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    Nov 16, 2014

    Singing Our Faith: Justice Hymns

    Singing Our Faith: Justice Hymns

    Passage: Luke 19:39-44

    Speaker: Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

    Series: Social Justice

    Category: Social Justice

    Keywords: faith, hymns, singing, social justice

    Following up on His Hands & Feet Ministry's introduction last week, this week we discover social justice in the United Methodist musical traditions.

    Last Sunday, our new ministry, His Hands and Feet, started us on a 2-part series of worship focus on Social Justice. Social justice is not an easy topic. Most of us find it fairly easy to participate in ministries of mercy, making a casserole, buying or crafting a baby blanket or prayer shawl, writing a check, finding ways to support the Board of Child Care or the Carroll County Women’s Shelter or a million other missions.

    Social justice, however, means working for serious change. His Hands and Feet is a ministry that has begun as primarily a mercy ministry – directly supporting our unhoused neighbors with toiletries and food and building relationships. However, very quickly the team realized that there are several issues that they want to help with that require much more. Overcoming addiction, for example, is a serious issue, one that has affected the lives of several of the men they have been working with, and the team is hoping to offer the chance for real change by working with the men on overcoming addiction.

    Working as the faith community for social justice is a baptismal call and is a truly United Methodist commitment. Remember a couple of weeks ago when we had a baptism? Do you resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves? That vow is about resisting – both in our personal life and in the life of the whole community. Yet, few of us are actively engaged in that kind of ministry.

    We have a wonderful heritage of hymnody that focuses on social justice and calls us to commitment. Today, the hymns that we sing are part of that body of our faith song.

    Scripture Reading

    Luke 19:39-44 and Ezekiel 48:35

    39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." 40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out." 41 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."

    Ezeziel:

    35From now on, the name of the city will be God-Is-There.

    All Who Love and Serve Your City is a fairly recent hymn. It was written for a historic gathering in Dunblane, Scotland in 1966. Erik Routley, the writer of the text, said of the hymn, “The contrast between the peacefulness of the Scottish country town [of Dunblane] and the conditions of the cities in America and elsewhere evoked this text.”

    Note the construction of the text:

    • Verse 1 addresses “all who love and serve your city” and ends with what should probably be a colon because verses 2 and 3 are instructions to those same people.
    • Verse 4 is what I would call an interpretation of what our “days” are.
    • Verse 5 is a prayer to the Risen Lord and a plea for the Lord to come and save the city.
    Hymn: All Who Love and Serve Your City - UMH #433

    Scripture Reading

    Micah 6:6-9

    6 "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? 9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city (it is sound wisdom to fear your name): Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city!

    Say a word about Jim and Jeanie Strathdee and their voice for justice, especiall through song. Sing the round

    Hymn: What Does the Lord Require of You? - FWS #2174

    In 1985, Dr. Fred Kaan, author of the text of our next hymn, said this about his hymn: “Of all the hymns I have written, this is the text that has been more widely reprinted and incorporated in major hymnbooks than any other. It was first used in 1965 in a worship service at the Pilgrim Church, Plymouth, to mark Human Rights Day [Dec. 10]. Subsequently, it has been used on many official occasions, such as the 25th anniversary of the United Nations organization.”

    Hymn: For the Healing of the Nations - UMH #428

    Draw the Circle Wide was written by a young hymn writer who is a friend of mine. The communion setting we sang 2 weeks ago is also his composition. Mark A. Miller is a church musician, a United Methodist whose sister is a pastor and former DS. Mark has been a delegate to the General Conference and has led many conferences, including our annual conference and the GC, in music.

    Hymn: Draw the Circle Wide

    Our last hymn of the morning is Hope of the World by Georgia Harkness. It has become a classic and is an important UM hymn. We are going to sing just 2 verses – verses 2 and 4. These 2 verses are especially appropriate to our theme today, describing some of the need of the world and how we, as Christ’s body, may answer Christ’s call.