Tuesday

Psalm 105:1-15 [16-41] 42

Numbers 14:10b-24

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Today the church commemorates preachers, evangelists and brothers John Wesley (28 June 1703 – 2 March 1791) and Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788). The sons of an Anglican clergyman the Wesleys, along with George Whitefield, laid the foundation for the Methodist Church during the latter half of the 18^th century.

Following an unsuccessful mission in Savannah, Georgia, John Wesley and his brother Charles returned to England. The failed mission took a heavy toll on John and he turned to the Moravian Church as a source of solace. On May 24, 1938 while at a Moravian meeting he heard a reading of Martin Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans and penned his famous lines “I felt my heart strangely warmed.” From that point forward he revolutionized the method and character of his ministry. Under Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social justice issues of the day including taking theological stance for the abolitionism of slavery movements. Wesley held that, in this life, Christians could come to a state in which the love of God, or perfect love, reigned supreme in their hearts. To ground his evangelical theology firmly in sacramental theology, he continually insisted on the general use of the means of grace (prayer, scripture, meditation, Holy Communion) as the means by which God sanctifies and transforms believers.

Charles Wesley’s made his primary contribution to the Methodist movement and to the church at large through the publication of over six thousand hymns that he collected and the two thousand hymns to which he authored the words. Many of his texts remain beloved today and his hymnody remains a part of every major hymnal published in the last decade. Wesleyan hymns found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship include Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, and O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing

Today we give thanks for John and Charles Wesley and remember the work they have done. Preachers and teachers who continually sought the presence of the Lord to provide strength in their mission to make God’s deeds known; to sing God’s praise and to tell of God’s wonderful works among all people.