It would be a hard heart, indeed, that is not suffering these days. This would be a heart hidden from the world and the immense suffering in it. Perhaps, in the pursuit of that elusive thing we call happiness, such a heart is given temporary reprieve. But it never lasts and the next defeat of whatever stripe is waiting just around the corner. Dark? Yes. But not the whole story by any means.

We cannot be surprised when terrible things happen. Shocked, of course. But, not really surprised if we’ve been paying attention to our species from time immemorial. We thirst and cry for justice and peace only to be demoralized when they prove fleeting. We search for answers, for antidotes to the things that seem so dreadfully inconsistent with the values we hold dear. We become very good at being angry or contemptuous or, perhaps, insular or judgmental. We wonder why it has to be so hard. Can’t humanity just improve? It seems such a reasonable request.

We look around and it’s hard to deny that, in comparative fashion, global humanity is improving materially. Relative poverty is decreasing, although it has a long way to go. Opportunities for material gain are on the rise as is life expectancy in many societies. Coupled with this material improvement is the revolution in technology and information transfer, allowing people to be connected, at least virtually, like never before.

But, to be honest, WE aren’t changing all that much. For every bright Star Trek prophesy, there are multiple ones of dark dystopia, calling out a very disturbing truth of what makes us tick. In all honesty, though, these inclinations seem frequently matched and even outdone by some remarkable reservoir of good that burst forth in the most trying of times.

So, we are in this seesaw life of ups and downs and I feel for the person who expects that to end.

Are there times when you feel crushed? Where the stomach is tight and seems to be producing chemicals that bleed anxiety into our body? Where heartache is really the heart aching? When joy is a thing too far out of reach to contemplate?

A friend and I occasionally ask one another, “What is the state of your soul?” It is to the seesaw state of our life that such a question is directed.

We sang a hymn this morning that is one of my favorites. A hymn is a prayer put to music, frequently both voice and instrument. I lived most of my life without hymns. Truth be told, if you’d have asked me to describe them, I might have conjured up a visual from some movie or TV show set in the 19^th century American West. Small town. Small church with a steeple just off of the main street. Men dressed formally. Women in bonnets. All sitting pretty rigidly while singing something written in past centuries. Not anything relevant to my modern life or the things that clamored for my attention.

Oh, how things have changed. Diane and I don’t attend Sunday services at a church that is all that formal … we call the music contemporary which means there is no formal robed choir. No organ. Instead, we have guitars, drums, keyboards and the occasional strings and brass or woodwinds. We sing songs that are popular on Christian radio and songs of which we are unfamiliar. We also sing hymns, something I now love. For me, singing a hymn is expressing a deep truth and lifting that truth outwards and upwards. It can be both a plea and a praise. Singing a hymn is a point in our life where we connect our heads with our hearts and join with friends and strangers in one voice. For a moment or slightly longer, we set aside our regular desires and concerns and lay ourselves open before God. To be so joined is a blessing difficult to describe.

One of the four songs we sang this morning is a very familiar piece. I used to play it in my car on a relatively consistent basis driving to or from an especially challenging day at work, when strife was sometimes commonplace … when despite my best efforts, it was hard to set aside the pressures of the job, the demands for my attention, the anxieties about making a mistake when lives seemed to be at stake.

Now, I play it sometimes when I sit or hike alone, helping me to bring order from disorder. Meaning out of chaos. Truth from deceit.

It is entitled, Be Still My Soul and I especially like a lesser known version sung by David Acton. I will try to include both the lyrics and a link to the audio version if you’re interested.

You see, I do believe there is an antidote and it comes in many forms, with one common denominator. The antidote is not an exit strategy. It is not a means of escaping the suffering around us, nor of avoiding our responsibility to seek its ending wherever we see it. Instead, the antidote is a recalibration of everything we know, which may seem absurd to some and at least disorienting to many others. We can choose to avoid it for whatever reason or we can turn towards it and the only thing we need to do is ask.

Be Still My Soul

Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side.

Stand calm within, the storm of grief and pain.

Trust in thy God to order and provide.

Through every change, his faithful light remains.

Be still my soul, the restful peace within.

Through trying times, leads to a joyful end.

 

Be still my soul, the wind and waves shall know,

The voice who rules them when he dwelt below.

Torment and doubt have slipped into the past.

All dark and mysteries shall shine at last.

His burning sun shall melt the ice of fear.

Lift up your heart, his soothing voice to hear.

 

Be still my soul, when light you cannot see.

And trembling skies speak to the fear in thee.

The face of God illuminates the night.

Unending peace and trusting perfect light.

Be still my soul, when tears fall from above.

You are divine, eternally in love.