Please Join in the Singing of the National Anthem
"I never thought I'd see the day when..." How would you finish that statement? How about this? I never thought I'd see the day when an NFL game would begin with the singing of a hymn that is in Lutheran Service Book, the hymnal used by the majority of congregations in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. But if reports are correct, each game of week 1 in the NFL regular season will begin with the singing of Lift Every Voice and Sing (#964 in LSB).
The beautiful words penned by James Weldon Johnson with the accompanying tune composed by his brother John have been enjoyed and passionately sung around the world. According to Timothy Askew, an English professor at Clark Atlanta University and scholar of the song's history. "Even during days of segregation, there were Southern white churches ... who wrote to James Weldon Johnson and who said, 'We are singing that song you called the black national anthem.' People in Japan, South America, people around the world, particularly during the '30s and '40s, were singing this song.”
My question is, will all three verse of the hymn by sung, or only verse 1, as is the case The Star-Spangled Banner? I would be ecstatic if verse 3 would be sung: 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.
Approximately 95% of the LCMS would be identified as white. Some might say that when the Commission on Worship put together Lutheran Service Book, published in 2006, the inclusion of the Black National Anthem was a shallow attempt to prove that there is no racism in our church body. The inclusion of a hymn cannot erase sin. Only Jesus can do that, which is why most worship services in LCMS congregations include a public confession of sins so we can confess our guilt and receive the wonder of God's forgiveness through Christ Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to enable us to walk in the way of love which treats all with respect and dignity and works for the equal opportunity for the pursuit of happiness for all. The reason the hymn is in our book is because it reflects good theology as it calls us not to be sucked in by the world around us, but to remain steadfast in the faith. And for those of us who are followers of Jesus, the words of the hymn written specifically in response to the challenging plight of those in the black community in the midst of Jim Crow laws and other atrocities, continue to speak truth and call us to the only One who offers us true freedom.
Maybe the NFL is on to something here. And as for what we will sing at Beautiful Savior on the first weekend of the NFL regular season (assuming there is one), chances are very good that Hymn 964 will be one of the selections.
– Pastor Schmidt