Spirituals: General Biblical Narratives
As a result, it is difficult to look at what on the surface appears to be even the most straightforwardly narrative spiritual and not wonder for a moment if there is not something else there. Topical spirituals, including those related to the birth of Jesus, would seem to be about precisely what the words purport to describe. Work considers "O Mary, What You Goin' to Name That Pretty Little Baby? " or "Wasn't That a Mighty Day When Jesus Christ Was Born" the equal to any Western European Christmas carol (Work 1940, 25). But Christa K. Dixon hears both a hint of the slaves' anguish and a group recollection of the camp meeting revivals in " Mary Had de Leetle Baby":
Concerning the slaves' affinity to connect with the Christmas story, Robert Darden's insight captures a remarkable picture:
| Story Insight | |
|---|---|
|
The stories in Luke's Gospel about the birth of Jesus resonated with the unnamed and unknown slave poets in a profoundly personal way, perhaps more so than any other in Scripture, save the crucifixion . Perhaps it was because the African American slaves of the 19th century were strangers in an appallingly strange land, landless refugees, constantly on the move, helpless pawns in sweeping geo-political games. They were foreigners, aliens, living a precarious existence in occupied territory ruled by a harsh dictatorship that, literally, considered them to be worth less than cattle. According to the Gospel of Luke, so too was the Holy Family. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph passed through Roman-occupied checkpoints facing an unknowable future, with no place to call their own, despised and penniless aliens in their own land. The slave poets made the connection and from that created songs of uncommon, otherworldly beauty and insight. |
Some of the power of the Christmas spirituals comes from the religion of the slaves, who rejected the cynical Christianity of their owners, a creed that preached "slaves obey your masters" as its central tenet. Instead, they listened outside church windows, hid in hallways and under porches, and pored over scraps of Scripture. From that, they miraculously cobbled together something very much akin to the faith of the Christians of the 1st century. This faith was based on love and hope for all of God's children, regardless of race or gender, free or slave. It was a radical faith, a revolutionary faith, a faith that would eventually lead to the end of slavery. And that simple love-based faith, centered on a loving Jesus rather than fearing hell, is found in every Christmas spiritual (Darden 2018, n. p.) |
Even more intriguing are "Go Tell It on de Mountain" (Dett 1972, 78) and " Rise Up, Shepherd, an' Foller" (Dett 1972, 79). To slaves yearning to be free, might lines like "When I was a seeker, I sought both night and day, I ask de Lord to help, An' He show me de way" and "If you take good heed to de angel's words, Rise up, shepherd, an' foller, Yo'll forget yo folk, yo'll forget yo' herds, Rise up, shepherd, an' foller" resonate in ways beyond their apparent surface meaning?
Howard Thurman
For [the slaves] the 'troubled waters' meant the ups and downs, the vicissitudes of life. Within the context of the 'troubled' waters of life there are healing waters, because God is in the midst of the turmoil. Do not shrink from moving confidently out into the choppy seas. Wade in the water, because God is troubling the water.
Go Down, Moses
Dark and thorny is de
pathway
Where de pilgrim makes his
ways;
But beyond dis vale of
sorrow
Lie de fields of endless days.