The Stranger of Galilee

It’s strange how childhood memories sometimes come from apparently nowhere… Recently I recalled my Mum singing ‘The Stranger of Galilee’. I guess Dad would have played it on the piano…

Mr Google, on various sites, tell me that Lelia Naylor Morris wrote it. Born in Ohio in 1862, the fifth of seven children, Lelia learned to play the piano as a child and she sang in the choir of the Methodist church her family attended. She married Charles Morris in 1881. When she was 30, she attended a Holiness camp meeting where, in her words, ‘I opened my heart and let the Holy Spirit come in.’ Following this experience, she felt called to write hymns, writing more than 1,000 Gospel songs, including ‘The Stranger of Galilee’ in 1893. Some of her final songs were written on a large blackboard, because of her deteriorating eye-sight had deteriorated. She died in 1929.

In fancy I stood by the shore, one day,
Of the beautiful murm’ring sea;
I saw the great crowds as they thronged the way
Of the Stranger of Galilee;
I saw how the man who was blind from birth,
In a moment was made to see;
The lame was made whole by the matchless skill
Of the Stranger of Galilee.

And I felt I could love Him forever,
So gracious and tender was He!
I claimed Him that day as my Savior,
This Stranger of Galilee.

His look of compassion, His words of love,
They shall never forgotten be;
When sin-sick and helpless He saw me there,
This Stranger of Galilee;
He showed me His hand and His riven side,
And He whispered, “It was for thee!”
My burden fell off at the pierced feet
Of the Stranger from Galilee.

I’m invited to imagine that I’m standing in the crowd by the Sea of Galilee, observing Jesus from a distance. I listen. I watch Jesus performing miracles, healing the sick, calming the storm. I’m moved by this man’s tenderness and compassion. I respond.

But then I have a personal encounter with him. He speaks to me personally. I experience His peace, His presence, His forgiveness. This experience stays with me.

I heard Him speak peace to the angry waves,
Of that turbulent, raging sea;
And lo! at His word are the waters stilled,
This Stranger of Galilee;
A peaceful, a quiet, and holy calm,
Now and ever abides with me;
He holdeth my life in His mighty hands,
This Stranger of Galilee.

Come, ye who are driven and tempest-tossed,
And His gracious salvation see;
He’ll quiet life’s storms with His “Peace, be still!”
This Stranger of Galilee;
He bids me to go and the story tell—
What He ever to you will be,
If only you let Him with you abide,
This Stranger of Galilee.

Oh, my friend, won’t you love Him forever?
So gracious and tender is He!
Accept Him today as your Savior,
This Stranger of Galilee.

In my imagination I’ve been with Jesus on the shore of Galilee. I return to life today. I shall go to church, meet people, do ordinary stuff, but the extraordinary encounter stays with me. I shall meet with friends and family who have had a similar encounter, and I shall continue to muse…

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