Acts17:22-31 John 14:15-21
Jesus says these comforting words to the disciples just before he is arrested and is crucified. They are meant to bring comfort to the disciples later on. They are not alone or uninspired. Neither are we. Those words were meant for us as well. As Paul says to us today "...in him we live and move and have our being." We are animated through the Holy Spirit.
Today our three hymn writers and musicians have experienced this. Some of their works have lived on through the years and become a gift to us today because they touch the hearts and souls of many.
Cecil Alexander was a mother of four and wife of Bishop William Alexander. In her spare time she started a school for the deaf and wrote over 400 hymns. The one we sing today is from a children's hymnal she had created. All things bright and beautiful reminds us all about the created world. This is why it is enduring, we need to be reminded of our tie to creation and its beauty. The other hymn which has endured is Once in Royal David's city which begins every Lessons and Carols service at Kings College.
Sarah Fuller Flower Adams was an aspiring actress, but too sickly to pursue this. She was a staunch advocate of women's rights in a time when this wasn't even thought about. When she married her husband knew her well and insisted she keep her maiden name. She wrote a children's catechism, even though she never had any. She also wrote hymns and today we will sing Nearer my God to Thee.
Fanny Crosby wrote over 8000 hymns. She also worshipped in many different Protestant traditions. Her only child, a daughter, was stillborn. Blessed assurance reminds us we are always Jesus is always with us. She and her husband were blind and worked hard for education for the blind.
Phoebe Knapp was the tune writer for Fanny's hymn. She wrote 500 hymns tunes and was organist at her Methodist Episcopal Church. She was very involved in social activism. She contributed large sums to the poor. She died in Poland Springs, Maine.
These women are from all walks of life. They all had different challenges and obstacles but they remembered they were walking all this with an Advocate who lived and moved and breathed in them.
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