I don’t know if I can think of the best piece of advice that I’ve ever received. I can certainly think of something that The Beatles sang – a song that I became familiar with when someone lent me the “Blue” album back in 1975, when I was 12, going on 13. And I regularly heard it when I bought the Let it Be album and on many other occassions over the years.
I initially thought that it was about the Blessed Virgin Mary, but it was about Paul McCartney’s own mother, Mary, who passed away when he was a teenager.
Now that my own parents have passed away, I can understand the song even more. I don’t think that the song is about being utterly passive about our difficulties. But when I think about my parents, even without focusing on things that they spoke, it has a calming affect. They were always there for me. And it still feels so. I can let go, let it be, it’ll be OK.
The New Testament doesn’t put the Blessed Virgin Mary into the exalted position that the Roman Catholic church does. The last we hear of her, she’s just one of the gang, meeting together after Jesus ascended into heaven. Undoubtedly, people did have a lot of respect for her. But the New Testament focus is on God – Father, Son, and Spirit. I think of what Jesus said about being anxious in the sermon on the mount:
Matthew 6:26-27
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
I was initially attracted to this passage as a young teen. It sounded like something you’d hear in a hippy community – turn on, tune in, drop out 😀. But the New Testament does emphasize being active and doing everything to the best of out ability. Yet, Jesus warns against the sort of useless worry and rumination that I’m certainly prone to.
When we look at the birds of the air – they do work hard to find food. But animals are probably better at focusing on the here and now. We’re different, but deep down, we need to remind ourselves that when we trust in God, it’s going to be OK. Behind it all, He will provide for us.
Nice as the “Let it Be” song is, the calming affect is generated in Paul McCartney’s own mind. Can his mother really do anything for him after she has passed away? Probably not, but God certainly can. And perhaps his mother prayed for him and her prayers continue to be answered.
Even in the Old Testament, we see similar passages that encourage us to depend on God. Here’s one of my favourites. I remember seeing it on a U2 album cover back in 1983:
Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
As with all such verses, we shouldn’t think in terms of instant, magical solutions. In this world, we will have trouble – Jesus promised that too. But if we let things be and wait upon the Lord, we are more likely to feel renewed and energized.
Just yesterday, the following video popped up on ,y YouTube feed. 50 years after first hearing Let it Be, I still need to be reminded to wait upon the Lord 😀. I’m always happy to take advice from younger people. And this is good advice, from a person who isn’t shy about speaking of her own challenges.
And here are a couple of songs about waiting on the Lord:
Hibernia Gospel 