CW 745: Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying
The Gospel lesson for the Fifth Sunday of Epiphany tells the story of the miraculous catch of fish and Jesus calling Peter to be a fisher of men. Our hymn today reminds us of the call that all Christians have been given to proclaim the message of the Gospel. We have been entrusted with the very Word of God that tells of his love for all the people of this world. Only by hearing the truth that salvation is found in Christ alone can anyone be saved.
Our hymn for this week reminds us of our sacred duty to share the light of the Gospel with those who are lost in the darkness of sin. This may seem like a daunting and intimidating task. We may worry and even feel guilty that we are not out in the streets calling the lost to salvation. Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying is a powerful reminder of the doctrine of vocation. Not all of us have been called to publicly teach and preach the message of the Gospel. We have all been given different gifts and abilities. God asks us to use those gifts in the service of his kingdom. This is going to look different for each of us and it is going to look different as we go through different seasons of our lives. No matter our gifts or our abilities we humbly ask that God would use each of us to advance his kingdom and share his love with others.
Verse 1: Hark, the voice of Jesus crying, “Who will go and work today? Fields are ripe and harvests waiting; who will bear the sheaves away?” Loud and long the Master calleth; rich reward he offers thee. Who will answer, gladly saying, “Here am I, send me, send me”?
The Bible often compares the people of this world to a field of grain that is ready for harvest. Our merciful Father wants as many people as possible to be saved. God wants all people to know the joy of heaven and not the horrors of hell. In order to be saved people need to hear the message of the Gospel. God has entrusted us with the Words of eternal life. This verse echoes the words of Isaiah 6 when the prophet is called to proclaim the Word of the Lord. God has called each of us to serve as workers in his harvest field. The work is different for each of us, but we pray that when the Lord calls us, we are ready and willing to serve.
Verse 2: If you cannot speak like angels, if you cannot preach like Paul, you can tell the love of Jesus, you can say he died for all. If you cannot rouse the wicked with the judgment’s dread alarms, you can lead the little children to the Savior’s waiting arms.
Spreading the message of the Gospel doesn’t need to be intimidating. We don’t need eloquent words or fine persuasive arguments. We simply need to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love. We don’t need to be afraid if people will listen to us or if they will believe what we tell them. The work of converting hearts is done by the Holy Spirit. We simply tell the story about Jesus. This can be done by reading the Word of God to someone or simply telling them the story of salvation. Most people by nature understand that there is something wrong with the world. They understand that there is sin and evil in the world. We can tell them that God in his great mercy sent his one and only Son to suffer and die to save us.
Verse 3: If you cannot be a watchman, standing high on Zion’s wall, pointing out the path to heaven, off’ring life and peace to all, with your prayers and with your off’rings you can do what God demands; you can be like faithful Aaron, holding up the prophet’s hands.
God has given us unique gifts and abilities. Some of us have a natural ability to strike up conversations with complete strangers. Others are terrified at the thought of having to talk to anyone, especially someone we don’t know. God does not demand that we all share the message of the Gospel in the same way. This verse reminds us of the story from the Old Testament where the Israelites were engaged in a great battle with their enemies. God had promised that as long as Moses held his hands in the air, they would have victory. But as the prophet of the Lord grew tired his hands started to fall, and the children of Israel began to lose. Aaron and Hur each took one of Moses’s hands and held them up. They supported the prophet in his work. In the same way, we can use our gifts of time, money, or abilities in the Lord’s service. We can support those who publicly proclaim the Word of the Lord. We can be just like faithful Aaron holding up the prophet’s arms.
Verse 4: Let none hear you idly saying, “There is nothing I can do,” while the multitudes are dying, and the Master calls for you. Take the task he gives you gladly, let his work your pleasure be; answer quickly when he calleth, “Here am I, send me, send me!”
The last verse of our hymn reminds us of the eternal stakes. Those who do not believe that Jesus is their Savior cannot be saved. This verse is a powerful preaching of the Law that we should use our time and abilities faithfully. There are many different ways that we can serve our Lord. We can tell others about Jesus. We can be good and faithful parents. We can clean the church. We can…the list could go on and on. God has given us a multitude of ways that we can serve him. In joyful thanks for all that God has done for us, we echo the words of Isaiah and answer the call of our Savior. “Here am I, send me, send me!”
Our hymn this week is a good reminder that we have been called to serve. The fields are ripe and the harvest is waiting. The stakes are high. God has called each of us to serve in the work of his kingdom. However, this work looks different for each of us. We are called to serve in different ways. The Apostle Paul tells us that we are all members of the body of Christ, but we are not all the same. If we were all eyes, where would the sense of smell be? In the same way that each part of our bodies has a unique function that serves the whole, we too have unique gifts and abilities that serve the whole church. Let us use our gifts and abilities to the glory of God and serve him as we are called.