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| Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta |
When I was young and they packed me off to parochial school
I was told over and over about how the church was always right. When life crushed my innocence and optimism I
sought out people in the church to help me through the things with which I
dealt. This song showed me a glimmer of
what I would eventually come to see as the difference between any church and
following Jesus Christ.
This song is so simple but says so much about the
contradictions between what Jesus does to save us and what the church has
turned it into. I see the repeated “Oh
Jesus save me!” as a genuine plea. The
world needs deliverance form the impure application of the message of
Jesus.
It took me many years to see that I should not judge Jesus
by the actions of his followers but by who he is. I also see, as one would follow Christ that I
must take care that my actions reflect who he is and not what some organization
claims about him.
I live in a town where I have often seen the bumper sticker “Dear
God please save me…from your followers.”
It is horrifying that this has often been too true in the world. On the fringe and in the mainstream there
have always been those ignore what Jesus taught and use him for their own
purposes.
In this song I references to the commercial church, hypocrisy
in the church, and the failure of the American church. The second verse seems a clear reference to
manifest destiny and it absolute rejection of the truth of the Gospel. It also seems that the last verse is an image
of how the true image of Christ is weakened by the failures of the church and
its people to live out the words of Christ.
I also took the time to look up Hymn 43 in the hymnal for
the Church of England. They do not have
an “official” hymnal but they do use one.
Hymn 43 is an evening hymn and quite beautiful although I could not find
a rendition suitable for you Dear Reader:
Savior, breathe an
evening blessing - James Edmeston and Edward Henry Bickersteth
1870
Savior, breathe an
evening blessing
Ere repose our spirits
seal;
Sin and want we come
confessing:
Thou canst save, and
thou canst heal.
Though the night be
dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide
from thee;
Thou art he who, never
weary,
Watches where thy
people be.
Though destruction
walk around us,
Though the arrow past
us fly,
Angel guards from thee
surround us;
We are safe if thou
art nigh.
Father, to thy holy
keeping
Humbly we ourselves
resign;
Savior, who hast slept
our sleeping,
Make our slumbers pure
as thine
Blessèd Spirit,
brooding o'er us,
Chase the darkness of
our night,
Till the perfect day
before us
Breaks in everlasting
light.
Before I conclude I wonder how many of you notice that the interlude
riffs in this song an excellent prelude to Locomotive Breath. It is intriguing to me how well this song
sets the stage for the remainder of the work.
It is also amazing to me that it evoked so much anger in me when I was
young. Then I heard the final phrase of
each verse as a mockery. Now I see that
I too want to be saved from the pollution of religion by truly following Jesus
Christ. Oh Jesus save me!
Hymn 43 – Ian Anderson
Our father high in
heaven, smile down upon your son.
Who's busy with his
money games, his woman, and his gun.
Oh Jesus save me!
And the unsung Western
hero, killed an Indian or three,
And then he made his
name in Hollywood to set the white man free.
Oh Jesus save me!
If Jesus saves-well,
He'd better save Himself
From the gory glory
seekers who use His name in death.
Oh Jesus save me!
Well, I saw Him in the
city and on the mountains of the moon -
His cross was rather
bloody - He could hardly roll His stone.
Oh Jesus save me.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home
owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store."
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