Today’s authors are Scott & Kathy Tunseth.
Yesterday, the Chancel Choir provided a musical offering entitled Bound for Glory by composer John Leavitt. It is a collection of Bible readings and seven African American spirituals arranged for 4-part choir. It’s been a challenge and a joy to work on the music and to be immersed in the message of the songs. And what remarkable message these faithful songs bring us! The theology of the spirituals is down-to-earth and heartfelt, revealing a deep connection between faith and real life (and death!) that make these songs so powerful.
The life experiences from which these songs emerge include deep pain, struggle, and longing for a better day. At the same time the texts dwell in the unmistakable realm of hope. “I’m just a poor wayfaring stranger atravelin’ through this world of woe” becomes “I want to tell salvation’s story” and “I’m just agoin’ over home . . . to meet my Savior to sing his praise forever more.” Like many of the psalms in the Bible, these spirituals move between lament and praise, between grief and hope, between this world of woe and a better world where “all is peace.”
It’s not surprising that some of the songs sound an apocalyptic note, since apocalyptic texts in the Bible often emerge from desperate circumstances. Even though it feels sometimes like this world’s future is bleak, God will prevail, and God’s kingdom will win out. This is echoed in the final song in Bound for Glory called “The Old Ship of Zion,” a song most of us had never heard. The chorus prays, “Just let me in the kingdom when the world ketch on fire!” And can’t we all identify with that phrase. The present world is smoldering, if not burning outright. But the captain of the old ship of Zion is Jesus, and with him at the helm, the ship “will never rock nor totter, Alleluia!”
The theology of these spirituals is not sophisticated, and for this we can give thanks and shout an “Amen.” We need the visceral connection to faith that these songs provide. In the end, we are all bound for glory. In the meantime, we learn from, draw comfort from, and give thanks for the anonymous faithful who created these remarkable works.