And Mary Said
By Jon Swerens · completed April 14, 2001
From Luke 1:46-49
Awaited through centuries of silence
Desired and feared through the years
The Son of the Highest, the promise of God coming near
An angel had finally spoken
The favor of God on one girl
Conceived in her womb there shall be the King of the world
Chorus:
And Mary said, “My soul glorifies
The Lord and my spirit rejoices in Him
For He has been mindful of me in my lowly state
From now on, all generations will look on me and call me blessed
Holy is His Name” (this line last time “Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name”)
The words of the angel still echoed
As she pondered these things in her heart
She was given a glimpse of His grace but only in part
For His glory was hidden within her
And she could not imagine the cross
And she carried the One who would carry the sins of the lost
Chorus
And just as the Child grew in Mary
As a husband would give to his wife
The Lord overshadows His people and gives them new life
The waiting was worth every minute
Even though it was a thousand lives long
Rejoice as He comes to our rescue and join in her song
Chorus:
As Mary said…
© 2001 Jon Swerens
Christmas in Our Town
By Jon Swerens · November 2004
An inch of snow and five below
Bundled up against the night
With frozen face we stamp in place
Just to see the glowing lights
Reindeer scenes and evergreens
With mittened hands the crowd applauds
With bulb and cold, our history’s told
We walk the streets our parents’ trod
Chorus:
Bells are rung, stars are hung
And lights are strung around the tree
Hymns are sung unto the One
Who bore our bleak humanity
On Christmas, on Christmas
Christmas, Christmas in our town
The malls are packed, the stores are sacked
As shoppers strain to break the bank
We find the toys, but lose the joys
‘Cause we’ve forgotten whom to thank
But God has spent to His last cent
A precious treasure Heaven pouredv For Jesus Christ could pay the price
The richest man could not afford
Chorus
We pause at last for Christmas past
Simplicity of Babe and creche
We sing the songs, confess our wrongs
As hearts of stone are turned to flesh
And God descends and calls us friends
And grants the presence Jesus gave
We eat His meal and humbly kneel
Before the Son who came to save
Chorus
© 2004 Jon Swerens
From Midnight to Daylight
By Jon Swerens · July 16, 2003
Suddenly, a splash of sunlight
Is bleaching through and reaching through my eyelids
I feel my skin, the gray is fading
I’m sensing it’s commencing into feeling
Surprisingly, the scent of summer
Is breaking in, awakening my nostrils
I hear my name, a whispered shouting
It’s waking me and taking me to morning
Chorus:
I am taken from midnight to daylight
I am trading my dirge for a dance
My mind’s eye sees my dear two sisters
They went to Him, they sent for Him to come now
They wait and pray and watch my passing
They carry me and bury me at sundown
Despondently, my sisters’ mourning
They’re sleeping in and weeping in my pillow
They hear my voice, they stare in wonder
The doubt is gone, they’re shouting from their window
Chorus x2
Certainly, the fear of dying
Was haunting me and taunting me from childhood
But gradually, the sweetest friendship
Was reaching me and teaching me of mercy
I see His eyes, His cheeks are tear-stained
I wonder why He would cry, still knowing
But pardon me, I see He’s leaving
I only know, where’er He goes, I’m going
Chorus x2
Suddenly, a splash of sunlight
Is bleaching through and reaching through my eyelids
© 2004 Jon Swerens
I Love This Road
By Jon Swerens · September 6-25, 2003
Slanted beams of early dawn filter through the forest
Scent of spruce and fallen rain softly speaks in cool mist
Every night the moon more full, every day less clouded
Every word more understood and Your face less shrouded
Chorus:
The light grows clearer
As I draw nearer
My God grows dearer
I love this road
I love this road
Every breath of winter wind sharpened by Your justice
Wakens every weary soul longing for Your presence
Every valley, every knoll, rugged, barren places
Carved by Your unerring hand, flooded with your graces
Chorus
Every step the way more soft or my feet more hardened
Every thought my mind more pure or my sin more pardoned
Every star becomes a sign, every constellation
Leo’s roar, Orion’s aim point in Your direction
Chorus
© 2003 Jon Swerens
In the Morning
By Jon Swerens · September 27-29, 2004
As we huddle under streetlights
In the ever-present gloom
Planting flowers by the roadside
Wond’ring if they’ll ever bloom
So we watch the east horizon
See a single golden thread
Hope springs up and we look forward
To the day our fears have fled
In the morning, in the morning
Living lives of mud and charcoal
Dull despite what we intend
We’re compressed to pearl and diamond
By the sorrow Jesus sends
