I'll Carry On

 

On Rich Mullins' album, A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band, a fitting follow-up for the admission that being like Jesus is hard is this next song that expresses a determination to keep on keeping on.

Momma, I've got two strong hands.

And they're fine as far as hands go

I can shoulder the future, I can face the wind

For the dream that I must follow

It's a dream that can kill with its beauty

It's a hurt that can heal with its pain

And with all of these miles that lie before me

I may never get home again

But I'll carry the songs I learned when we were kids

I'll carry the scars of generations gone by

I'll pray for you always, and I promise you this

I'll carry on, I'll carry on

I kissed the earth on my daddy's grave

Said goodbye to my brave young companions

But when they hoist that sail I know my heart will break

As bright and as fine as the morning

I don't know where this road will take me

But they say there's a place there for a man

And I'm only afraid that my dreams may betray me

And I'll never get home again

But I'll carry the songs I learned when we were kids

And I'll carry the scars of generations gone by

I'll pray for you always, and I promise you this

I'll carry on, I'll carry on

And oh, I can shoulder the future, I can brave the wind

Oh, we go on, we go on, but we never get home again

So I'll carry the songs I learned when we were kids

I'll carry the scars of generations gone by

I'll pray for you always, and I promise you this

I'll carry on, I'll carry on

1993 - Edward Grant, Inc.
1993 - Kid Brothers of St. Frank Publishing

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Truth is..."Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

Hard

 

After the instrumental piece, "78 Eatonwood Green," the "legacy" half of A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band kicks off with a semi-peppy prayer of introspection and truthful confession.

Well, I am a good Midwestern boy

I give an honest day's work if I can get it

I don't cheat on my taxes, I don't cheat on my girl

I've got values that would make the White House jealous

Well, I do get a little much over-impressed

'Til I think of Peter and Paul and the apostles

I don't stack up too well against them I guess

But by the standards 'round here I ain't doing that awful

Lord, it's hard to turn the other cheek

Hard to bless when others curse you

Oh Lord, it's hard to be a man of peace

Lord, it's hard, oh it's hard,

You know it's hard to be like Jesus

Don't you know it's hard, oh it's hard,

Oh Lord, it's hard to be like Jesus

And it's hard to step out on them waves

Hard to walk beyond your vision

Oh Lord, it's hard to be a man of faith

Lord, it's hard, Lord, it's hard,

Oh Lord, it's hard to be like Jesus

Don't you know it's hard, oh it's hard,

Oh Lord, it's hard to be like Jesus

Well, His eye is on the sparrow

And the lilies of the field I've heard

And He will watch over you and He will watch over me

So we can dress like flowers and eat like birds

And it's hard when your soul has been stripped bare

Hard to lift your eyes toward Heaven

Oh Lord, it's hard to be a man of prayer

Lord, it's hard, oh it's hard,

You know it's hard to be like Jesus

Lord, it's hard to be a man of peace

But it's hard, ain't it hard,

You know it's hard to be like Jesus

Don't you know it's hard, and it's hard

To be a man of peace

But it's hard to be like Jesus

Well, I am a good Midwestern boy

I give an honest day's work if I can get it

I don't cheat on my taxes, I don't cheat on my girl

I've got values that would make the White House jealous

1993 - Edward Grant, Inc.

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Truth is...As much as I like to talk about following Jesus and how that's a purposeful life to live, it's not all that easy. It IS hard to bless when others curse you. After all, in Luke 9:23, Jesus said that following him was going to be like carrying your own cross to Calvary every day.

Peace (A Communion Blessing From St. Joseph's Square)

 

The sixth song on Rich Mullins' 1993 album, A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band, helps to emphasize one of the many facets of the Lord's Supper or Eucharist: the sharing of the ritual of remembrance with one's church family.

Though it's true the Lord's Supper can be a time of personal reflection and repentance, Paul calls us to be aware of our spiritual brothers and sisters as well. Consider First Corinthians 11:20-22, 27-29: "When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter! ... So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves."

Though we're strangers, still I love you

I love you more than your mask

And you know you have to trust this to be true

And I know that's much to ask

But lay down your fears, come and join this feast

He has called us here, you and me

And may peace rain down from Heaven

Like little pieces of the sky

Little keepers of the promise

Falling on these souls

This drought has dried

In His Blood and in His Body

In this Bread and in this Wine

Peace to you

Peace of Christ to you

And though I love you, still we're strangers

Prisoners in these lonely hearts

And though our blindness separates us

Still His light shines in the dark

And His outstretched arms are still strong enough to reach

Behind these prison bars to set us free

So may peace rain down from Heaven

Like little pieces of the sky

Little keepers of the promise

Falling on these souls the drought has dried

In His Blood and in His Body

In this Bread and in this Wine

Peace to you

Peace of Christ to you

And may peace rain down from Heaven

Like little pieces of the sky

Like those little keepers of the promise

Falling on these souls the drought has dried

In His Blood and in His Body

In this Bread and in this Wine

Peace to you

Peace of Christ to you

Peace to you

Peace of Christ to you

1993 - Edward Grant, Inc.

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Truth is...I love the interplay between the first phrases of the two verses: "Though we're strangers, still I love you" and "Though I love you, still we're strangers." It is an appropriate reflection on being part of a church body that is by no means perfect but by all means striving to follow the Lord's lead.

Creed

 

Neither Rich Mullins nor I grew up in a church tradition that placed any emphasis on the Nicene Creed or the Apostles' Creed...or Apollo Creed, for that matter.

We did, however, grow up in churches that place plenty of emphasis on the Bible and on living as united as possible on "the essentials of the faith." And really, what better condensation of truth is there to uphold than one that has Scriptural foundations (see the series I posted on the Nicene Creed and its Scripture references) and has been revered since 325 AD?

I believe in God the Father

Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth

And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit

Born of the virgin Mary

Suffered under Pontius Pilate

He was crucified and dead and buried

And I believe what I believe

is what makes me what I am

I did not make it, no it is making me

It is the very truth of God

and not the invention of any man

I believe that He who suffered

was crucified, buried, and dead

He descended into hell and on the third day, rose again

He ascended into Heaven

where He sits at God's mighty right hand

I believe that He's returning

To judge the quick and the dead of the sons of men

And I believe what I believe

is what makes me what I am

I did not make it, no it is making me

It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man

I believe it, I believe it

I believe in God the Father

Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth

And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord

I believe in the Holy Spirit

One Holy Church

The communion of Saints

The forgiveness of sin

I believe in the resurrection

I believe in a life that never ends

And I believe what I believe

is what makes me what I am

I did not make it, no it is making me

I did not make it, no it is making me

I said I did not make it, no it is making me

It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man

I believe it, I believe it

1993 - Edward Grant, Inc.
1993 - Kid Brothers of St. Frank Publishing

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Truth is...First Corinthians 15:1-6 says it well. "Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time."