Let Us Break Bread Together -- Anonymous

 

They were gathering in the morning for this occasion, and they were probably slaves somewhere in 19^th Century southeastern America, perhaps as specific an area as shown here (see map). That they had transported some of what they sang from their African roots is also possible for this group of worshippers. We know not their names, but when they jointly said “Let Us Break Bread Together”, it marked the part of their day that helped them endure. If they were like others of their heritage and their status in life, reaching outside of themselves for strength was not really a casual affair. And yet it was an option, embodied in the first two words of what they said, in contrast to the enforced state that characterized most of their day. The ‘Lord’ to whom they sang was quite a different master than the earthly one they saw every day.

 

The history of 19^th Century American slavery certainly needs no further exposition here to put into context why such a song as “Let Us Break Bread Together” emerged.  (See below for link to information on African-American Spirituals.) Nevertheless, there are several specifics about the song’s origin that help us 21^st Century travelers see more than we would at first glance. One source indicates that the West African group known as the Gullah/Geechee people who became slaves in the American Southeastern coast in the colonial period (1700s) – Carolinas, Georgia, and northeastern Florida (see map) – were the song’s creators. Other sources indicate alternately that slaves in Virginia first sang “Let Us…”. Were the people also reaching back to Islamic West African roots when they sang about ‘facing the rising sun’? And, some suggest that the group singing about being ‘on our knees’ were doing this activity stealthily, perhaps in conflict with the wishes of their owners. The most commonly held assumptions include the idea that this was a communion song, hence the ‘break(ing) bread’ (v.1) and ‘drink(ing) wine’ are references to the elements shared in memory of Jesus’ body; certainly, that is how the hymn is used today, but whether that is too narrow a focus at its inception is also possible. Some things are certain: those who gathered wanted to be together to acclaim God (v.3), to seek His mercy (refrain), and to eat and drink amongst each other (vv. 1-2), whether that was communion or a regular meal. Was that all? That they did this often enough, and that the words they sang survived for centuries, speaks to something else that we can presume persuaded their singing: they drew strength from His power when they lifted their voices.

 

The Unseen, as He is for all us earthbound folk, is a great hope that defies the trouble I’m in today. I need some source of transport beyond where I am or where I see myself going physically. And so, looking up is not only spiritually comforting, it’s logical. Admit it. Or, do you find solace in an uncertain future, or merely shrug your shoulders at everyday frustrations? No, you don’t, and neither do I. I need to know my life will not descend into nothing-ness. That’s what I think I might have been mulling over as a slave, gritting my teeth at the harsh nature of my life. It’s gonna be better – even glorious --  someday. That’s why I gird my spirit daily with others – break bread together, and look upward, and call out to Him.     

 

   

See more information on the song in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.   

 

Also see this link, showing all three original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/l/e/t/u/letusbbt.htm

 

See here for history of the song: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-let-us-break-bread-together

 

See here also: https://hymnary.org/text/let_us_break_bread_together_on_our_knees

 

See here for broader information on this genre of music: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituals

Change My Heart, Oh God -- Eddie Espinosa

He was deep in thought inside his truck in the middle of a street; the scene was Anaheim, California.  It was perhaps one of the most private moments for 28-year-old Eddie Espinosa, and one that he didn’t really intend that others should hear, when he breathed the words “Change My Heart, Oh God”. After all, it was a personal prayer, just between God and himself. And yet, he did something in that moment that implied that he wanted to remember; that, while it was an intimate episode, Eddie wasn’t embarrassed to tell others in appropriate settings about this experience. Others would indeed hear what he’d said on the way to work that day. If you or I had the nerve, would we share what we might say while driving our vehicles on a street in southern California? And, could such an incident always be described as a prayer, or instead as a complaint, or worse? Maybe that’s the kind of stuff that Eddie felt was inside himself that needed changing.

 

