I'd like to build the world a home
And furnish it with loveGrow apple trees and honey beesAnd snow white turtle doves
I'd like to teach the world to singIn perfect harmonyI'd like to hold it in my armsAnd keep it company
I'd like to see the world for onceAll standing hand in handAnd hear them echo through the hillsFor peace through out the land(That's the song I hear)
I'd like to teach the world to singIn perfect harmony
I could have written a blog entry yesterday -- lots of ideas and time -- but the world has seemed so bleak as we limp toward the end to 2023 I just couldn't muster the energy. Would I feel any more motivated on the final day of the year? During the night I was awake and for no good reason I thought of the song, with lyrics above, that I knew as a television commercial to sell Coca Cola in my teen years.
The lyrics are even more sugary than the drink but somehow they surfaced for me in the wee hours. Maybe my gloom-worn brain was conjuring up a symbol of something better than this moment. In 1971 the Vietnam War was grinding on and a few months before students had been shot and killed at Kent State University during a protest. Those were dark days as well.
My hope for all of you is that there will be an abiding sense of God's love and harmony as we find our way into 2024. That may sound naive, yet the Christ story is astonishingly improbable and somehow surmounts pain and loss to be the source of joy and meaning.
I wondered if I would awaken and be unable to recall I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing. I think I would prefer this hymn which owes a lot to Revelation 21.
Happy New Year!
I see a new heaven, I see a new earth
as the old one will pass away,
where the fountain of life flows and without price goes
to all people who abide in the land.
1 There, there on the banks of a river bright and free,
yielding her fruit, firm in her root,
the Tree of Life will be. R
2 There, there where death dies and our lives are born again,
body and soul, struggling but whole
like flowers after the rain. R
3 There, there where the darkness brings visions from above.
There where the night, bearing new light,
reveals the promise of love. R
4 There, there where we work with the love of
healing hands.
Labour we must, true to our trust
to build a promised new land.
Voices United 713
VU 87 - I am the Light of the World - has been running through my head ... you people, come and follow me ; if only...
ReplyDeleteWell great, David, now I've got that song in my head. I remember that commercial and song as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, with all the despair in the world, it's difficult to find things to feel happy about. However, the Leafs lost last night, and that does help - even if the Habs and Steelers are hopeless.
In addition to my perverse pleasure in watching the Leafs lose, I've been donating monthly to a couple of wildlife rescues. That makes me feel good too.
I've realized I do follow the news too closely, so I'm going to get back to practicing my cello daily and working on a new language. Those should be good distractions. I'll take the head-in-the-sand approach to 2024.
Happy New Year everyone!
That's a good hymn for Epiphany as well Judy.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome for the ear worm, Roger. It sounds as though you have healthy goals for 2024, other than the perverse obsession with the Leafs. You might add getting together with your former pastor for a cup of coffee and a chat.