Heart of a Servant -- Michael Puryear

 

When was it that God became real to you? If you ask Michael Puryear, he might just pinpoint that time, and then go one step further. Looking at how Michael chose to mark that occasion, how many of us could say that we similarly asked God, through a song, to put inside of us a “Heart of a Servant”? Nashville, Tennessee is a musical place (see its seal here), so that melodic gene was certainly all around Michael, was inside the church where he worshipped, and was permeating his own spirit, too. For Michael, the simple prayer song that he composed in or about 1992 summed up what he was experiencing with the newfound realization of God’s calling. What Michael prayed is like asking the Creator to build a small eternal flame inside one’s being, so that it acts like a perpetual engine with a constant light to show others the nature of the One who gives it. Its fiery presence, you might say, has consumed Michael’s life through all the music he’s been able to write in the decades before and after this special moment. This way of being consumed doesn’t destroy, but actually remakes a person.

 

Michael Puryear’s few words say volumes – so read and hear them for yourself, as he responded to this blogger’s email recently:  David, it (Heart of a Servant) was written soon after reaching a point that Christ became more than real to me. I was going to Ashwood Church of Christ (Nashville area) and wanted to basically write something that was meaningful and could be a worship tool.  The song seems to get to the core belief of Faith and the reason for being a follower of our Savior. Did you notice that Michael said ‘Christ became more than real’ to him? So, it wasn’t just a notable moment for this songwriter, but an extraordinary moment, when he suggests that Jesus was so present, that this God-Man could not be ignored. His own servant nature must have been so abundantly evident, that Michael wanted to mimic Him and urge others to do the same, in order to exalt Him adequately. Jesus deserves something ‘meaningful’, as Michael’s own words testify. What is at the ‘core’ of our faith? Michael must have been wondering, as others do when they first meet this One who claims to be God, then become more familiar with Him, and finally reach a crossroads – a decision point. If He’s really God, and really did behave like the ultimate servant, just to draw me into His saving life, how can I resist? Maybe Michael read what Paul wrote to some Philippians (2:1-11), or perhaps one or more other similar biblical odes –  with a musical edge to them -- as they venerate this servant Savior. If you love music the way Michael obviously does, what better way to amplify His hold on you than to appreciate Him via what He says through His musical messages in scripture?

 

He’s a beautiful God, and so it really makes sense that He tugs at us as though he’s gently strumming the strings of a guitar or tickling the keys of a piano. He’s not loud and obnoxious, but rather a servant, coaxing you and me with His loving, sacrificial nature. Michael describes this servant as tender, faithful, and true with the few words he crafted, as an echo of what Paul and others say about Him. But, don’t just stand there admiring Him. Imitate Him, and understand that you’re His tool for the community that He’s creating. What? I’m not equipped to do that! But, He provides the only thing you need – Himself, and the love example He provides. It will be some kingdom when we all see it, each other, and especially Him there! This kingdom of His has no perimeter fence to limit its membership. He wants the whole world, and you and I can begin this quest in our own small corners where we live.     

 

Thanks to Michael Puryear for his emails to this blogger on 9/3/2024 and 9/4/2024!

 

Read about the author-composer here: Michael Puryear | Belmont University

 

Read about the Ashwood Church and its predecessors and how it has evolved since 1992 here: https://www.woodmont.org/our-history

 

See information on the seal of Nashville here: File:Seal of Nashville, Tennessee.png - Wikimedia Commons…This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. For further explanation, see Commons:Hirtle chart as well as a detailed definition of "publication" for public art. Note that it may still be copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works (depending on the date of the author's death), such as Canada (50 p.m.a.), Mainland China (50 p.m.a., not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 p.m.a.), Mexico (100 p.m.a.), Switzerland (70 p.m.a.), and other countries with individual treaties. 

O Draw Me Lord -- David Baroni

 

Is being near to God supposed to be easy? It won’t be as easy as drawing water from a well, something that Jesus once asked an outcast woman to do for Him (John 4:7). Perhaps this episode was still on the Master’s mind later when He talked to some others; could there have been some of those same people, or maybe others even later, who would say “O Draw Me Lord” as they prayed? That was in fact what the songwriter David Baroni was thinking some 20 centuries later when he paired these same words with music, perhaps while he was in his Nashville (see its seal here) home. Jesus’ encounter with a curious group of people, whom he suspected were looking for another miracle-inspired feast that He could have easily repeated, turned most of them into skeptics, even hostile scoffers. How did Jesus expect to engender their belief and devotion when He seemed to have a penchant for wild statements like what He uttered on this occasion? Could that have been His point, that He wants not just anyone, but someone who is really thirsty, someone who’s ready for radical commitment?     

 

 

The 39-year-old David Baroni (in 1997, when ‘O Draw Me Lord was included on an album) was evidently reading his bible one day, when he happened upon the chapter in which Jesus really tested the devotion of His followers with some very peculiar assertions about Himself (see John 6:25-59). It seemed like the more He talked, the deeper became the disdain of the people surrounding Jesus on this occasion. ‘I’m bread’, ‘my blood is real drink’, ‘you have to eat and drink me to have eternal life’, and finally – perhaps the one that most upset them – ‘I have come from heaven’. Their dubious reaction to His heaven-sent claim had Jesus tell them something else they did not appreciate: ‘Only my heavenly Father can draw you to me, and that will grant you a death-defying resurrection’(6:44). That mindboggling statement, if you can imagine someone who’d been known to others for 30 years saying this, must have made them gasp and maybe even snicker with derision. ‘Yeah, right Jesus – tell us another one!’ And He did. The only thing that makes this scene make sense, is that Jesus was omniscient, and thus He knew that He needed to upset their applecart about what they thought God was there to do for them. This conversation that John records for us must have lasted at least several minutes, probably in fact much more than the 9+ minutes that you can spend watching and listening to David Baroni sing the song (see link below). He sings the words over and over again, perhaps an unintentional metaphor for how challenging it might be for an individual or a group with preconceived notions about God’s nature to come near and receive His embrace. David indicates it is a prayer, and that God does want to ‘woo us’, and even allows us the grace to answer Him. Will it be easy? Do you and I need an encounter with Him, like the one with the crowd in the 1^st Century?

