Spy Wednesday
What do I offer Jesus?
Poetry
At Bethany
To the man who gave my brother back to me, wrapped in linen but breathing, the man who wept at my tears, whose feet I sat at inhaling his stories, this warm man who will hang for all my flaws, my wrong turns and my pain— To this man, I give the best oil I find, wrapped with my hair and my early tears of mourning. I anoint those feet I used to sit at exhaling all my fears, this firm man replacing them with his hands. To you, it seems too much. But next to a brother’s breath or blood, no perfume measures up.
Music
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing Tune my heart to sing Thy grace Streams of mercy, never ceasing Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love. Here I raise my Ebenezer. Hither by Thy help I’m come, And I hope, by Thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand’ring from the fold of God. He, to rescue me from danger Interposed His precious blood. O to grace, how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart. Oh, take and seal it! Seal it for Thy courts above. O that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face. Clothed then in the blood-washed linen, How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace. Come, my Lord, no longer tarry. Take my ransomed soul away! Send Thine angels now to carry Me to realms of endless day.
History
This hymn compares the Savior to a fountain from which all blessings flow. Just as normal water is essential to sustain life, the “living water” Jesus offers us is essential to our spiritual life.
Robert Robinson was born in England in 1735, the son of a poor farmer. He grew up with little education, and his difficult childhood led him down a path of sin and debauchery. When he was twenty, however, he found religion, atoned for his wayward youth, and eventually became a Baptist minister.
In 1757, Robinson wrote the words to “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The melody is believed to have been composed by John Wyeth, a fellow Christian and music publisher who included the hymn in his 1813 hymnal, Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second.
The hymn quickly became popular, and it has since been translated into many languages. It is still sung by Christians around the world today.
Despite his success as a minister and hymnist, Robinson struggled with his faith, and eventually became disillusioned with organized religion. It is said that when he heard this hymn later in his life, he said, “I wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give anything to experience again the feeling I had when I wrote it.”
Robinson’s life is a reminder that we are all “prone to wander” and that we all must rely on the Savior’s daily grace to keep our faith alive.
by Michael D. Young, from Sacred Days, Sacred Songs
Activity Ideas
Talk about women who were witnesses of Christ (in scripture, family history, or that you know personally); act out a story from Jesus' life.
Scripture
“Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” —Mark 14:9; see also Matthew 26:13
Also known as “Spy Wednesday,” (a reference to the conspiracy of Judas to betray Christ,) this day offers us the opportunity to consider the contrast between the unnamed, outsider woman who understood and supported who Jesus was and what he came to do, and the named apostle who failed to do so.
Who are the women of faith you remember today? Who goes unnamed by history but deserves our recognition? Who are the outsiders who can help us better see who Christ is?
