Common Ground Song 132 ‘Till all the jails are empty’
Words: Carl P. Daw, Jr. © Hope Publishing Co. / Music: John Bell © WGRG/ Iona Community
YouTube recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7kPdUH66Ac   
Featured image: Christians campaigning for action on climate change. © Stephen Craven

This is a striking hymn, with John Bell setting to music words by another writer. Unlike his usual gentle Scottish folk style, he has gone for an edgy tune, which is a challenge for most musicians as it goes through four different keys. The reason for this is that the words of the hymn are edgy themselves. It is a song of protest, about the unfairness of the world and the Church’s response to it..

The first verse lists various societal sins violence, including hunger, lies, subjugation and discrimination; the second lists many places where people are to be found: different types of housing, of different places where people work or meet, or even ‘starve or hide’. The third gives just a couple of examples of the many ways we can respond: ‘sitting at a bedside holding trembling hands’ and ‘speaking for the powerless against unjust demands’. There are, of course, countless other forms of Christian service.

Each verse ends with the refrain ‘God has word for us to do’. By holding the word ‘God for three full beats in an otherwise fast tune of quavers, the emphasis is on God’s calling rather than our action. The Church should always be asking God what he wants us to so, rather than just doing what seems easiest or most fashionable.

This is the church singing about what we are called to do: not in calling people to follow Christ (though John has written plenty of songs about that), but the other half of what we mean by ‘mission’, or what is sometimes called the ‘social gospel’.  At one time there was conflict, particularly within evangelical churches (much less so the Catholic church) about where our priority should lie between ‘preaching the Gospel’ and ‘doing good works’. Neither, of course, should be neglected, and a healthy church will do both. The balance will be dictated by local circumstances, and the range of gifts within the congregation.