Poems and Rhymed prayers cover

Through struggle and loss,death and the cross,the church arose.Despite man’s guilt,God’s grace was spilled –his Spirit blows.Light broke the gloomof self-love’s tomb;it cleansed and blessedblood, pain, and distress.In yieldednessman stood the test.Yes, Christ’s clear calldrew one and allto him, their Lord.Thus unifiedand purified,they found accord.In hellfire’s glowthe raging foethrew wide his maw.Then mission called:men went, gave allto the lion’s jaw.By love spurredto spread God’s word,forth brothers strode,lambs to the slaughter.They did not falterbut trod Christ’s road.Council and state –powers of hate –killed all in their path.No man or womanwas spared the demon,the murd’rous bloodbath.Yet through all the strife,truth pointed to life.It could not be killed.The reddening floodof martyrs’ blood –persecution’s yield –gave strength and powerin the darkest of hours;brought oneness, chased fear.Thus, whatever befallus, in death most of all,the Spirit draws near.In our time too,we expect him anew.His are the ages!May God us inspireand set us on fire,and make us courageous.Yes, let it be so:that for you we let goof life and limb –our strength, our goods,our body, our blood,our goodness, our sins.To you, Christ our Lord,we give thought, deed, and word:make them your own.May our love, zeal, and workbelong to the church –to your Body alone.Let every life,through battle and strife,in your sight find favor.May we not swerve,but stand ready to serveand never waver.Alberta, Canada, October 1930Written while Eberhard was in North America visitingthe Hutterites, “Through struggle and loss” reflects his enthusiasmat the prospect of joining a church whose historywas one of conviction, missionary zeal, persecution, andmartyrdom.P O E M S & R H Y M E D P R A Y E R S:E B E R H A R D A R N O L D 72