September 9, 2016 (Friday)
Karl Ladewig prepares and prints our church bulletin every week for Sunday worship. I email him my sermon topic and text–usually on Friday evening. Last week I forgot to send it to him, so the title was not in the bulletin. The title of the sermon was, “The Great Physician,” and the text was in Matthew 9.
As I was introducing an idea in the message, suddenly from out of nowhere there came a faint memory of a song I had heard in years past, so I tried to imitate a line of the song that called for the physician: “Doctor! Doctor!” I said in the sermon that I had no idea what song I was quoting. After the sermon, Robert Perry, our music director, told me I had given the congregation a line from “Coconut,” also called, “Put the Lime in the Coconut.” It was #8 on the charts in the early 1970’s. Listening to it is a lot of fun and singing it is even better. But the lyrics will never likely be confused with Shakespeare. Here’s part of Harry Nilsson’s song:
Said “doctor, ain’t there nothing’ I can take?”
I said, “doctor, to relieve this belly ache”
I said “doctor, ain’t there nothin’ I can take?’
I said, “doctor, to relieve this belly ache”
..
Woo-oo-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Woo-oo-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Woo-oo-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
The song I intended to quote in the sermon (but forgot) was “The Great Physican.” Here are some of the words of that 1859 hymn by William Hunter:
The great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus.
Refrain:
Sweetest note in seraph song,
Sweetest name on mortal tongue;
Sweetest carol ever sung,
Jesus, blessed Jesus.
Now, honestly, which song is the more comforting, and which one would you rather sing at church?
My preaching is sometimes like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re gonna get.”