Mamma Mia

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Gee, I wish hearing the Voice for God were easy. However, if you are listening just a little bit, you can hear the voice that calls us toward our real home in heaven, just about anywhere. It could be my voice – or yours – or the music we listen to. If we listen carefully inside ourselves or even apparently outside of ourselves, in the world, we can hear the guidance that we need.

Take the recent movie “Mamma Mia”. It lights up my life in a number of ways.

1. First of all, fun danceable music from one of my favorite groups.
2. There are songs that touch universal themes, such as: seeking love, finding love, uncertainty about the future, uncertainty about what future to choose, a desire to re-live the past and make different choices, making new, not necessarily popular choices, or just trying to who we are. Not everybody got that, at least yet.
3. It was also a spectacular marriage of three different formats into one: the original ABBA music, the musical, and a feature film. That was not easy and the music and video are very tightly and expertly crafted. The music comes from the ABBA Gold album, mostly, and an engaging story was found to bring it into ONE.
4. Using the actors to sing the songs is a stroke of genius in my estimation because it freshens the songs and gives them a feel of authenticity that is not possible with totally polished versions – something ABBA is famous for!
5. And last, but not least, I hear the voice for God calling me home:

(Excerpt from “I have a Dream”)

“I have a dream, a fantasy

To help me through reality.

And my destination makes it worth the while,

Pushing through the darkness still another mile.

I believe in angels,

Something good in everything I see.

I believe in angels.

When I know the time is right for me,

I’ll cross the stream - I have a dream.

I’ll cross the stream - I have a dream."

The voice reminds us that this world is a dream, a fantasy, that is to say, not permanent. I believe Reality, with the big R, is whatever is permanent. Our lives, our bodies are definitely temporary and they don’t last very long.

Abba reminds us that we are on the journey to heaven, a destination worth the while. Heaven exists right here, right now, inside of us, but we choose not to see it: we appear to be in darkness much of the time. Yes, there are moments of joy, times when we catch a glimpse of what is our birthright. But we also experience disappointment, anger, bitterness, sadness, and yes, regret:

(Excerpt from “When All Is Said And Done”:

“Here's to us, one more toast and then we'll pay the bill

Deep inside, both of us can feel the autumn chill

Birds of passage, you and me, we fly instinctively

When the summer's over and the dark clouds hide the sun

Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done.”

What I hear is the Voice reminding me that time is passing and when it’s all over, and we face ‘eternal darkness,’ we are not to blame. The Voice even says we are truly innocent because that is the way we were created. We can choose what we want to believe, what we want to see.

“It's been there in my dreams, this scene I see unfold.

True at last, flesh and blood, to cherish and to hold.

Careless fools will suffer, yes, I know and I confess

Once I lost my way when something good had just begun.

Lesson learned, it's history when all is said and done.”

I hear the Voice reminding us that we can make new choices, experience Love that never truly is lost. In the ‘end’ all of our mistakes are history and are truly “gone”! I have been careless and I have suffered. I, too, have lost my way from time to time. That is why I cherish the Voice that speaks inside of me to remind me that God is with me at all times, to learn the needed lesson.

“In our lives, we have walked some strange and lonely treks.

Slightly worn but dignified and not too old for sex,

Clear-headed and open-eyed with nothing left untried.

Standing calmly at the crossroads, no desire to run:

There’s no hurry any more when all is said and done.

Standing calmly at the crossroads, no desire to run:

There’s no hurry any more when all is said and done.”

When you think about it, isn’t this life truly strange? Have you ever felt lonely? I know I have tried just about everything I can think of… and yet I am not satisfied. The Voice reminds me that at every moment I am at the crossroad of choice: For God or For Being Separate from Him. I have run from the Voice for God before, preferring this world to heaven. I have truly preferred to be an independent, separate person. But I also felt empty. I have come to realize that I am who I am only when I am united with All That Is – not separate!

When the movie is said and done, I experienced much more than the surface story of young girl looking for her father. With the beautiful ocean scenes of Greece, the music touched my heart in such a way that tears of joy were all I was left with. I cannot say that I truly understand why, but only that I could hear the Voice For God in such a way that I was totally joyous and also homesick for what I have chosen against for so long.

I intend to make better choices.

Thank you, songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and thank you singers Pierce Brosnan, Meryl Streep, and Amanda Seyfried for the beautiful renditions. You are truly the Voice for God!