“My Lord, What a Morning” (African American Spiritual, ELW 438)
Devotion
Refrain
My Lord, what a morning;
my Lord, what a morning;
oh, my Lord, what a morning,
when the stars begin to fall.
You will hear the trumpet sound,
to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God's right hand,
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
You will hear the sinner cry,
to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God's right hand,
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
You will hear the Christian shout,
to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God's right hand,
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
Spirituals, including today’s hymn, voice slavery's cruelty and hope for deliverance. They often contain double meanings, such as "mourning" over oppression and Christ's new "morning." Does "wake the nations underground" refer to revealing the Underground Railroad, to Americans challenging racism or to future judgment? Does this spiritual signify the Civil War Union Army's bugles and fallen Confederate flags’ stars?
Despite uncertain double meanings, spirituals' themes of sorrow and hope address our painful schisms. Sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois wrote, "Through all the sorrow of the Sorrow Songs there breathes a hope—a faith in the ultimate justice of things... Sometimes it is faith in life, sometimes a faith in death, sometimes assurance of boundless justice in some fair world beyond. But whichever it is, the meaning is always clear: that sometime, somewhere, men will judge men by their souls and not by their skins. Is such hope justified?" (Souls of Black Folk, 188)
Prayer
Ever-present God, hallelujah! We are grateful you both suffer with us and bring us hope. Forgive us when we unfairly judge each other. Empower us to seek justice for all of your children. Amen.