This week I adapted the old hymn It Is Well With My Soul and created two new verses to honour the journey that Mark, Cathy and Claire Lillico-Thompson have walked these past few years. It was a privilege to share in the singing of this old hymn at the service of Thanksgiving for Cathy on Friday. Mark said that he has come to understand the hymn's meaning is about having the courage to celebrate each moment we have here on earth - to be brave enough to embrace our humanity in the face of grief and loss.
This can be difficult sometimes. When adversity hits or we watch man’s cruel violation of others or the planet, it’s hard not to ask, “For what reason should we celebrate humanity?” or “How can it be well with my soul?”
Did you know the word humanity comes from the latin humanitas, meaning “human nature, kindness”? It’s rather ironic, when you think about the causes of war and injustice, that “humanity” is also the term for human beings collectively. Yet how profound that somehow embedded in mankind’s very name is its ultimate calling to love.
This is what God calls us to; to love life, to honour life, to be kind. Here, now – in this place, on this earth. Some say to truly honour this calling we must be about the work of creating conditions where all beings on this planet can live and thrive in every moment. Jurgen Moltmann in his book The Spirit of Hope, Theology for a World in Peril says it’s about considering what is needed to create “a world that is worthy of love.” The radical and transformative mission of God in Christ that continues to this day is the call to embrace a love of life that overcomes the destructive forces in the world. As Moltmann goes on “Consciously lived life is a beloved life that endures the contradictions of death and find the courage to live through its dangers.”
Imagine your life worthy of love. What does that look like, feel like, sound like? Then move outward and ask “Am I in the process of imagining a world that is worthy of love?” What does that look like, feel like, sound like?
As president Steve Veazey said to world wide members of Community of Christ on June 12, 2022:
“Undertake compassionate and just actions to abolish poverty and end needless suffering. Pursue peace on and for the Earth. Let nothing separate you from this mission. It reveals divine intent for personal, societal, and environmental salvation; a fullness of gospel witness for creation’s restoration.
Our vison speaks of holistic salvation for persons, groups, and the entire creation. Salvation in all dimensions. God’s vision of restoration is much bigger than many imagine.”
It is well with my soul is a revolutionary statement to love life now as well as a declaration to commit to creating a world worthy of that love.
