The first time I heard this hymn was as an organist-choirmaster in Pittsburgh in the summer of 1978. The choir was enthusiastic, at least, and one woman taught me the meaning of “whiskey tenor”. Not that she was drunk, but the color of her voice was, shall we say, distinctive, and it was how she described it. And yes, she sang the tenor line…
Then, I thought this hymn was sentimental and better suited to the sawdust trail than in the Roman Catholic church, but I needed the job. Recently, caught up in writing my systematic theology on the Nicene Creed, these words have come back to me. I addressed original sin in an earlier column. Now let’s talk about crucifixion.
- On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Crucifixions
For people in the first-century Roman empire, the cross was certainly an “emblem of suffering and shame.” The condemned experienced prolonged agony, not only from the nails but from the slow asphyxiation as they attempted to alternate between holding themselves upright with their arms and pressing with their feet. Blood loss led to intense thirst. It could last for days.
