Another one of those “hymns that make you go ‘huh’.”
I read the first two lines and thought “yes! A fight song! And then I read on…and found myself disappointed. You see, as soon as I hit publish, I’ll be heading out to NYC for the Women’s March, where New Yorkers will march in solidarity with marchers in Washington, DC, as well as other cities around the country and the world. And I guess in some ways, this hymn could be conceived as a battle cry.
But it’s not the battle cry I want today. You see, I’m fired up, righteously angry – a mental state fueled by fear and frustration and a crystal clear call from my faith and my God. I don’t feel much in the mood for a song that calls us to stop warring, to set aside our grudges, to find common ground. I’m not feeling at all conciliatory. I want a fight song that takes no prisoners, that calls for unrepentantly bold resistance and holy belligerence.
But this is the song I’m presented with today. I suppose it’s a reminder that ultimately, this is what we want. Long term goals, I guess. And almost any other time, I might turn to this hymn as an aspirational call.
So…this might be a hymn to revisit when emotions aren’t running so hot and the stakes aren’t so high.
Come, children of tomorrow, come!
New glory dawns upon the world;
the warring banners must be furled,
the earth become our common home.From plain and field and town there sound
the stirring rumors of the day;
old wrongs and burdens must make way
for all to tread the common ground.Divided we have long withstood
the love that is our common speech.
The comrade cry of each to each
is calling us to humanhood.
(The artwork today is the poster artist Mary Engelbreit has made available free for download, posting, and printing in support of the march.)
