Lenten Devotion: Monday, April 2
by John Jaruzel
Forth in thy Name, O Lord, I Go
United Methodist Hymnal #438
Words: Charles Wesley, 1749
Music: John Hatton, 1793
John and Charles Wesley were quite a team, as we at Christ Church have been learning recently. Part Moses and Aaron, part George and Ira Gershwin; together they had a message along with a method to share it with God’s people. Adult Education’s Lenten study of the book A Perfect Love, with reflections on John Wesley’s teachings by Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, has led us to a deeper understanding of some of Wesley’s great sermons. We now reflect on Charles’s ministry through music.
“Forth in thy Name, O Lord, I Go” was written in 1749, at the midpoint of Charles’s ministry. An apt message for this season, the words bring out the emphasis of mission and service. All we do in this life is in the service of God—not just the extra effort to attend six out of seven services at Christ Church during Lent, but kindness to family, friends or strangers around us, or even brushing our teeth.
In recent years I have served the congregation as Director of Social Action. Big community projects are easy to point out in our history of service. Painting Steven’s house or an apartment for a homeless family, work in the Church yard or work in Mississippi after Katrina, the Inner Beauty Pageant, or working with homeless families, all have emphasis on serving others.
Charles Wesley reminds us that this mission has a broader range. “In all my works thy presence find.” That is 24/7! Is this an impossible and undesirable request, or a way of life that can come as easily as fitting into our favorite old sneakers? We do many things in life that have an emphasis on service, though we may not think of it in that way. Packing lunch for the kids, calling an old friend or calling “hello” to a neighbor over the fence, these too are in God’s service. One of the amazing messages of Christ’s ministry is the radical idea of just being nice to others.
Our lives are full of “whate’er thy bounteous grace hath given.” We live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, we live under a democratic government, and we have the freedom to worship at our “open and reconciling” church. Our mission this week and always is to try to return that grace to our community. In this Holy Week let us all make an effort to see ourselves in the role of service giver in all that we do.
Forth in thy Name, O Lord, I Go
United Methodist Hymnal #438
Words: Charles Wesley, 1749
Music: John Hatton, 1793
1
Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go,
my daily labor to pursue;
thee, only thee, resolved to know
in all I think or speak or do.
2
The task thy wisdom hath assigned,
O let me cheerfully fulfill;
in all my works thy presence find,
and prove thy good and perfect will.
3
Thee may I set at my right hand
whose eyes mine inmost substance see,
and labor on at thy command,
and offer all my works to thee.
4
For thee delightfully employ
whate'er thy bounteous grace hath given;
and run my course with even joy,
and closely walk with thee to heaven.
Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go,
my daily labor to pursue;
thee, only thee, resolved to know
in all I think or speak or do.
2
The task thy wisdom hath assigned,
O let me cheerfully fulfill;
in all my works thy presence find,
and prove thy good and perfect will.
3
Thee may I set at my right hand
whose eyes mine inmost substance see,
and labor on at thy command,
and offer all my works to thee.
4
For thee delightfully employ
whate'er thy bounteous grace hath given;
and run my course with even joy,
and closely walk with thee to heaven.
John and Charles Wesley were quite a team, as we at Christ Church have been learning recently. Part Moses and Aaron, part George and Ira Gershwin; together they had a message along with a method to share it with God’s people. Adult Education’s Lenten study of the book A Perfect Love, with reflections on John Wesley’s teachings by Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, has led us to a deeper understanding of some of Wesley’s great sermons. We now reflect on Charles’s ministry through music.
“Forth in thy Name, O Lord, I Go” was written in 1749, at the midpoint of Charles’s ministry. An apt message for this season, the words bring out the emphasis of mission and service. All we do in this life is in the service of God—not just the extra effort to attend six out of seven services at Christ Church during Lent, but kindness to family, friends or strangers around us, or even brushing our teeth.
In recent years I have served the congregation as Director of Social Action. Big community projects are easy to point out in our history of service. Painting Steven’s house or an apartment for a homeless family, work in the Church yard or work in Mississippi after Katrina, the Inner Beauty Pageant, or working with homeless families, all have emphasis on serving others.
Charles Wesley reminds us that this mission has a broader range. “In all my works thy presence find.” That is 24/7! Is this an impossible and undesirable request, or a way of life that can come as easily as fitting into our favorite old sneakers? We do many things in life that have an emphasis on service, though we may not think of it in that way. Packing lunch for the kids, calling an old friend or calling “hello” to a neighbor over the fence, these too are in God’s service. One of the amazing messages of Christ’s ministry is the radical idea of just being nice to others.
Our lives are full of “whate’er thy bounteous grace hath given.” We live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, we live under a democratic government, and we have the freedom to worship at our “open and reconciling” church. Our mission this week and always is to try to return that grace to our community. In this Holy Week let us all make an effort to see ourselves in the role of service giver in all that we do.
posted by choir-boy at
7:07 PM
