SONGS THAT REMIND ME OF PEOPLE WHO SUFFER

We sang two songs in our morning service at church today that hold particular significance for me. “His Banner Over Me” tells of a heavenly celebration in which God brings us to his banquet hall where there is a banner of love hanging on the wall just for us (Song of Songs, chapter 2). When I sing it, I think of the many people around the world who have been abused by religious leaders and for whom being intimate with God is a loaded subject. I think particularly of three of my closest friends in college who were sexually abused by priests. And I imagine us all together in heaven, my three friends and I, as well as the multitudes of men and women who have lived with unspeakable shame. And the conflicted feelings and raw emotions and sinful residue have all been wiped away. And together we can be completely lavished with love by our Heavenly Father.

We also sang, “He is Lord,” a beautiful song that is taken from one of Paul’s letters (Philippians, chapter 2) and is the refrain all will sing upon the return of Jesus. The song makes me recall an article I read in college about a Christian in an African country hostile to Christianity. At risk of bodily harm, he continued to practice his faith and even spread it. One day, he was caught, and the punishment for worshipping the Christian God was to have his hand chopped off. Once his persecutors had chopped off his right hand, he immediately raised his left hand and began singing this song. Opposition and torture would not keep him from proclaiming his faith. And so whenever I sing this song, I pray for my brethren around the world who suffer as a result of their faith, and I join with them in raising my hand and proclaiming that Jesus is Lord.