During shelter in place I wanted to do some blogging. The basic plan is to publish something every Tuesday and Thursday that will help us set our eyes and minds on Jesus. Tuesday will be…whatever I feel like. But every Thursday I’ll write something introducing you to a hymn I love. Since this is the first one it’s significantly longer than normal.
-Daniel G.
Balcony Songs
As of Thursday 3/26 the U.S. has overtaken China as the world leader in confirmed coronavirus cases according to the latest figures from John Hopkins University. We really don’t know what the coming weeks hold, but likely the virus will continue to spread and news reports will flash across our screens. Many predict the spread of the virus in the States will likely resemble that of Italy, which has by far had the most deaths in the world. If that’s the case, we could be in for some tough times as hospitals are packed with patients and medical workers struggle to give care to the sick.
Dan recently shared an Ed Stetzer and Daniel Yang article about their zoom interviews with pastors from the hard hit regions of Spain and Italy.[1] Overwhelmingly the spiritual leaders tell American Christians to get ready for hard times. It’s important that we mentally and spiritually prepare for things to get worse. How can we learn from the pattern of Italy? We can take social distancing seriously, equip church members to feed themselves spiritually, pray without ceasing, and care for those in our community.
But I think there’s another thing we can learn from Italy. One of the few positive new stories I’ve seen also came from Italy more than a week ago. Under strict quarantine to slow the spread of the virus, Italians started singing and playing instruments on their apartment balconies to keep up morale and maintain human connection. Someone somewhere wrote the headline: “Covid-19 can’t quarantine the human spirit.” A real news agency actually titled their youtube video, “Balcony sing-song for Rome residents trying to stave off coronavirus blues.” Cheesy headlines regardless, the story has taken on greater meaning and significance for many worldwide: We can beat this, we can get through. The virus isolates and breeds division and despair, but we’ll fight to hold on to what makes us human as we wait. We’ll even sing from balconies.
While music is no replacement for physical touch and meeting face to face, we can learn from their example. There’s something beautiful about their desire to bond through music when other avenues are gone. So what are some ways we can put this into practice? Listen to music. Play music. Sing together as you watch our livestream or as we zoom together for bible study.
Another way is to learn and sing old hymns. So every Thursday for the next few months I’ll be sharing a hymn I love. But more than that, I want to introduce you to the author behind the hymn. As we learn about the author’s life experience, it enriches our understanding of the song. As we witness the diverse faces of suffering and hardship these authors encountered, we can connect the words and melodies to our own struggles. As we hear how the faithful love of God granted them peace and joy in the midst of trials, we can sing with them as a way to meet that same trustworthy God. Let’s learn from Italy. Let’s sing balcony songs about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Do whatever you want with what I write, but I would suggest:
- Spend a few minutes praying to God and quieting your heart.
- Listen to the song one time (I’ll give a link to versions I enjoy),
- Read through the blurb about the author then listen to it again.
- Pass it on: if a song particularly resonates with you and helps you engage with God, share it with someone else and tell them why it’s been meaningful and which parts you like.
Here’s the first one.
Abide with Me
Author: Henry F. Lyte, 1793-1847
Composer: William H. Monk, 1823-1889
Versions: Sarah Groves
Audrey Assad (original melody)
https://youtu.be/84YASWe3_2Q
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide…
Henry F. Lyte was born in Scotland in 1793. For more than 20 years he pastored a poor church in the fishing town of Brixham in Devonshire, England where he had a reputation as a poet, musician, and minister. Most of his life he had serious health problems, particularly asthma and tuberculosis. By the fall of 1847 his health had deteriorated so much that he left his congregation to travel to the warmer climates of Italy. He never made it, though, dying in Nice, France.
He was said to have wrote “Abide with Me” shortly before preaching his last sermon in Brixham before his journey. The first line of the song comes from a passage in Luke 24:29. After Jesus’ resurrection, he appears to two disciples as they travel from Jerusalem to Emmaus, but they don’t recognize him. As they journey, he explains to them how all of Hebrew Scripture foretold the Christ who was Jesus of Nazareth. When they arrive at Emmaus, Jesus tells them he’s going to continue on even though the night was coming. The disciples, hearts burning after his illumination of Scripture, wanted to spend more time with this mysterious new friend. So they ask him to stay. Or in the NKJV: “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent” (Luke 24:29). And as Jesus broke bread, for the first time they recognized Him as their Lord and Savior and were filled with joy.
And thus the lines from the song, “Abide with me / fast falls the eventide.” Lyte’s health was failing. But while facing his body’s frailty and his looming death, he longed more than anything to experience the presence of Christ with Him. Dying in a foreign country, far from his beloved congregation, he experienced the triumph of his faith in his Savior. He dying words were “Peace, Joy.” His whole life he had waited to see Jesus face to face. And finally the wait was over.
Works Cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Francis_Lyte
101 Hymn Stories, Kenneth W. Osbeck
[1] https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2020/march/pastors-from-europe-tell-north-america-to-get-ready.html