Eddie admits that things in his life that day in 1982 were going really well, and in fact were sources of great joy, and yet there were deeper issues that he knew were inhibiting his journey. He was a teacher at a local school, had a good marriage and two small children as a result, and was a worship leader at a growing church. So, these were three foundational things in any person’s life that one would not expect to leave a person wanting – a good job, a great family, and a role in a burgeoning faith group. Eddie apparently wasn’t one to just sit and bask in the glow of his life, however. Something gnawed at his insides, and though he doesn’t share specifically what that was, he did confess it to his Maker. (Eddie only says he felt just a bit apathetic.) ‘Change me at the heart level’ Eddie prayed fervently, as he sat in his truck. It was something that was making him feel that his life expression wasn’t genuine, for he sang and wrote the words ‘Make it ever true’ when he admitted to God what was going on deep down. He was apparently one guy who never felt he was alone, removed from the gaze and examination of the one who knew him best. And so, Eddie wasn’t afraid to get real with Him; and, unlike many people who find such scrutiny uncomfortable, and try to avoid its unsettling effect, Eddie grabbed a piece of paper to record the moment. Thank God for a stop sign and forgiving traffic that allowed Eddie to chronicle those emotion-filled few minutes! He was able to identify with the ancient King David, who in the wake of some infamous misdeeds authored his own confession (Psalm 51). So, Eddie knew there could be forgiveness when one is open and repentant. You cannot pull the wool over your Creator’s eyes, and you bond with other like beings -- the rest of the human race – when you admit your shortcomings. Let Him keep ‘molding’ you, like clay in a potter’s hand (v.2), Eddie said.

 

This proposition to let God be the potter and us the clay is good for all of us, Eddie must have concluded. Otherwise, he might have kept his song’s story to himself. Instead, when bit by bit, how and what Eddie wrote came to light, he coaxed others to join in and admit they needed what he’d already received. When I cannot find the enthusiasm I should have, I need to be honest about that. Maybe Eddie’s far vision longed for more than he already had, the trap many of us fall into. Some might call that feeling ‘reaching for the American dream’, to always be striving for more because one is unsatisfied. Instead, what Eddie concluded was that he’d already been incredibly blessed, and he needed to appreciate that reality more. Get red-hot about what He’s accomplished, not how I might feel about my humdrum, routine, terrestrial days. I’m heading for a mind-blowing place, into the presence of Him who made me. Ready?

 

 

 

The song story is found in the following books: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever, by Lindsay Terry, Thomas Nelson publishers, 2008; Celebrate Jesus: The Stories behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2003; and The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006.

 

There Shall Be Showers of Blessing -- Daniel W. Whittle

 

This Civil War veteran did not start out being a believer, but something must have intervened to change his outlook. Could it have been the war, which permanently maimed Daniel Webster Whittle with the amputation of his right arm? What in the world would change someone who suffered so grievously, that he was able to tell others that “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing” years later? Despite his wartime service, or perhaps because of it, Daniel had found something that would stay with him, even though his battlefield experiences had cost him a limb. Major Whittle, as he would be known for the remainder of his life, was a vivid example of someone who trusted, an amputee who knew his God and His promises were worth more than his right arm.

 

Daniel Webster Whittle was 43 years old in 1883, when the song ‘There Shall Be Showers…’ first appeared in print, some 20 years and a number of life-altering events after the 1860s, perhaps the hinge-point of his life. At war’s end, Daniel probably could not have imagined himself doing what came to be his life’s purpose, but perhaps it all started with a New Testament that his mother placed in bag as he went off to war. Was it the loss of his arm that finally pushed him to read this during his time in a field hospital? Following the war, his time with Dwight Moody in Chicago also played a significant role in his Christian development, though he’d begun his postwar life initially in a clock company. It was apparently Moody who coaxed the major to focus his life on evangelism instead, perhaps seeing that his life was a walking message to others about God’s work. Daniel apparently collaborated with James McGranahan, who wrote the tune for this hymn and many other songs that that the two men worked together to produce; these two reportedly travelled together on many evangelism tours, suggesting that it was on one of their trips when ‘Showers…’ was created by them. And, the song title suggests Whittle was reading or preaching about Ezekiel 34:26 on that occasion. Did Whittle find especially resonant the message from that prophet about sheep being cared for directly by the Lord, that this God would send showers of blessing? Every verse of his song begins with this promise about showers of blessing, about the provision of this God that Whittle had grown to trust unconditionally. What would it have been like to hear a message from a one-armed veteran about the blessings of life?

 

Whittle associated many facets of knowing God with the showers he trusted God would deliver.  Trust and obedience (v.5); certainty of His love (v.1); confession and submission (v.4); prayer (refrain, v.3); and His abundant nature (v.2) all resound in Daniel’s poetry, things he had evidently gleaned from the prophet’s writings. Did he also pen his words as a response to how his own life had progressed to that point? He’d seen the misery of war, and had survived. ‘Was it luck?’, you could imagine the major might have asked himself one or multiple times. Perhaps Daniel had surmised that God is the provider he needed, no matter what is going on. Think about it, and see if you agree with Daniel.

 

   

See more information on the author of the song’s verses in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.   

 

Also see this link, showing all five original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/h/e/r/s/thershow.htm

 

Also see this link for author’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/h/i/t/t/whittle_dw.htm  

 

And here also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Webster_Whittle