Hymn Meditation for May 9 “This Is My Father’s World” John 15:9-17

Back in the 1940’s, when I was a kid growing up in Allentown, the radio was still king. Every Sunday evening, thousands of Americans would gather around the radio in their home for one single purpose – to be entertained by such comedic luminaries as Jack Benny, Charlie McCarthy, and Fred Allen. My family was no different. We laughed over Jack Benny’s stinginess, giggled at Charlie McCarthy’s rollicking remarks to his originator, Edgar Bergen, and strolled down “Allen’s Alley” where we’d inevitably meet up with such characters as Digby O’Dell “the friendly undertaker.”

But, all too soon the evening’s fun would come to an end; and my sister and I would be on our way to bed. Of course, sometimes (being kids) we’d dawdle. And when we did, and if the radio was still playing, we’d hear the staccato voice of a quite different entertainer. It would be the radio voice of Walter Winchell – at the time, America’s favorite newspaper gossip columnist. He always began his weekly broadcast with “Good evening, Mr. and Mr. America” before launching his latest salacious “story behind the story.”

It was today’s hymn which jogged my memory to jump back some 75 years and think of Mr. Winchell’s “story behind the story.” Because there is, indeed, such a double tale which is linked to this hymn, one which begins brightly and concludes – well, “differently” than one would have hoped.

The gospel reading which accompanies this week’s hymn is again from John. In it our Lord continues to speak about the priority of relationships: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love . . . this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you . . . I do not call you servants . . . I have called you friends.” With such intimate words as these, Jesus speaks to his followers, both then and across the ages to our own day. It is a reminder that, while doctrine has its place, the Christian faith is based on relationships: a Creator’s love for his creation and a love which is meant to be shared by his creatures.

The link between these words of scripture and today’s hymn appears obvious when one becomes acquainted with the man who wrote its words. Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) grew up in Syracuse, New York, where he attended the local university, going on to graduate from Auburn Theological Seminary in 1882. His accomplishments as a young man were impressive. In addition to playing the organ, piano and violin, he also won university accolades in swimming and baseball.

His first call was to a church in Lockport, New York, where he loved to walk along the Niagara Escarpment so that he might enjoy the overlook’s panoramic view of the upstate New York scenery and Lake Ontario. As he left home for one of these jaunts, he was known to call out to his wife, Katherine, “I”m going out to see my Father’s world.”

It is easy to imagine the enthusiasm with which the young clergyman stepped out into the clear air of a spring day back there in the late 1880’s, full of the freshness and eagerness of youth. And we can also imagine him returning home, sitting down at his desk with the late afternoon sun streaming through the window, and, inspired by what he had just experienced, writing down the words this hymn:

This is my Father’s world, and to my list’ing ears all nature sings, and round me sings the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world, I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; his hand the wonders wrought. This is my Father’s world; the birds their carols raise; the morning light, the lily white, declare their maker’s praise. This is my Father’s world; he shines in all that’s fair. In the rustling grass I hear him pass; he speaks to me ev’rywhere.

This is my Father’s world; oh, let me ne’re forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet. This is my Father’s world; why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King, let the heavens ring; God reigns, let the earth be glad!

This is a wonderful hymn which cannot help but buoy us up as we sing its words. (Incidentally, the tune is called Terra Patris which means “blessed earth.” It was composed in 1915 by Franklin L. Sheppard who was, himself, a close friend of Babcock. It was Sheppard who took the original, longer poem and from its many stanzas arranged them into this hymn.)

In 1887, Babcock was called to Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. While there, he became a great favorite with the students of Johns Hopkins University; and in recognition of this was given a special room at the university for student consultations. The breadth of his ministry is further shown by the fact that it was during this time that he led a fund-raising effort to assist Jewish refugees who were victims of an anti-Jewish pogrom. The kind of man he was is underscored by a contemporary description which speaks of him as having “an unusually brilliant intellect and stirring oratorical powers that commanded admiration [that] won for him a foremost place among the favorites of his denomination.”

By this time, I can almost hear you saying “Wow! What an amazing future lay before this young man.” And that assessment would appear to be affirmed when we learn that in 1900 he was called to the prestigious Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. However, it is now that the voice of Walter Winchell asserts itself across the years, alerting us to “a story behind the story.”

There has never been any doubt as to the deeply committed faith which characterized Maltbie Babcock. That at Doctor of Divinity was conferred on him by Johns Hopkins when he was only thirty- eight years old is proof of the spiritual impact he had on many. However, as sometimes happens for those who are specially gifted, there was a demon in Babcock’s life. Ten years before his call to New York City he had undergone treatment for depression. This was about to re-assert itself.

Early in 1901, Babcock made a trip to the Holy Land. During the journey he picked up a bacterial infection which was then known as “Mediterranean Fever.” Today we know it as brucellosis, a highly dangerous illness which causes fever, great pain, and depression. Babcock was admitted for treatment at the International Hospital in Naples, Italy. It was there, on May 20, 1901 – almost exactly one hundred and twenty years from when I am writing this – that Maltbie Bobcock took his own life, slitting his wrists and ingesting mercuric chloride. The words he once had written – “God is the Ruler yet” – were not strong enough to stave off the demons let loose by his illness.

As is so often true of those who die “too young,” I am saddened by how this man’s death deprived the world of the good he had yet to share. On the flyleaf of the pocket Bible he always carried with him, he had once written, “Committed myself again with Christian brothers to unreserved docility and devotion before my Master.” At his funeral he was eulogized as “always wise, patient, sympathetic and inspiring.” Knowing this “story behind the story,” has enabled me to appreciate this hymn in a different, perhaps deeper, way. Yes, it is a hymn affirming the praise of God which we see all around us in nature. But it is more. It is also a hymn which speaks to those moments when “the wrong seems oft so strong” – not only in the morning headlines, but also in the darker recesses of our own personal lives. All too often, “the wrong” seems stronger than the power about which Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading. Yet, it is well to remember that the most heinous wrong of all – the crucifixion of God’s own Son – was also the greatest expression of love the world has ever seen. And that from that dark moment there blossomed the victory we know as the Resurrection. When life gives us nothing else to hang on to, there is always that undeniable truth. God is the Ruler yet.

I, for one, shall continue to sing the words of this hymn with gratitude and joy. Because I believe with all my heart that in that dark moment at the end of his life, the risen Master of Maltbie Babock was there to greet him, embrace him, and to take him Home. Just as he will be there for each one of us.

This week’s hymn will be sung by our youth choir accompanied by Ruth Konrad on Harp at worship on May 9th. You can find the hymn at our YouTube Hymn Playlist. Music and Text: Public Domain