We Shall Overcome takes inspiration from St Paul

One of the special characteristics of the Book of Psalms is that it contains a wide range of religious thinking and reflection. These prayers/ meditations/ hymns of praise are wonderfully candid, at times questioning the existence of God, at others overwhelmed by the wonders of God.

Tomorrow’s liturgy includes Psalm 77 – or at least part of it – which speaks to those who know what it is to struggle with faith in hard times. It begins with a lament about God’s seeming absence in a time of crisis: “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted.” The lectionary omits the mid-section which goes much deeper into the anguish of the author: “Has His (God’s)mercy ceased forever? Has his promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?”

Calls unanswered

When the blind man Bartimaeus called out to Jesus the disciples tried to silence him but Jesus insisted on hearing him and responded to his need. Listening is a very Christian virtue.

The Samaritans organisation listens to people’s problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They remind us of the importance of listening: “Listening volunteers are there for anyone who needs someone. They answer more than five million calls for help each year. And they can change the course of someone’s life. But many calls to Samaritans go unanswered because we don’t have enough volunteers.” Anyone interested might consider visiting their website.

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As a society we failed miserably when we chose not to listen to the cries of abused children and exploited young women in religious and State institutions for decades, resulting in thousands of ruined lives. Today we don’t pay enough attention to the frail elderly and other vulnerable groups. These are today’s unheard, who at the end of their lives may share that same sense of abandonment described by the psalmist: “Has His (God’s) mercy ceased forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious?” God’s graciousness is found in caring people.

Our psalmist won’t give up: “I call to remembrance my song in the night.” Songs in the night belong to those dark times when the human spirit refuses to give in.

We Shall Overcome has been a “song in the night” for freedom-seekers for generations but it is based on a hymn published in 1900 and written by Charles Tindley, a Methodist minister from Philadelphia. It was inspired by words from St Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “And let us as a song in the night not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.” The original began “I’ll overcome some day.”

The Methodist Church has always had a strong commitment to social issues and Tindley’s hymn was quickly claimed by protest movements because the words connected with the needs of his audiences, many of whom were former slaves, impoverished, illiterate, and out of work. The “I shall overcome” became “We Shall overcome” as gospel hymn became protest song and in time the anthem of the American non-violent civil rights movement.

Tomorrow’s Epistle, also from Galatians, takes us back however to the “I” word of Tindley’s hymn “I shall overcome.” In this reading St Paul insists true freedom begins within each individual; that humanity is imprisoned by evil with its preference for violence, social division and addiction. For Paul it takes God’s grace and all our energy as individuals to claim the freedom God gives and which expresses itself in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness . . .” in the service of those who need to be heard.