Reformátusok Lapja, 1972 (72. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)
1972-04-01 / 4. szám
4 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA AFFIRMATION OF JOY! MESSAGE: WORLD DAY OF PRAYER Friday, March 3, 1972 St. James A.M.E. Church Perth Amboy, New Jersey On this World Day of Prayer, our message today is based on the theme: AFFIRMATION OF JOY! First, let us meditate for a moment on the verses just sung from the “Hymn to Joy” — particularly on the following lines: . . Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day. . .. Mortals, join the happy chorus ... Victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music leads us Sunward In the triumph song of life.”1 With these simple notes and words, let each and every one of us attempt to experience an overall impact toward the sensing of beauteous joy — a joy to come, not from an easy way of life, but from hard knocks, troubles, challenges — maybe even despair, anguish, and suffering, for day-to-day striving or suffering, ‘though we don’t wish nor hope for it, actually may in reality be the very thing, unbeknownst to us, that keeps us going — little by little, inch by inch, step by step — ’til we gain momentum and stride forward with confidence, strength, bearing, respect and pride, thereby helping not only ourselves but others as well, through direct or indirect support, by word, deed and example. Perhaps, as an illustration at this point, we might reflect on portions from the life story of the composer of that beautiful hymn we all had just participated in, for Ludwig van Beethoven himself had experienced many of life’s struggle, hardship, pain, and difficulties. Beethoven was born in 1770 — that is about 200 years ago — being the second in a family of seven children. When he was only fourteen years of age, his mother died, and the large family became disorganized and disheartened because of the father’s disorderly habit of overimbibing. At nineteen, Ludwig took over as legal head of the family, thus assuming the burden of responsibility on his young shoulders toward caring for and keeping the members all together. His extraordinary talent in music was already evident since the time he was about six years of age, but the facts of reality were that his entire life was continually mixed with both the good and the bad — good luck, bad luck/good fortune, misfortune. The man’s life history contained anguish as well as exultaion; as difficult and trying as Life was to him (and vice versa, as he was at times to others in his life), Beethoven was hailed by society at large as one of the great individuals of all time. However, one of the worst afflictions that could possibly come to a person of Beethoven’s capabilities was that of his incipient and incurable deafness, which began when he was about twenty-eight years of age. Thereafter, he became more and more “irascible, . difficult, antisocial” — but his musical works, even more magnificent than ever before! It was said of him that “the resulting shock apparently” was “directly related to the increased power, even ferocity, of his compositions of the time.” Bv 1815, at appoximately forty-five, he was totally deaf, and when necessary to carry on a conversation, he had to resort to pencil and paper. By now, he was beset again by money problems as well. One of the important points of interest to us, though, which emphasizes the linking-up of suffering and joy, is that moment in Beethoven’s life at about fifty-four years of age, having been stone deaf for years by now and about three years before he was to die, when he composed the music for “Ode to joy”, which is included at the end of his masterwork known as the Ninth Symphony. Now, if we could only imagine ourselves in that specific moment, back in time and space, in an attempt to relive the experiencing of this magnificent piece, and how well its tremendous impact was received by the audience when the first performance was conducted in 1824, then we might very well feel a sense of empathy and “one-ness” with all the individuals and the whole totality of that occasion: The audience had broken into frantic applause, but of which “the deaf Beethoven was unaware until someone turned him around,” face-forward, “to see the demonstration”2 of the thunderous applause and overwhelming feelings of response to his sublime creativity. Thus it is we see that superb achievement was somehow possible in spite of (and perhaps because of) suffering, anguish and torment — combining the physical, mental and spiritual aspects affected when Beethoven was robbed of one of the most precious things he possessed, proving in the end that he could even do without that specific quality, if such was to be his peculiar fate. As a result, he gave of himself a far greater gift to the world of other listeners, who could hear outwardly that which he already had “heard” inwardly, as though the setting down of musical notes were symbols of the outpourings from his heart and soul! The one quality of his make-up — that of the sense of hearing — which you and I would presume so vitally necessary as to consider nearly impossible to do without, was exactly that important facet to his nature which was taken from him — tantalizingly bit by bit, decibel by decibel, day by day; but eventually, he had to force himself to acknowledge it as a loss he’d have to make up for, do without, rise above, and far surpass. Thus, his trying handicaps were not at all succumbed to but, rather were faced up to as challenges, and in the end, astounded the world at what constructive creativity could be accomplished if there is but will, desire and determination put forth whenever losses are to be
