Context: I recently watched the 2005 documentary, “California Dreamin’: The Songs of the Mamas & the Papas.”
When I was attending graduate school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (U.S.A.), there was a Lutheran church a few blocks away from Marquette University that housed “The Coffee House,” a venue for folk music and poetry readings, which, by the 1990s, had been operating continuously since the heyday of coffee houses: the 1960s (well before their reincarnation as Starbucks). I felt at home with the songs of peace and love, and the message that these qualities, along with humanity’s perseverance, could change the world.
Unfortunately, the realization of a humanly constructed utopia could never happen because we are dealing with human beings, who (if you embrace mainstream Christian theology, as I do) are inherently flawed by a sinful nature. The apostle Paul, in his many epistles—but his one to the Romans comes now to mind—calls this “sarx,” or our proclivity to sin, that is, if we are left to ourselves, we human beings have a default setting to turn away from God; thus, we need a Savior, Jesus, to save us from our own sinfulness.
Although one would likely assume that the doctrine of “original sin” is a total downer, it actually has the opposite effect, because those who realize their sinfulness, and along with it their inability to break free from that sinfulness on their own, are the ones who more fully appreciate the freedom gained through Christ. That is a core message of the Gospel, and yes, I believe it all. Which is fortunate, because I’m a pastor.
However, I still appreciate the optimism surrounding the belief in the possibility of changing the world for the better that the Flower Children of the ‘60s promoted. Many of them felt something that is indeed true, that we human beings are capable of making the world better, if not in a perfect way all over the world, then at least in a small way in the space around us. This is “agape” love, doing unto others as you would want them to do to you, by serving others, and caring for the sick, the hungry, the “other,” and the immigrant. I believe that this desire for a better world is embedded in us by a God who puts paradise in our minds, while knowing that we will fail to bring it about in the here and now.
Nevertheless, we must not give up trying to make the world around us a better place. We must not stop believing that love and kindness and service to others are worthwhile. Those are messages that I see when I open a Bible, where even the “law” leads us to love which leads us to the desire to help others and to make the world a better place.
This may sound strange, and I hope not blasphemous, but when I hear the music of The Mamas & the Papas, and the Seekers, and so many other folk-inspired bands, I always feel more optimistic about the future. It is the same feeling I get when I listen to the musical Camelot with its exhortation, “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment known as Camelot!”
I think when Christians, the humble and helpful kind, talk about “walking with the Lord,” they are in part describing the Holy Spirit’s presence within them, guiding and encouraging them to not only love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, but also to love their neighbors as themselves and work towards making the world a better place.
And finally, one last Flower Power remembrance: my favorite song growing up was “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” (especially the hilltop Coke commercial version). It still has the power to bring a smile to my face and hope to my soul😊.
Christian Overtones 