Galatians 3:28 - ‘There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ.’”
The hymn of the day for this week, In Christ There Is No East or West (LSB #653), reflects the theme
of the readings: that, according to the order of salvation in Christ, there is
no difference between any of the people of His Church. All man-made
distinctions are gone as regards His forgiveness: Jew/Gentile, black/white,
male/female, Anglo/Hispanic, etc. The Body of Christ, the Church, comes from
all nations. Indeed, even our liturgy reflects this, as it is drawn from
Jewish, African, and European sources. Likewise, our hymns come from many
cultures across many ages.
William A. Dunkerley (1852-1941) wrote these words
originally part of a libretto, for the Pageant of “Darkness and Light” at the London Missionary Society’s exhibition “The Orient in London,” which ran from
1908–1914. Many hymnals credit the words to John Oxenham, Dunkerley’s
pseudonym.
Oxenham made his home in the U.S. for a time before
returning to England, where he died at the age of 89. According to hymnologist
Albert Bailey, Oxenham began writing “to
relieve the tedium of long journeys . . . and soon discovered that he liked
writing better than business.”
He then included this poem in his collection, “Bees in Amber” (1913). This popular
volume was rejected by publishers; when Oxenham self-published it, the book
sold 285,000 copies. From here the hymn found its way into many
English-language hymnals, beginning with England’s Songs of Praise (1931).
English literary scholar and hymnologist J.R. Watson
states that the hymn takes its opening idea from Rudyard Kipling’s famous lines,
“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and
never the twain shall meet” from “The
Ballad of East and West,” published in Barrach-Room Ballads, and Other
Verses (1892). However, Oxenham’s hymn is the antithesis of Kipling’s verse.
Perhaps the author’s extensive travel helped him
develop a sense of Christian unity beyond the racial and cultural differences
that he observed. [1]
A prayer for
unity of faith – O God your infinite love restores to the right way those who
err, seeks the scattered and preserves those whom you have gathered. Of your
tender mercy pour out on your faithful people the grace of unity that, all
schisms being ended your flock may be gathered to the true Shepherd of your
church and may serve you in faithfulness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.[2]
3 God So Loved the World, copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
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