Before the Final Chord--March 23, 2020

Before the Final Chord--March 23, 2020

"Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me." [Philippians 4:11-13]

Can I say something, as a nearly lifelong Beatles fan?  You need the build-up before the final chord. Otherwise, you're just pounding pianos.

One of the Fab Four's grandest musical achievements was the sweeping and complicated song, "A Day in the Life," off of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  After a curious mashup of verses and styles, there is a final crescendo that actually made use of a huge string orchestra, increasing their pitch and their volume in an eerie frenzy.  And then, a final, single major chord, which, as the story goes, was played on four pianos and a harmonium all at once, with all of them slamming their fingers down on the keys at the same time with maximum force.  It's an amazing moment of music to hear, and it's probably the most iconic E-major chord in pop music.  If you can't hear it in your head right now, go ahead and find it--Google it, or find it on the internet, or on your copy of Sgt. Pepper if you are lucky enough to have it. 

Go ahead and listen again--I'll wait.

But the last chord doesn't really "make sense" without the energy that builds to get there.  Without the crescendo of the strings, without the urgency of their rising notes, it's just a chord that a beginning piano student knows, with just three different notes.  Without all that comes before, an E-major chord doesn't "do" anything, and it hardly feels like it resolves any tension.

But, of course, the Beatles and their fantastic producer George Martin knew that, and they let the musical friction build before they let it release.  And because of that, the E-major chord feels somehow "earned," somehow like it means something that it wouldn't have if it were just played by itself.

I want to suggest that this is the right frame of mind for hearing the famous (but often misunderstood and misquoted) line of Paul from here in his letter to the Philippians (which is, in a sense, the Sgt. Pepper of Paul's letters--inventive, original, and iconic). Lots of folks know Philippians 4:13--"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."  It's the kind of verse that gets put on coffee mugs and sweatshirts, gets embroidered on decorative pillows and engraved on necklaces.  And it has been mis-understood to the point of being taken as a virtual promise of superpowers to Christians.  I've heard folks use "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" to justify unwavering certainty that they would for sure get the promotion, or that their team would win the championship, or that they would win the nomination, or that they wouldn't get sick.  Never mind that Paul when he wrote these words wasn't trying to get a job, win an election, score a touchdown, or ignore good medical wisdom.  He was talking about how the living Christ kept giving him the will, the peace, and the love to keep going in life, even when he seemed to be at his wits' end.

This is why the Beatles are so helpful here.  Just like the last chord of "A Day in the Life" doesn't mean anything unless you hear it as the conclusion of the rising tension that came before, Paul's assurance about doing "all things" is meant to be heard as the concluding thought that follows from Paul having lived through hunger and abundance, in times of want and of plenty. And through all of those times, Paul says he has learned the "secret" to getting through them--he can be content, even when the external circumstances are rotten, because Christ keeps bringing him to life and sustaining him. It's not about superpowers or getting the job you wanted--it's about how you keep on keeping on in days when it would otherwise be hard to work up the nerve to put your feet on the floor in the morning.

This, to be honest, is the real need for us most of the time.  Not imagining that faith is a blank check we get to write to make Jesus pay for our wildest dreams and most fanciful wishes, but being given life again at the start of each day enough to face another 24 hours of worry and trouble, of uncertainty and chaos... and to do it with contentment.  That's what Paul is really getting at here.  The living Christ keeps sustaining Paul so that he can get through the difficult times and the easy times, so that, as Rudyard Kipling's poem so beautifully put it, he "could meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same."  The times change, the circumstances keep moving underneath his feet, but the Christ who gives him life and strength is the constant.  That's the way the E-major chord is meant to be heard: as the culmination of all the tension and turmoil that came before.

I'm tired, frankly, of Respectable Religious people misusing that verse, whether they realize they are doing it or not.  I'm tired of the way folks make outlandish claims about how God guarantees them success because they "can do all things," or how folks suggest that if you don't get your dreams, or do get sick, or can't achieve your goal, then you must not really be relying on Christ.  It's all a bunch of garbage. It's bad musicology, and it's bad theology:  the final chord only means what it is supposed to mean as the release of the building tension.  And Paul's message for us is not that we'll get whatever we want so long as we invoke Jesus, but rather than Jesus will keep bringing us to life even when Jesus is all that we've got.

At the start of a new week while the world we live in feels like it is slipping toward chaos in so many ways, sometimes we wonder where we'll get the will, the peace of mind, or the love to keep going without coming unglued.  We worry if there will be enough toilet paper to get through the week, or enough money to pay the next round of bills.  We worry if our businesses, churches, and organizations will still be around to turn the lights back on after having to shutter for who-knows-how-long.  And it's OK to wonder and question and name those concerns.  Paul could name the challenges he had faced, too.  But know this: what kept him going when the external circumstances were overwhelming was the same One who keeps bringing us to life, too.

That is enough for us.  That is our source of contentment. That is our peace. That is the meaning of the E-major chord.

Lord Jesus, keep bringing us to life, just to get through the days when we don't think we have it in us on our own.  And let that be enough.