I know, this is supposed to be “The Uplift,” but there are times when the world seems to be teetering on the edge of hopelessness: innocents with the least to lose, lose the little they have; tyrants, who possess greater riches than they can ever spend, lust for more. Generations of neighbors unable to live in harmony, even when misery is their only alternative. Add to the pressure cooker, an environment that grows more severe and less habitable every day, with scarcer resources available to fewer people. Tragedy and misery are constants, but so are the antidotes: hope and service and love.
Consider Paul’s hope, which can be understood as “supernatural,” according to the word’s definition- “a manifestation of or event attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature.” I think that sums it up. Paul is imprisoned in a hole, chackled to a Roman guard 24 hours a day and under the sentence of death. Amid these dire circumstances, he writes this in Philippians 1: “Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that … what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance… whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Paul is rejoicing in prison because, in Christ, he has hope of something beyond his circumstances. About 2,000 years later, in the middle of the 20th century, after surviving four Nazi concentration camps, noted psychiatrist and author Victor Frankl writes: “Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Frankl observes that he, and others who survived the camps when so many did not, made it through by never losing hope.
If psychology teaches that changing our thoughts can change our world, God teaches that changing our world can change us. What we do with our time is a pretty good indication of what is important to us. Author Frederick Buechner puts it this way: “Where our feet take us, is who we are.” When our feet bring us into the service of others, we are alive in God. Service is a circle that is unbroken: it springs from faith and gives us hope, and it flows from hope and gives us faith. So, we offer what we can, according to our gifts. Dylan puts it this way in “Buckets of Rain”: “Life is sad, life is a bust, all you can do, is do what you must, you do what you must do and you do it well, I do it for you, honey, baby can’t you tell?” And just like Dylan, our calling gives our lives purpose. Our service defeats the darkness and calibrates our compass toward the Devine and into the light. We give back also in thanks for what Jesus promises to give us in John 14, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” And this, in Matthew 28: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
In his song “What Love Can Do,” Springsteen writes: “Darling I can't stop the rain or turn your black sky blue, well let me show you what love can do, let me show you what love can do. Here we bear the mark of Cain but let the light shine through, let me show you what love can do.” Like a mantra, Springsteen sings over and over: “Let me show you what love can do.” Well, I think Jesus does. The song pairing is, “Love Wins.” Until next time, stay safe, be brave and keep walking in the light.
Love Wins
I know your soul is sick
and you don’t know which way to turn
I see you’re out of tricks
with no more bridges left to burn
well, love wins, love wins, love wins, love wins
You say that you can’t live
in such an empty place
the things you can’t forgive
are written in your pretty face
well, love wins, love wins, love wins
come on and take my hand
with you I’ll make a stand
all down the line
together we can begin
I’ll say it again, oh love wins
And so, it’s true my friend
when it is all said and done
love wins in the end
you can ask anyone
love wins, love wins, love wins…
What Love Can Do