Sunday, December 8, 2002
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Sunday, December 8, 2002 |
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Amazing Grace By
MARY JANE HOLT I grew up on "Amazing Grace." Both the song and the real thing. But it wasn't until the crash of TWA Flight 800, in 1996, that the song gripped me so tightly that I have been able to let go. Or perhaps it has been unable to let go of me. The plane went down on my birthday. As I celebrated my life, 230 unsuspecting individuals lost theirs. I will never forget the impact that tragedy had on me. Certainly, following 9/11/01, "Amazing Grace" gripped the entire nation. I have heard from several sources that there were those who hummed or softly sang the hymn as they painstakingly made their way down the dark Tower stairways to eventual safety. As we grieved for those who never made it to what we perceive to be safety, the hymn brought some degree of comfort. The words or music alone, as well as the combination of the two, consoled us as never before. Indeed, the lyrics and music echoed forth from the ashes to be heard around the world. Do you ever wonder how it all happens? Where the words come from? How they come to have such power? And to be recognized around the world? Most of you, like me, probably know that John Newton is credited with writing the song. But did you know that Newton, who was born in London in 1725, was, among other things, both a slave and a slave trader. His colorful life, not so unlike that of Saint Paul, or perhaps yours and mine, took a dramatic new direction in mid life. History records how, following a horrific storm at sea, Newton experienced a profound spiritual conversion. (Do we not all experience our own personal storms?) Newton later become a minister in the Church of England and the curate of Olney, in Buckinghamshire. I have read that he collaborated there with the poet William Cowper, often to the point of heated, yet joyful, competition. The pair worked together on several editions of Olney Hymns, and the words to what would later come to be titled "Amazing Grace," was among their works. It is said that other writers may have added verses and text variations over the years, and some verses from other Newton hymns may also have been added. Thus "Amazing Grace" evolved into what surely is a hymn for all ages and all times. I could continue now with a list of the reasons "Amazing Grace" has come to mean so much to me. But my list would mean nothing to you. While it may be the universal hymn of comfort and peace, it is, at the same time, a very personal song. I invite you to read the words again today. Read them and hum them and hear them anew, as if for the first time. Let them bring comfort to those corners of your heart where hurt hides. Let them find their way into and through all the little cracks and crevices of your soul so that they radiate throughout your whole being. Let "Amazing Grace" be your theme for the blessed Christmas season which is about to be upon us.
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found, Was blind but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear And grace my fears relieved, How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come, 'Twas grace that brought me safe thus far, And grace shall lead me home.
When we've been there ten thousand years Bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise Than when we first begun.
Now, go back and read it again. Not like you're skimming through a newspaper column. Read it prayerfully. Reverently. Slowly. Let each word have its impact on you. Let the Grace of which you read lead you forth into the day and night that lies before you. It can. It will. It does. We don't always recognize the power of such Grace, do we?
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