30+ years ago we offered a choir cantata in the Church we were serving. I will not forget the grieving father who sang “When the River Gets High, Sail On.” We had learned that he and his wife lost their young adult child. They preserved her room in their house and quietly held their faith as they were grieving. I was touched by his voice and willingness to sing in the presence of his grief.
Recently I found my grandparents’ church membership booklets for Sunnyside Presbyterian Church in South Bend, Indiana. I was baptized there in 1962.“When You Join the Church: A Booklet for those who are facing the question of their relationship to the Church. Issued as as a part of the Adult Program of Christian Education” states this as the third element of practicing Christ’s way of living:
The Christian way of living involves an intelligent courage, a persistent refusal to be discouraged regarding either oneself or the Christian program. The Christian religion makes much of ideals, and ideals are discouraging because they seem so far from attainment. But no worthy Christian ideal can ever be easy to attain. Bringing about Christian conditions in society is often a long process. It may take ages. All any Christian is called to do is to set the movement forward as much as (they) can.
I am inspired by the combination of intelligent courage, hope (a persistent refusal to be discouraged), and a commitment to do what we can to move forward.
Throughout my ministry I have returned to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Tough Minds and Tender Hearts sermon:
A French philosopher said, “No man is strong unless he bears within his character antitheses strongly marked.” The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites. Not ordinarily do men achieve this balance of opposites. The idealists are not usually realistic, and the realists are not usually idealistic…Jesus recognized the need for blending opposites. He knew that his disciples would face a difficult and hostile world, where they would confront the recalcitrance of political officials and the intransigence of the protectors of the old order.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to receive the power of Jesus’ tough mind and tender heart.
We have the opportunity to bring clear minds and peaceful hearts into 2024 and face the challenges it will hold. No doubt high rivers of concern and risk await us. And so I am grateful for another year of ministry together in Greenville and thank God for the long-term gifts of intelligent courage, hope, and a commitment to move forward.