Was John Wesley Really Broadcasted in Communist China?

Just when you think you have seen it all in China, you discover otherwise. The headlines around the world have been filled with news about the crackdown on religious activities in China, and I have noticed a decrease in public displays of Christianity.  I must admit it is frustrating to witness when you come from the Bible-belt of America.

Speaking of frustrating, do you ever reach points where you think less than Christian thoughts because “Murphy’s Law” is in full effect?  That was me this afternoon, as I was not watching my time carefully and realized I was late for work.

I tried to get on the elevator, but all 3 elevators in my building were stuck on the 49th floor as somebody picked this most convenient time on my schedule to have a moving party. I lived on the 39th floor and was not about to take the steps down, so I was stuck waiting…

Then the elevator finally picks me up at 39, but then it also had to pick-up the cleaning guy and his mop-bucket on 38, and then three chatty elderly women got on at 36, and then a teenage zombie at 34 who can’t take her eyes off her cell phone. I finally reached the ground floor after about 10 minutes of unforeseen delays.

I am rumbling through the tight ground floor hallways of the Kaisa Center Tower waiting to burst onto the street much like an adrenaline filled linebacker in the tunnel at Lambeau Field.  But unlike the Lambeau entrance tunnel, there is a 60-something-year-old “gentleman” blocking the exit.  He has decided to smoke a cigarette right at the exit door of my apartment building.  He refused to budge an inch for this hard-charging English teacher or the 8 other people following me. He seriously expected all of us to just wait as he finished his cigarette.

I was about 4 times the size of this cigarette addicted Cultural Revolution survivor, and had to seriously resist all urges to “remedy the problem”. The “gentleman” in his soiled tattered brown Soviet era garments finally puffed out the last of his cigarette butt between his yellow-stained teeth.  Only then did he finally relent and let us pass by to our individual places of employment.  Many people today in China still have no understanding of making way for those who have urgent professional jobs that need to be done.  Just ask a local ambulance driver how much does the public make way for him when he has a dying patient in the back…

At this point, I am in full frantic mode as there is no chance that a bus or subway can get me to my office on time.  I must have had a look of desperation on my face as I was begging any taxi to stop and help me.

Finally, a driver did stop and help me.  He showed no signs of emotion as he punched in my destination address into his Chinese Baidu GPS phone app.  He had the radio set to 97.5FM which is the local traffic news station.  I was filled with fury on the inside as I wanted this guy to move faster, but on the outside, I did my best to appear calm and sane.

At last,  we finally start rolling down Qingnian Street as we listened to the traffic reports in Chinese on the radio station.  Now the one thing that is different here is that all airwaves are controlled by the Communist Party.  For those living in America, it would be like the Republican or Democrat Party owning all the airwaves and using them for propaganda purposes.  These stations are tightly monitored to make sure that nothing is broadcasted that conflicts with the Party’s ideology.  They just don’t make mistakes about what is aired because their lives depend on it.

The broadcaster yammering in Chinese finally takes a break from his state-controlled broadcast for a random song.  It was at this point a peculiar country music sound began. This caught my attention immediately because it may well be an English song they are getting ready to play.

The country music singer began to sing and I could not believe my ears.  The man was singing in perfectly good English John Wesley’s “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”.  The DJ allowed all 5 verses to be played of this all-time great Christian hymn on a Communist Party-controlled radio station!  I hope he is ok and was not harassed too badly because of his music selection.  In my view, he was an angel sent from God who played exactly what my heart needed to hear at that exact moment.

I also have to wonder how many DJ’s in America could keep their job if they played “And Can It Be” on the air of a non-religious broadcast.  The answer may be one that we don’t want to hear.

Yes, I witnessed a bit of a minor-miracle today on January 4, 2019, in Shenyang, China.  How did this get broadcasted today in this current political climate I will never know.

In case you have forgotten the words of this great hymn I have posted them below:

“And Can It Be”

1 And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

Refrain:
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!

2 ‘Tis mystery all! Th’Immortal dies!
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine!
‘Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more. [Refrain]

3 He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race;
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me. [Refrain]

4 Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee. [Refrain]

5 No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own. [Refrain]