Happy Father's Day, Mr. Wesley!

18 June 2017

Some thoughts on the end of Annual Conference, Father's Day,  and John Wesley's birthday

Due to changes in the calendar in England during Wesley's lifetime (I'm not going to explain in detail -- Google it if you're that interested), his birthday is both June 17 and 28. Either way, Wesley was born 314 years ago this month in 1703, and as I prepare to embark on my sabbatical, the timing seems right for another blog post.

You can't read it very well in this shot, but the inscription on the bottom of this statue of John Wesley in front of his chapel in London notes that it was erected with funds donated by "the children of Methodism."  John Wesley was not a father in the usual sense, but in the spiritual sense, he certainly was.  The Salvation Army, Nazarenes, Methodists, Wesleyans, and millions of others all around the world are all religious descendents of the diminutive man with the large and strangely warmed heart.

At Wesley's funeral, the man leading the prayers made a change in the customary liturgy.  Where the prayer speaks of "the death of our brother," he instead said "the death of our father, " which provoked more than a few tears from those present.   They felt a bit like spiritual orphans, bereft of their somewhat autocratic but always loving father in Christ.

Since I was just at Annual Conference, I was freshly reminded of the enduring heritage he left us.  It's not just that we sing the powerful hymns Charles Wesley wrote or the fact that we call our annual family reunion "conference," and it's not even the fact that Cokesbury sells JW bobbleheads.  It's that he and those early Methodist people showed in their lives an example of one really good way to follow Christ.  It's all about that grace, grace that not only saves us but saves us to the uttermost.  It's all about exemplifying holiness of heart and life and seeking to do all the good we can, to all the people we can, as long as ever we can.  It's all about the love of God in Christ and the witness of the Spirit that we are God's beloved children and our belief that this good news is for all people, everywhere.

So Happy Birthday, Mr. Wesley, and a very Happy Father's Day from your daughters and sons!  We'll try not to embarrass you or the Lord you love.