THE SOCIAL WITNESS OF CHARLES WESLEY’S HYMNS – Part 3 of 3

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”  (Isaiah 1:17 NIV)

If Wesley’s hymns seem to say little about social action as such, they offer a continual sense of strength for those engaged in the fight. One can hardly sing “Soldiers of Christ Arise,” for instance, without wanting to march for the causes that challenge our souls.

          From strength to strength go on,
                     Wrestle and fight and pray;
          Tread all the powers of darkness down,
                     And win the well-fought day.

We cannot say what Wesley had in mind by “all the powers of darkness.” He may have been thinking in the broadest sense of the total principle of evil, or perhaps he was reflecting upon the inner struggles that had characterized much of his life. But I think he would have agreed that anything which frustrated and limited the lives of his people – poverty, sickness, injustice, miserable prisons and mental institutions – was part of the darkness that must be trod down. Succeeding generations have gained strength from his vigorous vision.

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015) in “Our First Song: Evangelism in the Hymns of Charles Wesley” 

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LET LIGHT SHINE OUT OF DARKNESS – Part 1 of 2

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”  (2 Corinthians 4:4-7 NIV)

Let us remember that it is a full salvation that we offer. Some… have been content to save their people and leave them to heaven. John and Charles Wesley insisted that we are saved so that we can grow. They believed that their somewhat ragtag group of butchers, miners, and household servants could become saints. We are challenged to believe as grandly for the computer generation, for a century of skeptics, and the spiritually cautious.

And we are saved to serve our present age. Traditionally, we have believed we could spread scriptural holiness throughout the land. Now we must do so in a time when family structures are under assault, while political systems build their new Babels, and when the evils of misery, poverty, and war seem more entrenched than ever. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “Our First Song: Evangelism in the Hymns of Charles Wesley” (1984)

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VIVIAN'S BLESSINGS

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything -- all she had to live on.’”  (Mark 12:41-44 NIV)

At the time I became her pastor, Vivian was surviving on food stamps and a small S.S.I. stipend.  She had never married and never worked outside the home, but had taken care of her aging mother and father, a pastor in the old Swedish Methodist church.  In those days pensions only covered pastors and their spouses, so when her parents died, the pension money stopped.  Whenever I visited, Vivian insisted on feeding me.  The fare was usually baloney or peanut butter and jelly, but she delighted to share her table and it was always a joyful feast.

Vivian had a Blessing Box, into which she put a penny every time God blessed her.  Twice a year she would put a big bag of pennies in the offering plate.  Vivian also tithed what little money she had.  After I had been at the church a few months, some church members asked me to speak to her about not tithing because she couldn't afford it.  I was embarrassed, but finally approached her with the church's loving concern.  She received the words as words of love, but her reply really surprised me.  "Why should I be denied the joy of giving just because I'm poor?"

In worldly goods, Vivian was poorer than anyone else in our church.  In spite of that, she felt herself to be the most blessed!  From Vivian, I learned that abundance has nothing to do with having money, but everything to do with being full of the joy of the Lord. 

-- Rev. Ed Wilder in “Alive Now,” May/June 2002, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN.   Used with permission. 

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RACING AGAINST THE DARKNESS

[Former NFL great] Deion Sanders grew up across the street from a huge cemetery. He often played at the school or a park until dark, and then had the unfortunate need to walk home past the graveyard in the dark. He had a plan. He would stand at the edge of the graveyard and wait until a car approached heading toward his house. He would run as fast as he could alongside the car, trying to keep up with the lights until he got to his front porch. Deion says, "That's how I got my speed. Racing against the darkness." That's a good image for Christian living: racing against the darkness. The Scriptures tell us that's our main competition. We contend not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers of darkness. We race against the darkness of poverty when we feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. We race against the darkness of spiritual death when we witness [to the light of Jesus Christ].

-- Rev. Clark Williams in “Challenge to Evangelism Today” Newsletter

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THE SECRET OF BEING CONTENT

“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:10-13 NIV)

Because we lack a divine Center, our need for security has led us into an insane attachment to things. We must clearly understand that the lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic. It is psychotic because it has completely lost touch with reality. We crave things we neither need nor enjoy. We buy things we do not want to impress people we do not like… Covetousness we call ambition. Hoarding we call prudence. Greed we call industry. 
 
-- Richard Foster in “Celebration of Discipline”

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A FRIEND OF THE POOR

A friend of the poor is a friend of God. When we choose to follow the way of God’s heart for the poor, we become friends with God. The Bible speaks very highly of those who serve on behalf of the poor and promises them good outcomes.

Proverbs 19:17 tells us that those “who [are] kind to the poor lend to the Lord.” And in Proverbs 14:31: “He who opposes the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” The Prophet Jeremiah wrote of good King Josiah, “’He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know Me?’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 22:16)

In the New Testament Church we are given a picture of believers who shared so completely among themselves that there were no poor among them (Acts 4:34). And in the same book we learn that Cornelius, searching for God, is found precisely because of his sensitivity to the poor: “Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.” (Acts 10:31) 

--  Gordon Aeschilman in an article entitled “God’s Heart for the Poor” in “Discipleship Journal”

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SAYING YES TO THE SPIRIT

Many of our “tame hopes” are fulfilled on a daily basis: the hope that the sun will shine, or the pay check will arrive as planned, or that we will get sufficient nourishment for the day. Though one is disappointed once in a while, our anticipation of these “small” things, though not insignificant, is frequently realized.

By contrast, some of these same issues for people in other cultures are “wild hopes.” Many of our sisters and brothers do not receive a salary, nor do they get three meals a day, nor does the sun of freedom shine in their lives. Born to poverty or oppressed by social systems, these people find little joy and peace. If they are fortunate in avoiding violence they still must struggle with resentment and bitterness in their awareness of the consumption and materialism of the wealthy.

We must pray like Jesus that hope might be restored and that the earth might be recast. Only the gift of the Holy Spirit can empower us to trust in the future and to assume our rightful responsibility for the common good. Renewing the face of the earth is the work of the Holy Spirit through those people who say yes to being the Spirit’s agents of knowledge, love and kindness. Our hope, wild or tame, is grounded in God’s promise of presence. Herein is our joy and peace.

-- Bishop Robert F. Morneau in “Resurrection to Pentecost”

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