We Shall Overcome
Bob Wickizer
Isaiah 62:1-5
As a winemaker I have often joked that ''Jesus only needed water to do it. I must use grapes.'' But Jesus' words in John 14:12 have always haunted me: ''You will do greater things than these'' and by ''these'' he was referring to the works, the signs, the wonders, the miracles that Jesus performed. Does that mean that I just don't measure up because I am still using grapes? Or should we take heart in the fact that the word ''You'' in ''You will do greater things than these'' is plural. Together perhaps we can accomplish greater things. What could possibly stand in our way? What do we need to overcome in order to do the will of the creator?
Perhaps the first thing we must overcome is ourselves.
Today we will process out of this church singing what the Library of Congress called ''the most powerful song of the 20th century,'' ''We Shall Overcome.'' Even though the song traces its roots to a 1900 Baptist hymn and was first used in social movements in 1945, we might do well to contrast then (the 1960s) versus now.
We shall overcome communism - whether Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese or Latin American movements. Because of the victory of WWII Americans thought we could defeat the enemy with military force and the world would be free of terror and would become an economic vassal of pax Americana.
Now we are not so sure. The enemy might be the neighbor next door whose kids play soccer with ours. The enemy might be our friend one day and blow us up the next. The enemy might be a child or a woman or even a group of home grown God-fearing gun-toting wing nuts. The prospect of military conquest seems remote at best.
We shall overcome racism. The Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act and much of the 1960s was consumed in legal attempts to counter the injustice of racism.
Today we have even more racism and xenophobia. Yes, we have made some legal progress, but when white people still do not understand why the ...
Bob Wickizer
Isaiah 62:1-5
As a winemaker I have often joked that ''Jesus only needed water to do it. I must use grapes.'' But Jesus' words in John 14:12 have always haunted me: ''You will do greater things than these'' and by ''these'' he was referring to the works, the signs, the wonders, the miracles that Jesus performed. Does that mean that I just don't measure up because I am still using grapes? Or should we take heart in the fact that the word ''You'' in ''You will do greater things than these'' is plural. Together perhaps we can accomplish greater things. What could possibly stand in our way? What do we need to overcome in order to do the will of the creator?
Perhaps the first thing we must overcome is ourselves.
Today we will process out of this church singing what the Library of Congress called ''the most powerful song of the 20th century,'' ''We Shall Overcome.'' Even though the song traces its roots to a 1900 Baptist hymn and was first used in social movements in 1945, we might do well to contrast then (the 1960s) versus now.
We shall overcome communism - whether Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese or Latin American movements. Because of the victory of WWII Americans thought we could defeat the enemy with military force and the world would be free of terror and would become an economic vassal of pax Americana.
Now we are not so sure. The enemy might be the neighbor next door whose kids play soccer with ours. The enemy might be our friend one day and blow us up the next. The enemy might be a child or a woman or even a group of home grown God-fearing gun-toting wing nuts. The prospect of military conquest seems remote at best.
We shall overcome racism. The Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act and much of the 1960s was consumed in legal attempts to counter the injustice of racism.
Today we have even more racism and xenophobia. Yes, we have made some legal progress, but when white people still do not understand why the ...
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