During this season of Lent we invite you to connect the practices of prayer, reflection and discussion with our life in worship together. Each week in worship, the Pastors’ sermons will explore themes generated by the content and history of African American Spirituals, each paired with a companioning Biblical text. Below are lyrics, music, scripture and reflection questions so that you might as an individual, family or small group continue to be shaped by God through the Spirituals, the scriptures and prayer.
The Music and Lyrics
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing low, sweet chariot,
coming for to carry me home.
Swing low, sweet chariot,
coming for to carry me home.
I looked over Jordan, and what did I see
coming for to carry me home?
A band of angels coming after me,
coming for to carry me home.
Henry “Harry” Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) was born in Erie, PA. He said this of his motivation for setting spirituals:
. . . In Negro spirituals my race has pure gold, and they should be taken as the Negro’s contribution to artistic possessions. In them we show a spiritual security as old as the ages. . . . These songs always denote a personal relationship. It is ‘my Saviour,’ ‘my sorrow,’ ‘my kingdom.’ The personal note is ever present. America’s only original and distinctive style of music is destined to be appreciated more and more.
David Jennings Smith sang Harry Burleigh’s arrangement of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot in worship on March 23, 2014, with Dr. Ed Moore at the piano. Listen to the live recording from the service here:
The Scripture
The Reflection
Week Three – Hope for a New Heaven
Although we tend to focus on our time in “desert places” during this season, Lent is also a time of hope. We know that each day of Lent, we draw closer to the cross – but we likewise have hope in the power of the resurrection. We know that we are sinners, yet we have hope in God’s grace extended to us in Christ. Lent encourages us to have hope in the midst of hopelessness – and to be transformed, strengthened and encouraged by hope.
Reflect:
- What gives you hope in this life?
- What gives you hope in the life to come?
- In which of God’s promises do you most find hope? Why?
Act:
- How can you and your family BE a source of hope for others?