My grandson Luke enjoys baseball trivia, so I periodically send him obscure questions about major league baseball. He has become a student of the game, so it’s really hard to come up with questions he can’t answer. Here’s one he didn’t know–name the first person to play all nine positions in a major league baseball game. The answer is Bert Campaneris who, on Sept. 8, 1965, played all nine positions for the Kansas City Athletics. That’s versatility.
When I read about the man who penned today’s prayer, I thought of his utility. He was an author, poet, watercolor painter, song writer, musician, wood worker, college teacher, theologian, and preacher. When I began exploring Henry Alford (1810-1871) to introduce to you, I knew I had seen his name in print somewhere. When I read that he wrote the hymn, “Come, Ye Thankful People Come,” it clicked. I’ve sung his hymn countless times and recall seeing his name on the composer line.
It was an annual tradition in nineteenth-century England to celebrate the fall harvest, a ritual that carried over to the American colonies. People would bring produce from their farms to church, to express thanksgiving in worship for God’s provision followed by a community festival. The hymn’s opening stanza praises God for providing the harvest while the last three reference God’s final harvest yet to come (as illustrated in Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares). There’s no lack of prayers from which to choose by Alford since he composed a prayer for every day of the year for the church he served. Here’s one: