Hope in your heart
Sometimes we need stories more than food to stay alive. And sometimes those stories are in the revitalizing form of music. As I write this, I’m listening—and yes, singing along—to a song that gives me hope.
“When you walk through a storm
Keep your chin up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet, silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,
And you’ll never walk alone!
You’ll never walk alone.”
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” was originally composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1945. And the version I’m listening to is from Gerry and the Pacemakers (1963).
And yes, it’s a sing along version. My Oh My.
Music is one of those gifts that nudges and replenishes your heart. Often when you least expect it, washing over you with grace and healing. Especially life-giving when life feels hard.
This was a hard week for me. There were personal hurdles. And the news, yes. And many conversations (phone and email) about our world (and our place in it), and how it is easy to feel, or to be, quite literally, lost. And lost is not just a GPS malfunction. Too many know what it means to be disconnected, diminished, demeaned. That’s it isn’t it? When we feel not just lost, but alone.
Did you see the “Canticle for Peace” celebration—a prayer meeting and concert for peace on Wednesday (July 29), where he listened to an interfaith choir of 164 children at the lush gardens of the Vatican’s echo-village in the town of Castel Gandolfo.
In the words of Pope Leo XIV, “Like a stream leading to its source, music leads us to God.”
“‘Music can lead us beyond the threshold of mystery. Just as someone following a stream eventually reaches its source, the beauty of song can guide us towards God, satisfying the thirst for meaning and happiness that the world itself cannot quench.’
Recalling the ‘choirs of angels and saints’ described in Scripture, the Pope observed that they do not ‘literally sing all the time.’ Rather, their perfect harmony springs from their shared contemplation of God—a harmony that earthly music, too, can help us approach.
Organized by the Laudato si’ Higher Education Center in partnership with the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, represented by the renowned tenor himself, the event forms part of the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi.
The Pope described the gathering as an occasion of ‘joy,’ accompanied by Andrea Bocelli and the ABF Voices choir, made up of 164 children and young people from the Holy Land, Uganda and Italy. United by their love of music, many of them also share lives marked by war, poverty and suffering.
Pope Leo noted that their ‘beautiful singing,’ together with the multilingual prayer offered at the end of the gathering, showed how music can unite different voices into a single harmony, where each person makes a unique contribution to the whole.
In this way, the choir becomes a symbol of harmony and cooperation.
Reflecting on the heavenly ‘choirs’ described in Scripture, the Pope said that their unity comes from finding in God ‘the fullness of happiness.’
He continued, ‘As you sang, did you notice how music drew all of us into a new experience—something greater than anything any one of us could have created alone? That is the experience of beauty. It opens up a new horizon and awakens within us the desire to move towards it.’”
(With gratitude to Edoardo Giribaldi, and the Vatican News)
And in an interview after the event, with NBC, a young woman from Israel—a 14-year-old member of the choir said this about the make-up of the choir from different countries, “We can’t find peace in our country. There’s war. Children are scared and they are dying… Teamwork is so important. If we worked on this project individually, we wouldn’t have been here today.”
Thank you. That’ll preach.
And I can hear Mr. Rogers’ voice, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”
I’m a big Ted Lasso fan. In the episode, “So Long, Farewell”, Richmond loses the final game of the season to heated rival West Ham, which meant also losing the Premier League title. In other words, a very big loss. And it hurts.
The team is in the locker room, downhearted.
And Ted talks to his team. “Yeah. Hey. Y’all played a heck of a game out there. We may not have won, but y’all definitely succeeded. I mean, you gave the champs 90 minutes of hell.
Zoreaux, where you at? That dude had more saves than a Baptist preacher. Give it up for Zoreaux. Yeah. That’s right.
What about Roy? Roy chased down his grandson. (Players chuckling) Stopped him from getting an easy one.
Now, look, this is a sad moment right here. For all of us. And there ain’t nothing I can say, standing in front of you right now, that can take that away.
But please do me this favor, will you?
Lift your heads up and look around this locker room. Yeah?
Look at everybody else in here. And I want you to be grateful that you’re going through this sad moment with all these other folks. Because I promise you, there is something worse out there than being sad, and that is being alone and being sad. Ain’t nobody in this room alone.”
Two invitations this week.
One, the reminder that we never walk alone.
“When you walk through a storm
Keep your chin up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark…
You’ll never walk alone.”
And two, the invitation to be a helper. The Talmud reminds us, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
Welcome to August. Do we count down summer days? Or the days to school beginning—for our kids and grandkids?
Savor the days.
And an update about Sabbath Moment. Some have connected with it on Facebook, but I will be taking a sabbatical from social media. Please know that Sabbath Moment is available through email, and here on my website. Please share it with friends.
Quote for our week… “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” Maya Angelou
(Footnote “You’ll Never Walk Alone” © 1945, Copyright Renewed, Williamson Music Company (ASCAP) c/o Concord Music Publishing.)
Today’s Photo Credit: “Hi Terry, I follow this flower gardener from Michigan who not only has great gardening info and tips but wonderful life advice (and she tucks in her faith so gently). This particular email from yesterday struck me as something you might be interested in, especially after I read your Sabbath moment message just now about the young man in a hurry.
‘Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.’ (Dallas Willard)
The young man in your story, stopped hurrying, started pausing more, and his life changed. I continue to learn this lesson and reflect on the mistakes and messes I’ve made in the past…usually while hurrying. I’m also attaching an image of beauty I was fortunate to capture recently… Sunrise at Emerald Bay Lake Tahoe. Blessings always!” Madeleine Gallagher
POEM AND PRAYER
Healer of the Nations,
from the noise of war
and the drumbeat of vengeance,
give us undiminished determination
to wage peace.
Out of brokenness, violence, and destruction
let us plant seeds of hope.
Out of chaos, confusion, and hatred,
build bridges of love.
Out of distrust, disunity, and distance,
walk together in harmony.
Heal our divisions and make us whole.
Amen.
Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson
Music for the Soul…
New–
You’ll Never Walk Alone — Gerry and The Pacemakers
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