Song - Summertime from Porky and Bess (Spotify – Gershwin: Porgy and Bess)
It’s summertime and for many of us the living is easy. We tap our toes at Gershwin’s music and our minds fall into a fuzzy dream world of long, lazy summer’s days. For many of us summer is a time when normal activities stop, when we pack our bags and head off on holiday or retreat. It’s a time to slow down and sink into stillness, to lie in the grass and soak up the hot sun, to meander through wild meadows enjoying the array of colours and textures. Summertime here at the Bield is all these things – and we know how fortunate we are.
“Summertime and the livin’ is easy” But the irony of this dreamy song is that it tells of living that is anything but easy - the story of Porgy, a disabled black man living in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina. And it deals with realities that are far from easy – Porgy’s attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and Sportin' Life, the drug dealer.
It’s summertime and the living is easy - at least for many of us – not perfect, but easy. Yet for others, summertime brings no relief from struggle, pain, depression, illness, violence, injustice and oppression. Porgy and Bess’ lives are representative of millions in our world.
So, enjoy this summertime and relish the gifts and wonder it has to offer. It’s a beautiful time of year! But remember also those for whom the living is not easy. Pray for them and, if you can, act for the justice and wholeness we all yearn for.
Valerie