Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reflection: We’ll Build a Land

Hershey Julien
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Palo Alto, CA

Barbara Zanotti wrote this hymn in the 20th century by adapting words from Isaiah and Amos. She is a peace activist now living in Maine. The tune, “Creation of Peace”, was written by Carolyn McDade (b. 1935), a feminist activist and songwriter, who attends the UU Community Church of Boston. Her tune was arranged by Betsy Jo Angebranndt (b. 1931).

“We’ll build a land” is one of my favorite hymns for a number of reasons. It’s not in the Presbyterian book out of which I sang for the first part of my life, and one of the blessings of coming to the Unitarian Universalist hymnal was to find this hymn and learn it.

The hymn calls us to action. It is a human responsibility to make the whole world abound in freedom, justice, peace and rejoicing. The hope of some that there is a god who will someday establish justice on earth is a delusion. Jesus was not an apocalyptic prophet, foretelling a time when God will set the world right. Rather, he taught a way of life leading to righteousness. That way of life became a central theme of the preaching of Martin Luther King, Jr. The words of the final lines of the hymn “Let justice roll down like waters and mercy like an everflowing stream” are carved on Martin Luther King’s tombstone.

The words of the hymn are adapted from passages in the Hebrew scriptures Isaiah and Amos. I was reared in a home with family Bible reading, and the Bible’s noble passages have always inspired me. Furthermore, Jews among us and among our visitors will be gratified that we draw inspiration from their tradition, thus making our services ecumenical.

The tune, “Creation of Peace”, by Carolyn McDade, is easy to sing; it’s lilting and uplifting. That’s important, because as the English poet John Dryden said, “Music hath charms to soothe to calm the troubled breast.” We hear expressed among our concerns, people who are grieving over their own suffering or that of a loved one. Consequently, it is important that our music be uplifting.

I conclude by telling a story about this hymn. Several years ago I was in an email group of people interested in the work of the Jesus Seminar. A woman in the group on a visit to Unitarian Universalist church heard this hymn and was so impressed by it that she asked whether someone in the group could give her the words of the hymn. I sent them to her by email. Let’s sing it!

 

Other Hymn Reflections:

Meanings in Our Music
We Laugh, We Cry
Spirit of Life
The Fire of Commitment
Raghupati
I’m On My Way