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
Water with words does something. It drowns our sinful self and raises us into Christ’s likeness. But water without words has the potential to just drown.
Four years after baptizing a little boy, drowning his sinful self, I officiated at his funeral because he had fallen into a pool and drowned. It was a bitter reminder of the danger of water. It was also a reminder of the importance that in baptism we are claimed by God for eternity and not even death will separate us from the love of God.
The challenge of that service was made bearable by his baptism. We pastors proclaim good news, especially in bad situations. The “Holy Ghost a-coming on me.” That is the promise; and that changes everything. Even grief. May we never fail to baptize and preach as if life doesn’t depend on it. It does.
Prayer
God who transcends this world, invite us to be a part of your heavenly realm and claim us as your own so that we may live this life full of passion, faith, and purpose, until we meet you face to face. Amen.