“Have No Fear, Little Flock”

I met Marjorie Jillson one Sunday morning. I was preaching at a church in Detroit on Good Shepherd Sunday. Marjorie Jillson came up to greet me after the service.

My text for the sermon was the Gospel from John, and I chose to have the congregation sing a hymn, one verse at a time, as the sermon progressed. The hymn I chose was “Have No Fear Little Flock.” I like the tune to this hymn and the words speak to me as a member of Christ’s flock, for whom Jesus is our Good Shepherd. The hymn speaks of healing, and God who walks beside us through all the struggles of life, for which we give God thanks and praise. I read the name of the person who wrote the verses of the hymn and I tried to find out the story behind her writing of the hymn. I included some of her story as a part of the sermon.

“Praise the Lord high above; praise the Lord high above,

for he stoops down to heal you, uplift and restore you;

praise the Lord high above.”

The person who wrote those words was Marjorie Jillson. She had multiple health issues, including a severe heart condition. She had endured deep struggles of health and faith in her life. I did not know where she lived, but I had a sense of connection with her because of her own vulnerability. She, of all people, knew fear and pain, and probably experienced loneliness as a result of her own condition. Instead of praise, she could have fallen into response of anger toward God, and it would have been understandable.

Instead she expresses faith and thankfulness to God.

“Thankful hearts raise to God; thankful hearts raise to God,

for he stays close beside you, in all things works with you;

thankful hearts raise to God.”

This one whose heart is severely damaged, speaks of hearts that are thankful to God for being present with her in the midst and through the dangerous condition and procedures she faced in life. The Good Shepherd “stays close beside you, in all things works with you.” In the sermon I witnessed how doubts and fears can cloud our faith and lead us to turn away from God, but the author of this hymn shares a confidence in God that can only come from God’s loving and healing Spirit being present with her.

Following the service, to my surprise, Marjorie Jillson, the author of the hymn, came by to shake hands with me and share her witness of faith. She was a small, somewhat frail-looking lady, with streaks of gray in her hair. To me she was a giant of faith, and I count it a blessing to have met her.

Each of us may be facing Marjorie Jillson-type challenges in our lives, and God’s good news for us is that in the face of our fears and doubts, God does not abandon us. The second verse of the hymn says, “for the Father will keep you in his love forever.” May this promise give you hope today.