From the time in elementary school when I could finally squeak out a few Christmas carols on my violin with others in my family of eight who played musical instruments to last year when three generations of family gathered in our den singing enthusiastically and playing carols together, this family tradition continues to be one of my favorite ways to celebrate the Advent Season and the birth of Christ.
Among my favorite carols is the African American spiritual Go, Tell it on the Mountain. I love joining other voices with organ, belting it out in church with its fun melody and lively rhythm along with the colorful lyrics that were inspired by the Biblical story of the shepherds spreading the good news of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:8-20.
Although its origin is unclear, this spiritual likely originated from oral tradition. Later published by John Wesley Works, Jr. in 1907, it was one of a group of spirituals taken on an 18 month road tour by a group of Fisk College singers, “The Jubilee Singers” to help save the 5 year old college from financial ruin.
Go, Tell it in the Mountain is a work of “resilience, faith and hope” and is sung in churches around the world. It calls us to hear the good news of the birth of Jesus and to respond with shouts of joy!
Prayer: Gracious God, help us to always remember the voices of those once hidden whose faith and hope sustained them and gave the world a genre of music that still inspires us today. What a joy it is each Christmas season to shout it from the mountaintops, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born! Amen.
Ruth Boetsch