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Musical Jesus: Sounds of Liberation – Break Every Chain by Tasha Cobbs

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(Image courtesy of cathnewsusa.org)

So, hopefully this won’t be too confusing, but here at PJ, though we certainly welcome varying opinions and thoughts (peaceful discourse), the persuasion bends towards liberation theology and preaching Christ as a liberator and the true, definitive champion of the oppressed.  As a result, I decided it would be cool to have a series within a series (subseries) reflecting this! So, within the Musical Jesus post series, there will be a subseries I will call “Sounds of Liberation” – and in these posts, I will shine a light on songs of worship that illustrate a distinctly liberating message; songs that really hone in on the notion of Christ as liberator.

                To start things off in this series, I decided to select a song that was incredibly (and still) quite popular this past summer amongst black churches (especially Pentecostal or charismatic sects). In my own experience, during the alter call/call to discipleship portion of the service of my church, it became the anthem of sorts. Musically, the song features a grand sense of crescendo in energy – in the beginning, there’s a steady tempo and vocals, fostering a mood of expectancy and anticipation, all building up to a climax of celebration over the liberating power of Christ. What I love about this song is that it’s inspecific enough to apply to literally any kind of situation. The praise leader at my church would actually do a lot of ad-libbing with the lyrics of the song that were tailored to the sermon. I remember one particular Sunday where the pastor , at the end of his sermon had mentioned a teenage boy who shot himself in front of his own mother , reportedly because of his bouts and struggles with his own sense of self-worth and self-esteem. The pastor was then moved to pray for young people and the younger generation. As he was praying, the worship leader proceeded to sing this song and added phrases like “the chain of your self-esteem, the chain of your self-worth – it’s falling!”. It was then, that I realized the beauty of this song and why it is so popular. It recognizes that there are chains of many kinds – though one may not be bound by shackles of literal chains, there are many other chains that plague all of humanity really. As the worship leader continued singing, I was thought of the chain of unchecked ecological destruction – the chain of human disconnect with creation, the chain of destruction being wrought on innocent people (including many children and teens!) in the middle east by way of drones… I could go on!

                In short, this song is a passionate, compelling, emotional testament to the power of the God of resurrection to break through EVERY chain. It’s almost eschatological, all of creation moans to be free. I hope this song inspires you!

Harry

Like a Lotus: Born into the murky, muddy waters I was, l ived, I breathed In awe of starry veil above me and the verdant radiance around me I gazed, I glowed, I gasped Striken with gale winds I braced, I fell, I felt Like a dove He descendeth He is, He lives, He breathes Like a lotus summoned by the sun’s rays I opened, I blossomed, I live

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