head, Now Wounded")

When Jesus went to Egypt,

Safe on his mother’s arm,

His parents stayed beside him

To keep him safe from harm.

And when they crossed the border,

They were allowed to be

Together – seeking refuge –

A Holy Family.

O God, we pray for children

And families coming here

Now facing separation,

And filled with grief and fear.

For children, loved and treasured,

Are ripped from loving kin. 

This deed, by any measure,

Is torture. It’s a sin!

O God, you’re like a mother

Who won’t forsake her own.

You’re like a loving father

Who welcomes his son home.

Now give us, by your Spirit,

The strength to challenge wrong,

To seek the best for children,

And keep all families strong.

Biblical references:  Matthew 2:12-18; Isaiah 49:15; 66:13; Luke 15:11-32; Matthew 25:31–46

Tune: Hans Leo Hassler, 1601; harmony by Johann Sebastian Bach, 1729

Text: Copyright © June 2018 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.

Permission is given for free use of this hymn to churches seeking to support immigrant families.