On the Wings of a Dove

I love the old hymns, the well-known tunes, the words that almost sing themselves they are so familiar. That is... as long as I don’t pause to think too deeply about what the words are actually saying!

A few weeks ago when we were at a concert given by Daniel O’ Donnell, one of the pieces he sang was ‘On the Wings of a Snow White Dove’. While I find the words usually to be usually annoying to me, this time he added a verse, that I was unfamiliar with, about the baptism of Jesus.

‘When Jesus went down to the river that day

He was baptized

In the usual way

And when it was done God blessed His Son

He sent him His love

On the wings of a dove.

On the wings of a snow-white dove

He sends His pure sweet love

A sign from above

On the wings of a dove.’

For the first time this hymn spoke to me in a non-literal sense, not of my own baptism, not of the baptism of my children or even of my grandchildren but rather my own re-confirmation as an adult in the Anglican Church. (I had been confirmed at 16 in the United Church along with my confreres and I remember little of the actual event.)

But this time was different. This time was my personal response, a public recognition, to what had been going on in my life. Again I can remember very little of the actual event. But what I do remember, and remember very vividly, is the feeling of ‘grace’ that came to me afterwards as the service progressed. And those words sung by Daniel O’Donnell called up that feeling from the past expressing it in literal terms.

Words and music are very powerful. We have no control over where they take us. We can simply witness where we go and by that witnessing decide if going there was worthwhile. And in this case it was.

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