Common Ground Song 105 ‘Sent by the Lord am I’
Words: Jorge Maldonado* / public domain. Tune © Wild Goose / Iona Community
(* the YouTube link attributes the words to José Aguiar)
YouTube recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uN-oeDI7Ag
Featured image: The expulsion from Eden. Originator unknown, found at ellibrodelespiritusanto.blogspot.com

This is a lively song, based on a tune from Chile, so there is the sort of syncopated rhythm typical of South American music. The words help us to express the desire that all committed Christians should have to improve the world around us in God’s name. God’s desire is for the restoration of all creation to its original perfection. The ancient myth of Eden depicts a world where all creatures live in mutual respect. The rest of the Bible frequently reminds us that in God’s ideal world, the virtues of love, justice and peace should guide all our actions.

But as the second part of this song reminds us in perhaps its most distinctive lyrics, “the angels cannot change a world of hurt and pain”. The angels sent by God to drive humanity out of Eden are not going to take us back there as long as we remain sinners. Only Jesus can cleanse humanity of our sin and restore the world to its original state. This he in one sense achieved on the cross, but the process will only be completed when he returns. Until then, only people can be the agents of God’s will. But we need his assistance: In the last words of the song, “Oh help me to obey, help me to do your will’.

The editor’s notes in Common Ground suggest that in singing this, we are putting ourselves in the shoes (sandals?) of Jesus, who was strengthened by resisting the Devil’s temptations to devote the rest of his life to this struggle for God’s Kingdom. It is therefore suggested as a suitable song for Lent, despite the lively tune that is at odds with the minor keys often used in this season.