This past Monday, I drove down to Princeton, NJ for my 25th Class Reunion at Princeton Theological Seminary. I needed to leave early enough to make it in time for choir practice. Yep. . . choir practice. Now, I didn’t get pulled for speeding, but if I had gotten pulled over, I might have used choir practice as an excuse. You see, there had been a call to former members of the seminary choir for a pick-up choir that would sing at the opening worship service. The Director of Music at Princeton Seminary is a wonderful man named Martin Tel. Martin has been there for decades and was my choir director years ago.
So, when I walked into the seminary chapel a few minutes late and found a chair, Martin looked up – as if 25 years had not passed – and said, “Oh, Hey, John Sawyer,” and then he went back to the rehearsal. One of the pieces we sang for the opening worship service of the seminary Reunion service was a song called “The Call,” which is a somewhat well-known poem by George Herbert from 1633:
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way as gives us breath;
Such a Truth as ends all strife;
Such a Life as killeth death!Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light as shows a feast;
Such a Feast as mends in length;
Such a Strength as makes his guest.Come, my Joy, My Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy as none can move;
Such a Love as none can part;
Such a Heart as joys in love!
There have been multiple musical settings of these words – probably the most famous is by Ralph Vaughan Williams – but when I was in seminary, our choir sang a beautiful setting by Alexander Brent Smith. We probably sang this song a hundred times over three years, but on Monday, there we were, singing it again. It gave me some goosebumps and some tears to sing that special song in that special place.
Over the next two days, as I shared meals, conversations, and class times with old friends (some of whom I haven’t seen since May of 2001) we told stories and laughed a lot. We learned about some of the research that members of the seminary faculty have been working on, toured the Special Collections at the amazing seminary library, and visited the Farminary – a sustainable farm started by the seminary about ten years ago. At the Farminary, I heard the most eloquent sermon on compost that I have ever heard and reconnected with a former professor.
Perhaps the strangest experience of my 48 hours in Princeton was that I stayed on the fourth floor of Alexander Hall – right across the hall from my old dorm room. Just looking into that space, where I had spent hours and hours in study and hanging out with friends and playing the guitar, was a time-capsule-esque moment.
I am definitely not the same person that I was when I left seminary. The church has taught me far more than I ever learned in a seminary classroom! But during the Reunion this past week, memories of old friends and beautiful experiences, hard conversations and deep prayers, met me around every corner. I am grateful that I’m not the same person but am so grateful to have spent three years there so long ago. I am grateful that, even though the world has changed (and I have changed), the good news of Jesus remains the same. And I am grateful for The Call that I received while I was there – a Call to which I am still seeking to aspire. . .
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Sunday: “Don’t Just Stand There. . . Pray!” (The Good News Is. . . Alive in the World)
Read Psalm 68
Read 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11
Read Acts 1:6-14
Read or sing Hymn # 662 – Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies
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