Amazing Grace

We saw the movie Amazing Grace this afternoon. It was a great movie about William Wilberforce and his long, painful battle to end the slave trade in the English Empire. He fought political power, greed and tradition. His opponents said this evil should be phased out very slowly, if at all, so as not to hurt the rich who were thriving from the slave trade. I have never understood people who support the idea of phasing out evil slowly so as not to upset people who are prospering on evil. Wilberforce demonstrated an amazing amount of grace to fight evil. Go see the movie.

The movie ended with a beautiful, haunting rendition of the hymn, “Amazing Grace,” played by pipes and drums. This hymn is probably the most popular of Christian hymns. It is played at many funerals, including the funerals of both of my parents. One sweet memory of my dad includes this hymn. My dad was sick for many years before his death. The family finally made the difficult decision to move dad to a nursing home. No one was happy, but it seemed to be the only possibility. The day before he left home the family gathered around his bed for a time of family worship. Dad’s voice had weakened and he was no longer able to speak above the faintest, unintelligible whisper. That day we read some scriptures, we prayed, we had communion. Then we joined together and sang “Amazing Grace.” My dad’s sweet voice rose and he sang with us. As he sang our voices faded and we listened to this man of God sing. Tears were flowing and God filled that room with His spirit. It was the last time I heard my father sing. I am looking forward to hearing him sing again.