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| Like many, I have a cross necklace |
Sometimes, the histories of old, familiar hymns turn down detours we don't expect. That's the case with “In the Cross of Christ I Glory,” written in about 1825 by a brilliant Englishman named John Bowring. Ten years after he penned the words, halfway around the world, Macao (near Hong Kong) was hit by a typhoon. The winds and a fire destroyed the city's impressive St. Paul's Church, leaving a wall of sculptures and a cross. In 1849, Bowring would come to Macao on a British political appointment as its “consul.” That's when he would have seen the ruined church whose condition illustrated his earlier poem, which begins:
In the cross of Christ I glory,/Towering o'er the wrecks of time.
His poem was meant to echo Galatians 6:14: “Far be it from me to glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
But Bowring's life path prior to government service did not unfold as one might expect. As a young man he felt called to preach in the ministry of the Unitarian Church, whose theology conflicts with Christian denominations that emphasize the atoning death of Jesus Christ. His father encouraged him to pursue other life work, probably realizing his son's brilliance would take him far. By one biographical account, Bowring could speak fluently in twenty-two languages and converse in nearly a hundred more. A prolific author, he edited a magazine; eventually some 36 volumes of published works bore his name. He was a biographer, naturalist, financier, statesman and philanthropist. He also served in the House of Commons and was eventually knighted by Queen Victoria. He would die at age 80 in 1872.
Bowring's lyrics (more Gospel-oriented that his later beliefs) would have been lost to time without the inspiration of a frustrated organist and choirmaster at Central Baptist Church in Norwich, Connecticut. One rainy Lenten Sunday in 1851, only one choir member showed up to sing at the worship services. Profoundly disappointed by his choir's unfaithfulness, he turned off his organ after playing the prelude and left the church building, leaving the minister without music support for the rest of the service!
That afternoon, remorseful for so abruptly leaving the service, he recalled a hymn assigned to that day. It had a dull tune. He was inspired to compose another tune for it, naming it after the one choir member who showed up that morning: 24-year-old Mrs. Rathbun. That's why in hymnbooks today the tune is identified as “Rathbun.” Dying just five years later, she would not live to learn of its widespread use.
As for Bowring, his literary and government credentials are rarely remembered today. But on his tombstone are inscribed the words to “In the Cross of Christ I Glory.”
Vocalists and an artist sing and illustrate this classic hymn (link to click):
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