On a Sunday recently I was preaching for the first time at one of our churches. Renewed friendships with several people I seem to bump into only every few years – to my loss, and perhaps their relief. Nah, they like me too!
As in many churches now, worship was led by others and I was only required to preach – I didn’t choose the hymns, though my text and theme were known to those preparing the worship service. The closing hymn was introduced unpromisingly as having a kind of boring tune, but the words were judged to be ‘cool’. Two things – ONE. I am well impressed with worship leaders who give enough weight to the beauty of words, so that at times a tune can be secondary. TWO – this hymn was by a country mile the best hymn we sang all morning, in the humble but not muted opinion of this preacher.
The words are reproduced below.It appears in a number of hymn books – there will now be a rant on behalf of the Regrettable Demise of the Hymn Book party – [Hymn books – remember those ancient artifacts, they tend to be square, with hard or soft covers, churches had enough of them so that everyone got one, and between the covers there are sheets of paper printed on both sides with numbered appropriate things to sing, part of the intention being that a manageable number of hymns (appropriate things to sing at worship) would be known by the whole congregation and not require performing praise bands to praise God on behalf of a congregation once again patiently learning this cool praise song by miming words that have little rhythm, beauty of arrangement, metaphorical resonance, memorable rhetoric, in which bathos displaces pathos, and emotional me-centred feel good singing eclipses adoration rooted in the sense of God’s mighty love in Christ – which yes makes me feel good] – rant ended…..for now.
This hymn could stand being sung as often as some Baptist churches have communion – First and third Sunday of the month in the morning and last Sunday of the month in the evening. It was an inspired choice, and I am grateful to the worship leader for overcoming personal taste in music to include ‘cool words’ and bring a worship service to that place of response where we all, in thepresence of God, covenant together to love and serve each other, in church and world, in the name of Jesus.
Brother, sister, let me serve you
let me be as Christ to you:
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.
.
We are pilgrims on a journey
and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.
.
I will hold the Christ-light for you
in the night time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you
speak the peace you long to hear.
.
I will weep when you are weeping
when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow
till we’ve seen this journey through.
.
When we sing to God in heaven
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we’ve known together
of Christ’s love and agony.
.
Brother, sister, let me serve you
let me be as Christ to you:
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.
Richard Gillard, Baptist Praise and Worship, number 473.
Leave a Reply to Catriona Cancel reply