Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “Great God, your love has called us here” by Brian Wren, which in the book is set for Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday). I presume this is because of the first line of the fourth verse, “Then take the towel, and break the bread”, a reminder that Jesus demonstrated humble leadership by washing his disciples’ feet before declaring at the Last Supper that the act of sharing bread and wine was to be regarded by his followers after his resurrection as being equivalent in their level of commitment to each other and to him as if they had eaten his flesh and blood.
The hymn taken as a whole, however, is not really about Holy Week or Easter, but about God working in us through Christ, in many different ways. It’s difficult to quote individual lines without the context of a whole verse, but the full words can be found on the publisher’s website here: where it is suggested as a communion hymn. Read as a whole, they certainly follow a pattern familiar in the communion service (or other Christian acts of worship) of praise, confession, absolution, call to service and going out in the power of the Spirit.
I also thought this hymn to be not particularly about Maundy Thursday save for the “kneeling at our feet. Take the towel” reference as verse 3 turns to verse 4. I found it a pleasant sing. I thought the last couplet of verse 3 particularly apt: “we strain to glimpse your mercy seat – and find you kneeling at our feet”.