This sermon is part of my series based on Christian music, this time spirituals. Within this sermon I wove in several spiritual songs from the United Methodist Hymnal (that’s what the numbers are all about). I’ve included the words - enjoy and sing along!
Scripture Reading: John 8:28-47 (NRSVue)
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham, yet you look for an opportunity to kill me because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.” They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father, God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God, and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”
Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light:
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near,
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall:
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
When the darkness appears
And the night draws near,
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand:
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
Most of us would agree that a major blemish in the history of our young nation was the African slave trade and its subsequent companion slavery. Without trying to make light of that tragedy I believe most of us would also agree that our music would not be what it is today if not for the contributions of the African-Americans who became a part of the American scene through the tragedy of slavery.
I guess I always knew that and yet it wasn't until I started preparing for this sermon that I realized how much all of our music, both secular and religious, has its roots in the religious music developed by the African-Americans. I'm not going to get into all of that except to say that our hymnal would not be what it is today if it were not for those contributions.
Twenty-eight of the songs included in our hymnal are labeled Afro-American spirituals. Some of them we do not know. Others are significant to our singing tradition, "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” "There is a Balm in Gilead", "Let Us Break Bread Together." What about these songs from our camping and Sunday School backgrounds? —- Lord, I Want to Be a Christian #402; We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder #418; Kum Ba Yah #494; Do Lord #527; and This Little Light of Mine #585.
The music of the Black tradition consists essentially of two types. The spiritual, which we just sang, is one of them.
Historians are not sure when the "spirituals" began to appear but history does confirm the use of these songs as the music of the pre-Civil War "invisible church." These "invisible churches" were secret places where the Negro slaves held worship services. Most of the spirituals express deep religious feelings, although they were also used to share political sentiment, signal one another, gossip, teach or tell tales. Many of them were influenced by the negative and degrading conditions in which the slaves lived. We talked this summer about certain hymns that came out of tragic situations such as “It is Well With My Soul.” Spirituals however represent a whole body of music that came out of tragedy, a body of approximately six thousand songs. There is a depth to the spirituals that I’m afraid we in our own comfortableness take for granted. Yet, we appreciate them and feel stirred somehow when we sing them. J. Jefferson Cleveland says that "the Negro spirituals are the songs of an unhappy people, and yet they are the most beautiful expression of human experience born this side of the seas."
Most of the spirituals are based on texts of the Old and New Testaments. Although rhythm is important, it is the words that are most important. The chief vehicle for the performance of the Negro spiritual was the human voice and improvisation was a main rule of style.
The other type of African-American music is the "gospel" song, not to be confused with the gospel songs of the Whites. Gospel songs came into being during the later part of the 19th century and were connected from the beginning with congregational singing. The name "gospel" was assigned to these songs because many of the texts came from the first four books of the New Testament. Singing of the gospel songs became a part of the regular services of the church and addressed itself, more often than not, to common life experiences. Eileen Southern writes in her work on the music of Black Americans, “Negro gospel music became essentially the sacred counterpart of the city blues, sung in the same improvisatory tradition with piano, guitar, or instrumental accompaniment.”
Whereas the inception of the “spiritual” was in the cotton fields and in the rural settings of camp meetings where large numbers of blacks gathered to hear itinerant preachers, the gospel song came about in urban settings. Huge temporary tents erected for revival meetings by touring evangelists, as well as large churches called tabernacles, were the settings of the early gospel music.
At first this gospel music was not accepted in the larger and more sophisticated Black Baptist and Methodist churches because of its similarities to the “blues.” Gradually, however, its popularity grew and some writers and performers of vaudeville and blues began to switch to gospel performing and writing. Thomas A. Dorsey is the most famous of that group. In fact, many musical historians have named him the “father of gospel music.” Dorsey was influenced greatly by the hymns of Isaac Watts of the 18th century, the author of such hymns as “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”, “Joy to the World”, and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” The most popular of Dorsey’s more than 400 songs is the song we sang earlier in the service, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”, a song that combines intense religious devotion and reaction to realism. He wrote the song in 1932, a week after his first wife and only child died while he was touring.
If Thomas A. Dorsey had been asked who might be the father of gospel music he would give the honor to Dr. Charles A. Tindley. Tindley lived from 1865-1933 and spent most of those years as a Methodist preacher. The last 30 years of his life he was pastor of Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in Philadelphia. Tindley was a powerful preacher, not having a hard time at all filling the pews of his church built to seat 3000. He often punctuated his sermons by singing verses or choruses of his own songs.
