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December 18
Charles Wesley and Saint Sebastian
David Barnhart
December 18, 2025
Golf course with sheep at Iona Abbey, 2011. Own photo.
Today in 1707, Charles Wesley was born. Charles was the younger brother of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and composed many of the movement’s hymns, including the Christmas carol “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, today is also the feast day of Saint Sebastian, who was martyred around 288. The story is that he was a member of the Praetorian Guard and successfully evangelized others and kept Christians hidden. When he was found out, the Emperor Diocletian had him shot full of arrows, but Sebastian survived, recovered, and then confronted the Emperor at a later date and reprimanded him. The second execution ended his life, but his determination to speak truth to power—even after his first “execution”—has inspired truth-tellers for centuries.
Reflection:
Charles Wesley wrote these lines for Advent:
Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art,
dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
Charles was no fan of Calvinism. In one of his most stirring, angry, and grace-affirming poems, he rants against the idea that God’s grace is only given to the elect, and not to all. In the last stanza of his poem, he says, essentially, “I’ll proclaim God’s free grace for all even in the depths of hell.”
“O take me at my word,
But arm me with thy power,
Then call me forth to suffer, Lord,
To meet the fiery hour:
In death will I proclaim
That all may hear thy call,
And clap my hands amidst the flame,
And shout,—HE DIED FOR ALL”
Prayer: God, give us courage and tenacity to speak news which is good for all people. Amen.