Ken Medema is one of my favorite human beings. His official bio states, “Though blind from birth, Ken sees and hears with heart and mind. His ability to capture spirit in word and in song is unparalleled.” For decades, he has inspired people through storytelling and music.
One of Ken’s unparalleled gifts is his ability to improvise in the moment. He takes a passage of Scripture or a sentence from a sermon or a reflection as he experiences a meaningful encounter and creates an entire piece of music that is both theologically sound and heartwarming. It’s inspiring to witness someone improvise with God’s grace.
One of my favorite compositions by Ken is a hymn entitled, ‘Let Truth and Mercy Find Here.’ The lyrics are printed here. If you want to sing the tune, ‘Aurelia,’ it is also the tune for ‘The Church’s One Foundation.’
Let truth and mercy find here a joyful meeting place.
And here let peace and justice be joined in warm embrace.
And in this congregation let strangers now be friends,
to do the gospel’s bidding till wars on earth shall end.
Let truths bright flame be blazing in all the darkest hours,
confronting schemes of darkness, exposing evil powers.
Let mercy’s gentle manner so willing to forgive,
Fill warring hearts with longing ‘til in truth’s light we live.
So now let peace and justice be never far apart,
but flowing like a river for every thirsty heart.
These two shall be united, a mighty moving stream,
upon whose banks we gather to work and pray and dream.
My prayer for you, St. John’s, is that you continue to improvise with God’s grace. When you pursue this challenge, you find truth and mercy meeting with joy. When you improvise with God’s grace, you confront schemes of darkness and expose evil powers. When you improvise with God’s grace, you allow God’s peace and justice to flow like a river for every thirsty heart. In this mission of improvising with God’s grace, you redeem and reconcile as God’s people in this world of brokenness and estrangement. Keep on keeping on! Shalom!