In the company of angels
In the presence of the saints
From this palette of dark colors
See the brightness our God paints
In the morning, in the morning
Bridge:
Charging to the dragon’s lair
All to free the prisoners there
All the friends who have deplored Him
He lay down his claim to light
Walked into the jaws of night
Keeping joyfulness before Him
Knowing joyfulness would join Him
In the morning, in the morning
Every candle in the darkness
A reminder of the flame
That will burn the spangled heavens
That will thunder with His Name
And our enemies are scattered
As they’re blinded by the sun
And the very earth rejoices
When it sees our Bridegroom come
In the morning, in the morning
© 2004 Jon Swerens
Relentless Love
By Jon Swerens · July 9, 2003
When I was far away
You would bridge the distance
Carry me for days
When I was underground
You would drill through bedrock
Till the lost is found
Chorus:
And you came through fields of land mines
And you saw my hedge of doubt
And you conquered every front line
You sought me, bought me, caught me by your love
Relentless love
I could not take a stand
All the stone I quarried
Wobbled on the sand
I could not free my hand
From the gold I plundered
From the trap I planned
Chorus
You did not wait for me
To request a pardon
Or to cop a plea
You did not hesitate
To besiege my fortress
Cannonball the gate
Chorus
© 2003 Jon Swerens
River
By Jon Swerens · August 2006
River, you carve the valleys in two
River, you bring new life into view
River, you prove your promises true
River, o River
River, an island stands in your way
River, you simply wear it away
River, even the rocks must obey
River, o River
Chorus:
Flood my walls and flood my ceilings
Flood my reckless thoughts and feelings
Soak me through like laundry in the rain
Flood my cellars, flood my rafters
Flood all my befores and afters
Leave no place where dryness can remain
River, bleach me whiter than snow
River, until my heart overflows
River, take me wherever you go
River, o River
Chorus
River, sweep me far from this place
River, to an ocean of grace
River, where I can look on your face
River, o River
© 2006 Jon Swerens
Second Childhood
By Jon Swerens · June 1999-March 2000
Lemonade days and firefly evenings
And kick-the-can played under streetlight
In sepia tones our minds hold the snapshots
And dwell in the sweetness of hindsight
And dwell in the sweetness of hindsight
Chorus:
And we long for the days when our eyes are ablaze
With the sight of another neighborhood
When we all are mature and we play on the shore
In our second childhood
The joints of our souls are stiff from inertia
We creak from the weight of our daydreams
To run in the fields, to splash in the gullies
To dance unafraid in the moonbeams
To dance unafraid in the moonbeams
Chorus
And we think we’re so strong and we don’t get along
With our peers, but tomorrow will solve
All our petty vignettes and our painful regrets
The rain will dissolve all their resolve
Will we withdraw to the cells that once held us
Or will we rejoice under blue skies
And sing a new song of the freedom Christ granted
Will we grow up and be childlike?
Will we grow up and be childlike?
Chorus
© 2000 Jon Swerens
The Sins of the World
By Jon Swerens · June-October 1999
Forever in time, forever in space
Forever fixed before our eyes
A picture of sin, a picture of grace
A picture of a great divide
Behold, strung between the earth and Heaven
Behold, abandoned by His own Eleven
As creation goes astray, as Creator turns away
He is taking away the sins of the world
Humanity’s sin, humanity’s debt
Humanly impossible to pay
Divinity’s sun, divinity’s death
Divinely paves a narrow way
Behold what your efforts have begotten
Behold why you’d rather them forgotten
As creation goes astray, as Creator turns away
He is taking away the sins of the world
Instrumental
Behold the One who mouthed your existence
Behold the One who offered no resistance
As creation goes astray, as Creator turns away
He is taking away the sins of the world
A picture of sin, a picture of grace
A picture of a great divide
© 2000 Jon Swerens
Widow Moon
By Jon Swerens · February 2004
The lady slowly whispers over the landscape
The winter clouds a veil across her face
She sighs a knowing sigh and slides through the darkness
And keeps her distance as she keeps her pace
Chorus:
Widow moon, the sun will rise
So wash your face and dry your eyes
The night will fly before high noon
The sun will rise, widow moon
The lady wears a shawl of midnight and sorrow
But darkest dark reveals a pinpoint light
The grace of heaven filters down to the valleys
The stars are luminaries of His might
Chorus
Beyond the stars, a city glows in the glory
The sun will fade from view against its light
The moon will bask within the beams of the earthshine
The earth will chase the shadow from the night
Chorus
