Wade in the Water (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 459)
Refrain:
Wade in the water, wade in the water, children,
wade in the water, God’s a-goin’a trouble the water.
1 See that host all dressed in white,
God’s a-goin’a trouble the water.
the leader looks like the Israelite,
God’s a-goin’a trouble the water. [Refrain]
2 See that band all dressed in red,
God’s a-goin’a trouble the water.
looks like the band that Moses led.
God’s a-goin’a trouble the water. [Refrain]
3 Look over yonder, what do I see?
God’s a-goin’a trouble the water.
the Holy Ghost a-coming on me,
God’s a-goin’a trouble the water. [Refrain]
4 If you don’t believe I’ve been redeemed,
God’s a-goin’a trouble the water.
just follow me down to Jordan’s stream.
God’s a-goin’a trouble the water. [Refrain]
Text and Music: African American Spiritual; Public Domain
Devotion
Does God bring personal or collective liberation? Did Jesus come to save us from this earth or to save us for this earth? Do we need to choose? For many African American Spiritual writers, God’s liberation has implications for both the future and the present, the individual and the collective. When beloved children of God who were enslaved sang “Wade in the Water,” they were singing about the nearby river that would help provide an escape route from their enslavers, but they were also singing about the soon-to-come river of life that would provide healing from the weariness and weight of oppression. As we sing about wading in the healing waters of justice in the life to come, it is hard not to fight injustice in this life. As we see signs of God’s welcoming mercy flowing on earth today, it is hard not to eagerly anticipate the eternal river that awaits us in the new earth tomorrow.
Prayer
God of mighty power, we need your waters of mercy. Our hearts are weary. We need healing for our friends and family that are sick and our systems and structures that are sick. We need your balm for the ways that we have forgotten you both individually and in our life together. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, O God. Amen.