"And preach thee, too, as love knows how by kindly words and virtuous lives."

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!)

Listen to This Hymn