A charge to keep I have
Something I wrote y'day:
Today in the Episcopal Church, we celebrate the lives of Charles and John Wesley:
Lord God, you inspired your servants John and Charles Wesley with burning zeal for the sanctification of souls, and endowed them with eloquence in speech and song: Kindle in your Church, we entreat you, such fervor, that those whose faith has cooled may be warmed, and those who have not known Christ may turn to him and be saved; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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A few ramblings:
The Old Testament lesson appointed for the feast of John and Charles Wesley is Isaiah 49:5-6. I was struck in reflecting on these two ministers by the last phrase, "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." How appropriate for those who felt that the world was their parish, and took to fields and pubs to proclaim the Good News of Christ. All who continue in the tradition of these two Gospel-proclaimers contribute to that light of Christ that continues to edge across the darkest corners of the globe. The songs continue to gladden hearts in their journey home to God. And the angst with which they (and John especially) seemed to wrestle in their soul is an example with hopefulness for those who see their spiritual lives much like Jacob in the desert, wrestling with God. Who other than Charles could have put to words better that moment of the spiritual longing-ecstasy of faith clenching sight, and dare to tell God:
In vain Thou strugglest to get free,
I never will unloose my hold;
art thou the Man that died for me?
The secret of Thy love unfold;
wrestling I will not let Thee go
till I Thy name, Thy nature know....
'Tis Love! 'tis Love! Thou diedst for me;
I hear Thy whisper in my heart:
the morning breaks, the shadows flee:
Pure UNIVERSAL LOVE Though art;
To me, to all, Thy bowels move;
Thy nature and They name is Love."
Who could meet the Wesleys and still not believe there is a God, and that God's name is Love!
If all Christians prayed like this, sang like this, proclaimed the gospel like this -- the world would be a different place; and I suspect the world is getting by as it does because there are at least a few people who are (and I'm blessed because I know some of them).
It make sense that the gospel appointed for these two ministers is from Luke (9:2-6), "They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere." The charge to keep, we now have!
May their souls, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