 

Even many of Jesus’ disciples found what Jesus had to say on this occasion pretty stunning, and difficult to accept (John 6:60-71). And yet, ‘to whom else shall we go?’, Peter said. Jesus said he’d draw people to Himself one other time (see also John 12:32), when He’d die. Very confusing and troubling – and yet Jesus doesn’t pull punches, does He? This God does want to enable our path to Him (see Jeremiah 31:3, and Hebrews 7:19; and Heb. 10:1,22). He’s not drawing us a physical map, but a heart-emanating call from Himself to you and me. David Baroni reminds us that the method hasn’t changed. Prayer can do an amazing thing, if you really want Him.  

 

See the composer/author comment on the song in the first 1:15 of this video: Bing Videos

 

See information about the author-composer here: About (davidbaroni.com)

 

More biography on the author-composer here: David Baroni | Discogs

 

This link indicates the song was on a 1997 album: Holy Fire | Christian Music Archive

 

See information on the seal of Nashville here: File:Seal of Nashville, Tennessee.png - Wikimedia Commons…This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. For further explanation, see Commons:Hirtle chart as well as a detailed definition of "publication" for public art. Note that it may still be copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works (depending on the date of the author's death), such as Canada (50 p.m.a.), Mainland China (50 p.m.a., not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 p.m.a.), Mexico (100 p.m.a.), Switzerland (70 p.m.a.), and other countries with individual treaties.

To Us a Child of Hope Is Born -- John Morrison and Isaiah

 

It must have been the Christmas season, right? And yet, this 35-year-old Scottish minister named John Morrison was likely also reading and remembering when the prophet Isaiah from so long ago had said “To Us a Child (of Hope) Is Born”, and thus a large portion of the credit for this old hymn should travel back much further than the late 18^th Century A.D., long before anything like a Christmas season was ever conceived. The Christ babe’s entry into the world (depicted here in The Adoration of the Shepherds by Matthias Stomer in the mid-17^th Century) was a stunning, if unconventional, method to begin God’s final solution in rescuing His image bearers and ushering in a new age. The more Jesus lived, the more His purpose and His kingdom’s nature became more unsettling to those closest to Him. That this would have such a revolutionary effect on the Apostles and others could not have been fully appreciated when Isaiah lived and prophesied, some 700 years before God sent Jesus to be our Immanuel, God-with-us. We, who can look back with informed hindsight, should be no less aware that this babe’s impact is still provocative.  

 

Although the words he wrote and their apparent original source provide strong clues that John Morrison was intent on creating a Christmas hymn, we do not know what other specific circumstances motivated this Scottish minister in 1781. But, he was apparently reading from Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7 especially, since that text so closely matches the verses that John wrote. It has been perhaps the most used biblical text at Christmas, telling believers that there has been hope among people as long ago as 2,700 years, when Isaiah lived. It was a stormy period for Judah, the southern part of the divided kingdom, because  Assyria threatened (and eventually took into bondage) the northern tribes (Israel), and posed an imminent threat to Judah as well. And though Assyria’s army would be destroyed (around 701 B.C.), Babylon would later (appx. 586 B.C.) take Jerusalem and overwhelm Judah, removing the people into exile. In the midst of his warnings, Isaiah reassures Judah that a ‘child’ would be born from the lineage of King David, and that this promised king would exceed all others. Christmastime is traditionally when we humans like to reach out for hope and joy, so it’s not much of a stretch to imagine that John Morrison was composing his poem, echoing Isaiah’s purpose, to renew the spirits of the people to whom he was ministering. Difficulties may be invading your space or are on the horizon, but a child is to be born. John added the words ‘of hope’ to what Isaiah originally penned, so we can surmise somewhat what this minister’s intent was. Hope. These people needed something to make optimism spring alive again, just as they did centuries earlier. But, from a child? Isaiah and John said this was no ordinary baby – He’d be someone that ‘tribes of earth’ and indeed ‘the hosts of heaven’ would obey (v.1). His names are extraordinary – ‘Prince of Peace’, ‘wonderful’, ‘counselor’, ‘great and mighty Lord’ (v.2); while verse 3 tells of the extent of His influence – ‘power, increasing’, ‘reign (without) end’, a ‘throne’ with ‘Justice’ and ‘peace’ firmly underpinning it. Isaiah’s message still works today.

 

It's still an earth with lots of discordant sounds. Even so, the basis for upbeat expectation is here. There’s still sunshine and green grass, and many other signs that our planet is not about to spin out of control. That there are people that still offer themselves up to help others speaks of a higher purpose than one’s own ego. Where’s that come from? He’s alive, or rather many of us believe He is. The adjectives, names, and attributes Isaiah attached to Him, and which John Morrison reiterated almost 250 years ago, still hold true, as long as part of Him animates us here below. Isaiah did not say ‘of hope’, but John Morrison and every one of us over two centuries later can keep on saying that, making this place we all live a little better. It all begins with that baby in a manger.    

 

 

Read a few details about the author here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/m/o/r/r/morrison_j.htm

Also see here: https://hymnary.org/person/Morison_J1750

 

See the hymns original four verses here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/o/u/s/tousacoh.htm

 

See here for information on the masterpiece artwork File:Adoration of the sheperds - Matthias Stomer.jpg - Wikimedia Commons…The author died in 1660, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.