Lift Every Voice And Sing (ELW 841)
Devotion
Lift ev'ry voice and sing till earth and heaven ring,
ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise high as the list'ning skies,
let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us;
sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chast'ning rod,
felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet
come to the place for which our parents sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered;
we have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
thou who hast by thy might led us into the light,
keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee;
lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee;
shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand,
true to our God, true to our native land.
I can clearly remember hearing this song for the first time when I was in elementary school. Our very talented church musician played the song on a grand piano and I was so enthralled with the music and the power of the song that I told my mom I wanted to learn it. Then I realized that once I started to play the song myself, it was not going to be easy.
Over the years as I sing and play—and play with this song and its lyrics—those first few thoughts and feeling continue to wash over me. Lift Every Voice and Sing is not an easy song—to sing or to play or to live. But like the psalms, the music and lyrics call us out. I cannot say how much of a song of hope and healing it is for others, but I think just as God calls all of us together to be a light to the world, this particular hymn is a reminder to take part in the action of justice and to be a voice for all people. We may not all have lived in perceived oppression, but when anyone of our humanity is hurting, we all hurt. There is much healing that is needed, and much work to be done, so that we can all come together in conversation and hope and justice. And so that every voice will ring together with liberty.
Prayer
God of all humanity, teach us to walk with one another. Remind us how to hold one another up in love, standing shoulder to shoulder against injustice. Give us courage to follow your lead. Amen.