There were two disciples

There were two disciples who took to the road when Jesus their teacher was gone.

Their master had been crucified like a thief and now seemed the time to move on.

But as they were walking, despairing and low, another man came alongside;

When he questioned the two, they told all that happened and how their great teacher had died.

 

Much to their surprise, the man started to teach and opened the travelers' eyes

With words of the prophets that spoke of the one, their Teacher both holy and wise.

They came to Emmaus to stay for the night, invited this man to join in;

But when he broke the bread, something opened their eyes - see, their Teacher was living again!

 

As they were astounded to see Jesus there, he then disappeared from their sight. 

They gathered themselves to go back to the city, hastening with all of their might, 

And there they did hear how their Jesus drew near to Simon and others that day.

Resurrection had come! Now their call was so clear: time to follow their Lord on the way.

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, April 2025, after Luke 24:13-35.

MUSIC: Tune SAMANTHRA, American folk melody.

 

 

Apparently being on a plane with no wifi can be a moment when hymn inspiration can happen. This text sits oddly in the Easter cycle, but it's a good scripture text, and I figure it was eventually going to force its way into hymn-text form somehow. 

 

The blind man who sat by the road

The blind man who sat by the road out of town

Was there every day of the week,

And those passing by on the road heard him call;

For coin or for food he would seek. 

Each day was the same; all the travelers came, 

Each day of the week, of the year,

Until one day he heard joyful cries from a crowd,

And he heard that it was drawing near.

 

This man by the road, Bartimaeus his name,

Made ready to cry out for aid,

But then he was caught by a name from the crowd

And his cry for alms thus was stayed.

For Jesus of Nazareth was on the way,

As near as he ever would be!

Bartimaeus cried out with great pleading and fear,

"Son of David, have mercy on me!"

 

The crowd tried to hush him, but he would not so;

He cried even louder again.

The crowd now grew hushed as it came to a halt;

Then one voice called out, "Bring him in."

The blind man jumped up, tossed his cloak to the side,

And stumbled his way to the man;

And to Jesus he pleaded with all of his heart,

"O my Teacher, let me see again!"

 

When Jesus said, "Go, for your faith has now healed you,"

Dark fell away from his eyes.

And then he beheld what he missed for so long,

The clouds and the trees and the skies.

But he did not go, though the Teacher said so;

His heart drew him rather to stay.

So he gathered himself and fell in with the crowd,

And he followed his Lord on the way.

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, October 2024, after Mark 10:46-52.

MUSIC: Tune SAMANTHRA, American folk melody.

 

 

This story has been bugging me for years to set it in some kind of form for congregational singing. I had used this tune for a previous setting, for the parable about the bridesmaids. While this is not a parable, it is a story, and tunes like this were made for telling stories. And I couldn't resist the subtitle.

Jesus came to tell a story (The Ballad of the Sower)

Jesus came to tell a story to a crowd one day,

                  with so many people waiting to hear what he'd say.

Told a story of a sower with his seed in hand; 

                  what he wanted them to know was where the seed did land.

Jesus told his stories; do we understand?

                  Jesus told his stories; will we ever learn to understand?

 

Seed that fell upon the pathway didn't last too long, 

                  for the birds came down to eat it and to sing their song.

Seed that fell upon the hard rock grew up way too fast; 

                  then the sun rose up and scorched it, and it could not last.

Jesus told his stories; do we understand?

                  Jesus told his stories; will we ever learn to understand?

 

Seed that fell into the briar patch never had a chance;

                  all the thorns grew up and choked it 'fore it could advance.

But the seed that fell on good soil grew into good grain,

                  multiplying and advancing, soaking up the rain.

Jesus told his stories; do we understand?

                  Jesus told his stories; will we ever learn to understand?

 

Jesus came and told his story so that we might know 

                  what it means to be so fruitful on the path we go.

Be the ones who hear the good word and accept it true

                  so it grows in us and shows us what to say and do.

Jesus told his stories; do we understand?

                  Jesus told his stories; will we ever learn to understand?

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, January 2024, after Mark 4:1-9.

MUSIC: Tune MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, US folk melody.

An experiment in taking old folk tunes and ballads as musical material for telling the parables of Jesus.