We have 5 of Tindley’s gospel songs in our hymnal. I would like us to sing two of them. First, let’s sing verses 1 and 4 of “Stand By Me” (#512)
When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me; (stand by me)
when the storms of life are raging,
stand by me. (stand by me)
When the world is tossing me
like a ship upon the sea,
thou who rulest wind and water,
stand by me. (stand by me)
In the midst of persecution,
stand by me; (stand by me)
in the midst of persecution,
stand by me. (stand by me)
When my foes in war array
undertake to stop my way,
thou who rescued Paul and Silas,
stand by me. (stand by me)
Charles Tindley had great compassion for the people. He was serving in the midst of urban African-Americans heading for the Great Depression. Just as he believed they needed the support and presence of Jesus in the midst of their trials he believed that Jesus used the church to reveal His presence. He turned his church basement into a soup kitchen. He organized a savings unit to help church members accumulate down payments toward their first homes. He took intense interest in the training and education of the young people in his congregation.
A recurring theme in his songs and sermons was the belief that true change or release from worldly bondage can be attained only through struggle. Several songs, like “Stand By Me,” use the image of going through life as a storm. In each there is both the withstanding of the storm and the promise of the other side.
Keeping these thoughts in mind lets sing one more of Tindley’s songs, vss. 1 and 3: “Leave It There” (#522)
If the world from you withholds of its silver and its gold
And you have to get along with meager fare
Just remember, in his word, how he feeds the little bird
Take your burden to the Lord, leave it there
Leave it there, leave it there
Take your burden to the Lord oh and leave it there
If you trust him through your doubt, he will surely bring you out
Take your burden to the Lord, leave it there
When your enemies assail and your heart begins to fail,
Don’t forget that God in heaven answers prayer;
He will make a way for you and will lead you safely through,
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
Leave it there, leave it there
Take your burden to the Lord oh and leave it there
If you trust him through your doubt, he will surely bring you out
Take your burden to the Lord, leave it there
Black gospel music has influenced many of the great “soul” and “blues” singers of our time - Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Deniece Williams, Whitney Houston, M.C. Hammer. Black gospel music has gone through many changes - the quartets and professional gospel groups of the fifties and sixties to the contemporary rock gospel of today. One of the groups that had a big impact on me was Andraé Crouch and the Disciples who sang in the 1970's. We have the choruses from two of his songs in our hymn books.
“My Tribute” #99
To God be the glory, to God be the glory,
To God be the glory, for the things he has done.
With his blood he has saved me; with his power he has raised me;
To God be the glory for the things he has done.
“Through It All” #507
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon God’s word.
Gospel has become an important addition to the Christian experience of our day. Although it has its antagonists who believe it is too “personal” or “shallow” when compared to the great hymns of the past it has given a voice to the faith of many. Tony Heilbut, in his book The Gospel Sound, writes, “Gospel is more than music: it is one of the central experiences of Black America, a common heritage whose vitality was a means of survival in a hostile world.” J. Jefferson Cleveland writes in Songs of Zion, “The Black Church is among the most vital institutions to Blacks in this country, and Black gospel is an important phase of that experience. It is a part of the Black heritage, therefore, its history must be taught, preserved, and respected.”
Thank God this music has impacted and become a part of our Christian experience as well.
I would like us to end with a gospel song that became a significant part of the civil rights movement under Martin Luther King, Jr. This song is derived from several sources. In fact, it ties together the “spiritual” and “gospel” tradition. Its words have much in common with one of Charles Tindley’s gospel songs and its tune resembles an African-American spiritual entitled, “No More Auction Block for Me.”
The song is “We Shall Overcome.” It is not just a song for the civil right movement. It is a song for Christians everywhere in our common struggle. This world is a hostile place. This world is not an ally to truth and righteousness. We who stand with Jesus are its enemies. But the world does not have the final word. The kingdom of God shall someday overtake and break forever the power of this evil world. Truth and righteousness shall prevail. Someday every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, is Lord of all. Let us stand to sing: We Shall Overcome (#533).
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome, someday!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome, someday!
We’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand, someday!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome, someday!
We shall all be free
We shall all be free
We shall all be free, someday!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome, someday!
We shall live in peace
We shall live in peace
We shall live in peace, someday!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome, someday!
The Lord will see us through
The Lord will see us through
The Lord will see us through, someday!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome, someday!