SING A SONG OF HEROES
I have the odd habit of paying attention to the lyrics of hymns. While the congregation is singing, immersed in the music and the sound, I’m thinking about the lyrics, figuring out whether I like the poetry of the words and agree with their approach to faith.
The congregation’s approach is doubtless better than mine, but this has had some nice benefits for me. I will even browse the hymnal during the service, looking for lyrics that stand out. I find hymns whose themes and lyrics I really like, some I find so meaningful that I memorize them.
Recently I came back to an old favorite that had a lot to say about our Carnegie heroes and what they mean to each of us and to our society as a whole.
“I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” is a 1929 British children’s hymn which became much more popular in the United States.
Author Lesbia Scott emphasizes the ordinariness of those who turn out to be saints:
I sing a song of the saints of God,
patient and brave and true,
who toiled and fought and lived and died
for the God they loved and knew.
I think her purpose in telling children about saints was very much the same as the Hero Fund’s mission to tell the world about the Carnegie heroes and their valiant acts.
We are both telling the stories of extraordinary people, yet people not so different from us, people we each might be. Is the main purpose to make each of us a hero? Perhaps. That would be nice, but not so realistic. But stories of saints and heroes can illuminate our ordinary lives, making them better for ourselves and those around us. Beyond that, tales of saints and heroes illuminate our entire culture, lifting our horizons and aspirations.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
and one was a shepherdess on the green:
they were all of them saints of God, and I mean,
God helping, to be one too.
When we hear the stories of the Carnegie heroes, we all wonder if we would have their courage if called upon. To this I always reply, first, hope that you are never so called upon. It is a fearsome test that our Carnegie heroes have met. Deal with it if it comes to you, but you need not seek it out. Second, live your everyday life as if you might have to meet such a challenge. Do the small, hard things life sends us every day. Make a habit of it, and that will help you if you need it.
Scott’s last verse shares my optimism that, as much as we wonder where our saints and heroes come from, they will be there when we most need them. Every word of this works as well for a Carnegie hero as for a saint.
They lived not only in ages past;
there are hundreds of thousands still;
the world is bright with the joyous saints
who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea,
in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea;
for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.
* * * * *
(The tune by Rev. John H. Hopkins, Jr., is sprightly and engaging for children, and I love it. There are many renditions on YouTube, but you might enjoy this one by children: “I Sing A Song of the Saints of God” – The Junior Choir at PCPC – Nov. 6, 2022 )