“Consecrating art and song,
holy book and pilgrim way,
quelling floods of tyrant wrong,
widening freedom’s sacred sway.”
—“Life of Ages,” by Samuel Johnson
Only one of Rev. Samuel Johnson’s many hymns can be found in Singing the Living Tradition and Sing Out Love, but his life, his philosophy, and his lifelong commitment to the “widening of freedom’s sacred sway” have become touchstones for my ministry and my faith. More than that, Johnson has become a spiritual guide. His commitment to freedom—in all its forms—carries me beyond the specifics of belief to the great and lasting truths that lie beyond.
I discovered Johnson through my interest in Rev. Sam Longfellow, who grew up at First Parish in Portland, Maine, where I’m proud to serve. “The Sams,” as they were known, met at Harvard in 1842 and spent the next four decades as life partners. Their letters are a joyous round of theological musings, playful sparring, and deep affection. Contemporaries describe their relationship as closer than the biblical David and Jonathan, who—you may recall—entered into a marriage-like covenant.
The Sams’ ministry spanned the challenges of abolition, Civil War, and Reconstruction. I take great delight in bringing their wisdom to my congregation, sharing their insights about the Divine, and their support of women’s suffrage and abolition. I also share the simple truth that their love didn’t have the benefit of “freedom’s sacred sway” in their own time.
In a recent service devoted to the two men, I invited children and adults to shout out the names of things they love: activities, then places, then people. I called out my own partner’s name, then acknowledged that there are places today—and times in our history—where speaking the name of a beloved is not possible or safe.
Gathering the children under our magnificent chandelier, I shared a few words about The Sams. Then the kids— and congregation—repeated a simple phrase three times with increasing gusto. On behalf of Sam Longfellow, we shouted, “I love you, Sam Johnson! I love you, Sam Johnson! I love you, Sam Johnson!”
The love that brought The Sams into partnership ripples outward from their lives, defying time, to touch us today. Whether singing the hymns they championed, reading their letters, or considering the beauty of a Transcendentalist world view, it’s their love that we receive across the centuries.
The prayer below is adapted from the writings of Rev. Sam Johnson.
Prayer
May we be made One by the Spirit of Love, eternal and spontaneous. May we be made One by the Truth of Law, physical and moral, and honored in every new revelation. May we be made One by the Beauty of the Universe, of soul and sense, and in perfect liberty. May we be made One by our love of the One Spirit that is over us, and in us all.