HYMN FOR PENTECOST 9 Have No Fear Little Flock
- Gracia Grindal
- Aug 4
- 2 min read
Text: Marjorie Jillson (1931-2010) Tune: Heinrich Zimmerman (1930-2022)
REFLECTIONS
Jesus’ command to not be fearful, and his naming his disciples the little flock, speaks to the perilous situation we are in. He goes on to describe all the things that will happen at the end and how we should prepare. But even as we are doing so, he admonishes us not to be fearful.
To be prepared is not, as many have supposed, to be waiting on a hillside for him to return, but to be close to him and his word at all times. Thus, as Luther was said to have advised, if he heard that the Lord was coming tomorrow, he would plant an apple tree. In other words, continue diligently in one’s vocation and armed with the word.
This makes an enormous amount of sense when you think about it. When we prepare to go on a trip, we pack our things and do what is necessary to do before we leave—pay our bills, make sure the lawn will be mowed, the plants watered, and the like—so that life can continue whether we return or not. As Christians what we pack is Christ and his promises--wchih we find in Scripture, something the pilgrims to America took with them in their psalters. And then we can go about our business living on those promises as we do. With him at our side, and in our bags, so to speak, we are already home. As Augustine says, Christ is both the goal of our journey and the way to the end. When Jesus is near, the kingdom of heaven is near. So, “have not fear little flock, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” How rich to be the object of the Father’s good pleasure! Thank the Lord!
HYMN INFO
Marjorie Jillson wrote stanzas 2-4 of this hymn in the early 1970s. A native of Detroit, she graduated from Wooster College. After years as a secretary in Washington D. C., she returned to Detroit and became a secretary in a dental office. She wrote a collection of hymns in 1971 which included this hymn.
Heinz Werner Zimmermann was born in Freiburg im Breisgau, and attended the Kirchenmusikalisches Institut Heidelberg (Institute for Church Music). He served as composition teacher at Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. He then returned to Heidelberg where he continued his teaching.
Zimmermann wrote the first stanza of this hymn, using the biblical language. He then put it to a jazzy tune with its rhythm taken from Scripture and then adds Jillson’s added three stanzas. He set all of the texts in Jillson's collections. He was among the first to try to use jazz, the idiom of the day, for a traditional hymn. The American Lutheran Church Women (ALCW) chose this for their yearly theme hymn one year and made it a beloved hymn. It was quite modern since it did not use conventional forms, either metrical or rhymes, or harmonic. Thus, it sounded rather fresh to composers and those who came to love it.
LINKS
Concordia Publishing
Bonnie Eichenberger
Chris Winston, Improvisation on tune
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