Hymn: “Faith of Our Fathers” – Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863)
Tune: ST. CATHERINE
The quote “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if
necessary” has long been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the
Franciscan Order. In recent years, this has been un-attributed to him, but
whoever said it in whatever century it came up was onto something.
There’s also been some discussion as to whether preaching
has to be verbal to be called preaching at all. I am confident that a preacher
started that argument, but imagine: Christian scholars debating such things?!
Yeah, right!
Either way, Faber put it well in this hymn-line. I agree
with him, of course; otherwise I would not have included this in my postings!
Although I’ve done some pulpit-preaching in my career, most of my sharing what
I know of Christ has been by imitating his attitude and actions; the same is
probably true of you.
What a pulpiteer ‘tells’ us in a sermon may not be consistent
with what he/she does when they are not behind the sacred desk. We’ve all heard
sermons on forgiveness delivered by people who refuse to forgive, or tirades on
specific sins with which the deliverer struggles. However, our sharing the gospel
by kind words and lives trimmed in virtue are truly “where the rubber meets the
road.”
It’s a shame that we relegate this hymn to the Sunday we
Americans (probably Hallmark!) have dubbed Father’s Day, because the text is
about the faith of those who’ve gone before us; it’s more akin to Steve Green’s
song, “O may all who come behind us find
us faithful.” It is the faith that is living still, not the
fathers; the faith has survived dungeon, fire and sword, and when we are aware
of that lasting faith, our hearts beat high with joy. The hymn is addressed to our faith, not to God; this is made
more obvious in most hymnals because the word “thee” is not capitalized. In
that final phrase, we’re declaring our allegiance to our faith… the faith of
our forebears; most of us have probably thought we were singing our allegiance
to God himself. But after all, it is our faith through which we commit
ourselves.
I would guess that most of the people who read this
blog are not preachers… or pastors… those we associate with sermonizing on
Sunday mornings. Most of you are like me: simply striving to be Christ
to those with whom we come into contact during the next eighteen hours or so.
We are “the only Bible some people ever read,” like we were told in early
Sunday School years.
I’m pretty sure consistent Christ-like living will have a
lasting effect on our comrades… more so than street-corner shouting… more so
than any properly prepared statement of our dogma. So today and all your days, “Preach
it, sister!” (or brother!)
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