August 28, 2023

"Come, Follow Me, the Savior Spake" | Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

13 minutes

ZACHARY'S NOTES:

Stanza 1 // Throughout the first three stanzas, Christ is speaking to us - we only sing [or preach] his words to one another. It may be helpful for another voice [solo or choir - apart from the congregation] to sing these words. If not, other ways of musically separating the first three stanzas from the fourth helps to sing this hymn with understanding and purpose. The first stanza can sound like a divine to-do list - much like this weekend’s passage: “No matter what comes in life, bear the cross.” It even suggests Christ is our example! In one sense, this is true - there is no other human being who has taken up the cross the way our Lord did! The key word in this stanza is “deny yourself” - this is not about candy, chocolate, or soda. It is about denial of self - knowing we do not belong to this world or ourselves - but that Christ’s cross is all we need for life.

Stanza 2 // The second stanza begins to show us what it means to live in the light of Christ’s cross. As the stanza says: “[Christ is the light” - we only follow. When it says our Lord “displays a godly life” it is easy to hear this in the context of self-denial. It is far more helpful to hear these words as God-in-the-flesh for us. Christ comes to show us how far God is willing to go to “keep our feet from straying” - to the cross! Because of this, we “sojourn here below” with difficulties and death surrounding us - but with a promise! Christ is “the way” - the truth, and the life, and our light in every challenge life brings.

Stanza 3 // Jesus’ words of losing our “life” [or soul] are given meaning here when Christ names Himself the “refuge of the soul” by which we are “led to heaven.” Christ says we “save our life/soul” when we “lose it.” The third stanza tells us how this happens. Jesus will teach us how to “shun and flee” all things harmful to salvation by giving “freedom from sin and temptation.” In Christ’s cross, our soul has refuge, and we are given the gift of heaven today!

Stanza 4 // The fourth stanza suggests we “follow Christ…and take the cross!” This does not mean inventing ways to suffer in life, but “clinging to [Jesus’] Word” when difficulties come in life. We “bear the battle’s strain” - what Christ won for us on the cross - in baptism. We are marked with the cross of Christ, and made members of His kingdom. The “crown of heavenly life” belongs to those who follow this Lord!

SUGGESTIONS: