Let it be

Midweek Musings

The Rev. Katherine A. Schofield

“There are places I’ll remember all my life, though some have changed.

“Some forever, not for better; Some have gone and some remain …” We spent that summer at the creek. I was the oldest at eleven, Charles was ten and Ollie was nine. You’re never too old to play in the creek, by the way. We spent our summer days building dams, riding our bikes to the store for candy, and burying each other in the sand at the beach. Our parents understood that summer vacation extended to church. and so most Sunday mornings we were out at the creek. But our Choir Director learned that Charles was given a drumset for his birthday (a choice his parents quickly regretted). and he knew I loved to sing, but had nearly aged-out of Junior Choir. So he planted the idea. “I hear you’re forming a band,” he said. and now we were forming a band. “Will you play at church?” he asked and he presented us with the music for “In My Life” by the Beatles. We spent the next few weeks practicing every day — but eventually the creek called us back. We never did “perform” as a band, but the words to that song — words we were still too young to fully appreciate — became our anthem that summer. My friends are at peace now. Ollie lost his battle with opiods and Charles with depression. “I know I often stop and think about them…” and I trust that they are held close in the arms of a God who is love.

Last week our church co-sponsored Music in Masconomo Park (organized by Manchester Parks and Rec), which featured 4EverFab — an incredible Beatles cover band. This got me thinking a bit about the spiritual foundation of so much of the Beatles wonderful music. Certainly much has been made of the topic of the Beatles and religion (see countless works including “Speaking Words of Wisdom: The Beatles and Religion,” by Michael McGowan (ed)). Though each of the Beatles had a distinctly individual spiritual journey, their music invites us, time and again, to revisit the themes of love, hope, and community.

The song “Let It Be,” written by Paul McCartney, carries a deep spiritual message that resonates with many listeners. Like a sung version of the Serenity Prayer, the central message of the song is about accepting things as they are and not resisting the natural flow of life. The lyrics speak of finding both comfort and wisdom in times of trouble — here through the visit of Mother Mary (or the Divine Feminine). The repeated refrain urges us to let go of attachments, worries, and anxieties, that we might find an inner peace and a connection with something greater than ourselves.

While the Beatles’ belief in love, hope, and interconnection acts as the central touchstone in their philosophy — see “We Can Work It Out” and “All You Need Is Love” as prime examples — they never shied away from providing a critique of what they saw as the institutional failures of organized religion. Two clear examples are “Eleanor Rigby” and “Lady Madonna” — songs authored primarily by Paul McCartney in which the Beatles question religion’s capacity for carrying out its stated mission in a contemporary world beset by self-interest, selfishness, and groupthink. I consider “Eleanor Rigby” my “bad day anthem” when I wonder: “am I writing the words to a sermon that no one will hear?” and on a deeper level, when I wonder about “all the lonely people” in our community, who wait by the window hoping for some connection, for someone to notice them. As with “Eleanor Rigby,” “Lady Madonna” portrays a world in which, time and time again, society turns a blind eye to those who are suffering.