This week we have been pondering the last post-resurrection appearance on the mountaintop in Galilee where Jesus gave his final talk to his followers. He reinforced that as true man, he is also true God, he has all authority in heaven and on earth. He charged them to “Go and make disciples.” These words have inspired millions and deeply impacted the trajectory of Christianity and how we understand our faith today. It is not passive but active, reaching out to others, and the flip side of that coin is that we are to live a life worth emanating.
Saturdays I like to end the week by pondering a song that seems to carry some of the flavor of our thinking for the week. I have chosen “I Will Follow Him” which went to the top of the pop list in the early sixties during my high school years. It was written as an instrumental about 1961 in Europe but went to the top in 1963 when sung by Little Peggy March who at age 15 became “the youngest female artist to have a U.S. chart-topping single.”
But it was Whoopi Goldberg singing this song at the end of Sister Act 1 that solidified it as one of my most favorites. Whoopi plays a Vegas wantabee singer who witnesses a murder and is hidden in a San Francisco convent as a nun leading the choir. She “contextualizes” songs she sang on stage by changing the words slightly and by putting them in a Christian setting so adding texture and depth to the lyrics. Martin Luther has been criticized as some of his songs similarly were make-overs from the bar. “I Will Follow Him” captures the love of the disciple for the mentor and I believe captures in music some of the essence of the Great Commission.
Love him, I love him, I love him
And where he goes I’ll follow, I’ll follow, I’ll follow
I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go
There isn’t an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep me away
I must follow him (follow him), ever since he touched my hand I knew
That near him I always must be
And nothing can keep him from me
He is my destiny (destiny)
I love him, I love him, I love him
And where he goes I’ll follow, I’ll follow, I’ll follow
He’ll always be my true love, my true love, my true love
From now until forever, forever, forever
I will follow him (follow him), follow him wherever he may go
There isn’t an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep, keep me away
Away from my love (I love him, I love him, I love him)
On the Way to Wonder 