O Rambunctious Kitty!
Yesterday's post about my favorite "autocrats" got me thinking about "odder cats".
Ha he. Sorry, bad joke. Ha.
But seriously now, I did, for some mysterical reason, recall a vignette from my childhood I hadn't thought about in ages. It was the first time I heard a popular hymn that eventually became my favorite song of praise.
When I was young, until about age 10 or so, my family attended church regularly. We weren't strict about our denominational adherence. My dad tended, I think, to favor Methodist services, my mum Episcopal. I got the impression that God was in attendance at every church, an idea which has continued to serve me well.
This particular Sunday, the minister's sermon was about gratitude, I think. This might have taken place around the Easter season and perhaps the minister was trying to emphasize how grateful we should be that Jesus died for our sins. In hindsight, it was probably a finger-wagging guilt trip he was laying on the congregation. But at 9 or 10 years old, sitting in that church which seemed filled up with the clear light and fresh smell of an April morning, I was swept up: Yes. Yes. We should be grateful. Thank you, Lord ...
The minister concluded ... a moment of dense silence ... then several rich chords from the organ, invisible but somewhere very near ... then the minister lifted his arms in gentle encouragement saying:
"Please rise now for hymn number 403 - 'O, Rambunctious Kitty'".
We could feel the organ's bass notes thrumming under our feet as we stood and, cradling our hymnals, began to sing:
In Israel lived a kitty.
His legs from birth were lame
Until he met Lord Jesus
Bound for Jerusalem.
When the Master bent to scratch him,
He was from that day forw’rd
A most rambunctious kitty
And lap cat of our Lord.
O, rambunctious kitty,
The lap cat of our Lord,
You were Christ’s faithful servant,
Disciple on all fours.
That night in Gethsemane,
The kitty climbed a tree
And looked down on the Master
In His moonlit agony.
As Jesus knelt there praying,
He licked his tawny fur.
And when Judas kissed the Savior,
The cat begin to purr.
O, rambunctious kitty,
The lap cat of our Lord,
You were Christ’s faithful servant,
Disciple on all fours.
When Jesus hung up on
The Cross at Calvary,
The kitty sat there 'neath him
For to Christ’s woe to see.
And when He gave His spirit
Up to the Heavenly Host,
The cat did scratch his claws
Upon the nearest post.
O, rambunctious kitty,
The lap cat of our Lord,
You were Christ’s faithful servant,
Disciple on all fours.
We call you fellow soldier
In our King’s mighty cause.
Let your holy example
Give each Christian pause.
A-men.
(reproduced by kind permission of E.T. Garrislimbs & Sons)
Ha he. Sorry, bad joke. Ha.
But seriously now, I did, for some mysterical reason, recall a vignette from my childhood I hadn't thought about in ages. It was the first time I heard a popular hymn that eventually became my favorite song of praise.
When I was young, until about age 10 or so, my family attended church regularly. We weren't strict about our denominational adherence. My dad tended, I think, to favor Methodist services, my mum Episcopal. I got the impression that God was in attendance at every church, an idea which has continued to serve me well.
This particular Sunday, the minister's sermon was about gratitude, I think. This might have taken place around the Easter season and perhaps the minister was trying to emphasize how grateful we should be that Jesus died for our sins. In hindsight, it was probably a finger-wagging guilt trip he was laying on the congregation. But at 9 or 10 years old, sitting in that church which seemed filled up with the clear light and fresh smell of an April morning, I was swept up: Yes. Yes. We should be grateful. Thank you, Lord ...
The minister concluded ... a moment of dense silence ... then several rich chords from the organ, invisible but somewhere very near ... then the minister lifted his arms in gentle encouragement saying:
"Please rise now for hymn number 403 - 'O, Rambunctious Kitty'".
We could feel the organ's bass notes thrumming under our feet as we stood and, cradling our hymnals, began to sing:
No. 403
O Rambunctious Kitty!
In Israel lived a kitty.
His legs from birth were lame
Until he met Lord Jesus
Bound for Jerusalem.
When the Master bent to scratch him,
He was from that day forw’rd
A most rambunctious kitty
And lap cat of our Lord.
O, rambunctious kitty,
The lap cat of our Lord,
You were Christ’s faithful servant,
Disciple on all fours.
That night in Gethsemane,
The kitty climbed a tree
And looked down on the Master
In His moonlit agony.
As Jesus knelt there praying,
He licked his tawny fur.
And when Judas kissed the Savior,
The cat begin to purr.
O, rambunctious kitty,
The lap cat of our Lord,
You were Christ’s faithful servant,
Disciple on all fours.
When Jesus hung up on
The Cross at Calvary,
The kitty sat there 'neath him
For to Christ’s woe to see.
And when He gave His spirit
Up to the Heavenly Host,
The cat did scratch his claws
Upon the nearest post.
O, rambunctious kitty,
The lap cat of our Lord,
You were Christ’s faithful servant,
Disciple on all fours.
We call you fellow soldier
In our King’s mighty cause.
Let your holy example
Give each Christian pause.
A-men.
(reproduced by kind permission of E.T. Garrislimbs & Sons)
posted at 6:08 PM - permalink
