Hope is the Thing that Sings

I know it has been a very very rough week. I have friends and relatives in Minneapolis and lived there myself for 15 years. And now across the country... My prayers are with you all. I hope that my confession below will not add to your load, but offer a glimmer of hope in words and song.

I heard this week that our church services, which have been virtual since mid-March, will continue to be virtual, at least for the next month or so. I can live with that. But then I heard that even when we come back to worship, we will not be singing. Why? Because of the possible spread of pathogens. Because when we sing, we breath deeply and project air from the bottom of our lungs, and that air can be filled with our germs.

I love singing. I've been in choir for many years. I don't really know how many, but probably around 25. It isn't that I'm a good singer, it's that singing is so good for me. I hear the harmonies, I challenge myself with the notes and rhythms, and I internalize the words. To quote St. Augustine:

I've listened to music all during the quarantine, but it does not fill the need to sing in choir. Reading and practicing music requires learning and a sense of beauty and challenge and brain twisting all at the same time. My words cannot fully do it justice. But in choir I hear the beauty. I am part of the beauty. And I love the beauty. And I love the sense of worshipful camaraderie there also. Of all the activities I take part in, choir is the most fulfilling.

So in the midst of the everything else, I think this moment in time, more than many others, needs singing. Maybe others feel as I do. Maybe we can find a way to make this work. Certainly I don't want to spread disease, but I do want singing. There was an attempt early on to make a virtual choir, but it was dropped and quite frankly I was glad. It would not work for me. I need to be with strong voices that buoy me up. Strong voices encourage me, in the truest sense of the word, and I will work toward making that happen.

All this is a very roundabout way of saying that I have hope, and music is part of the reason that I do. The words of the song below express my feelings quite well. This hymn was written by Robert Lowry in 1869.  Here are the original words:

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth's lamentation,

I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Thro' all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul—

How can I keep from singing?

What tho' my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;

What tho' the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that refuge clinging;

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;

I see the blue above it;

And day by day this pathway smooths,

Since first I learned to love it,

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing;

All things are mine since I am his—

How can I keep from singing?

Here's a virtual choir from NYC singing it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLPP3XmYxXg

The words have been modified by many people and for various reasons, so you can find many versions here and there. I first learned it from a Pete Seeger recording years ago. I especially love the first two verses...  perfect for today. 

My life flows on in endless song
Above Earth's lamentation
I hear the real, though far off hymn
That hails the new creation
Above the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It sounds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?

What though the tempest loudly roars
I hear the truth, it liveth
What though the darkness round me close
Songs in the night it giveth
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that rock I'm clinging
Since love is lord of Heaven and Earth
How can I keep from singing?

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear
And hear their death-knell ringing
When friends rejoice both far and near
How can I keep from singing?
In prison cell and dungeon vile
Our thoughts to them are winging
When friends by shame are undefiled
How can I keep from singing?

My thanks to you for joining me today, and thanks to Ruth Hersey for hosting. Click the link below to read her wonderful blog about hope, and God coming into deep waters.