NeuroDivine

Upon the hill where grasses bend

1.
Upon the hill where grasses bend,
And curlew cries take wing,
We gather at the altar‑stone
To praise our risen King.
For Christ, the Lamb once offered here,
Now reigns beyond all time;
Yet in this feast His gift is shared—
Eternal, true, sublime.

2.
No sacrifice is made anew,
No cross is raised again;
But in this thin place, heaven’s breath
Draws close to mortal frame.
As pilgrims pause at holy wells
Where living waters rise,
So do we drink of Christ made known
In mysteries of the skies.

3.
The priesthood that the Church receives
Is Christ’s own life outpoured;
A service shaped by Word and sign,
A people for the Lord.
Here fox and hare in twilight roam,
Here thrush and linnet sing;
Creation joins our thanksgiving
To Christ, our Priest and King.

4.
The mist that veils the mountain side
Now yields to bread and wine;
The common fruit of earth and toil
Becomes the life divine.
As light breaks through the morning cloud
To touch the valley floor,
The Presence fills this hallowed space
And opens wide the door.

5.
So lead us to the altar‑place
Where heaven stoops to earth;
And feed us with the living Christ,
Our hope, our strength, our worth.
Then send us out through field and town,
Through bog and stony shore,
To bear His peace, whose sacrifice
Is perfect evermore.

Hymn information

First line: Upon the hill where grasses bend
Text: Michael McFarland Campbell
Metre: DCM
Tune: Ellacombe
Theme: The Eucharist

Reflection

There are moments when the distance between heaven and earth feels very small.

Not because anything dramatic happens, but because something ordinary is received with attention. Bread. Grapes. A table. A gathering. The quiet offering of what is already given.

In the Eucharist, nothing is repeated, and yet everything is revealed again: the self-giving love of Christ, once offered, always living. The mystery is not in spectacle, but in nearness.

Like a holy well tucked into the landscape, grace is already flowing. We simply pause long enough to notice, to receive, to be changed.

And then we are sent—back into fields and streets, into noise and need—not as people who have escaped the world, but as people who have glimpsed its deepest truth:

Copyright

© Michael McFarland Campbell. 2026. 
Permission granted for local church or parish use with attribution. Not for commercial reproduction

Written recently and shared here as part of the NeuroDivine hymn collection.