Following is what I believe to be one of the most poignant tributes to loneliness and isolation ever to be chronicled in a popular song. The song only makes an observation. It makes no conclusions except for the tragic: “No one was saved,” at the end. “Look…” it tells us, and in looking, we are asked to be more conscious of what is going on inside of people — not just what is on the surface. On the surface are Eleanor Rigby’s face, and the clerical collar of Father McKenzie’s position in the church. Behind the scenes are the all-too-common facelessness and futility that accompany so many in life.

Eleanor Rigby
John Lennon, Paul McCartney

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
 
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
 
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
 
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near.
Look at him working.
Darning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there
What does he care?
 
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
 
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
 
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”  (1 Samuel 16:7)

You could say that this song gives us a God’s-eye view of a couple people, because it looks deeper than outward appearances. But we aren’t God, so what does this have to do with us?

1) We can be aware of the fact that what is on the surface of the people we are with today tells only a small part of the story.

2) We can get close enough to someone to care about what’s inside. This usually begins by being daring enough to reveal what is inside us — our own fears and insecurities and loneliness. It always works this way. If one person has the courage to take her face off, others will follow. Love provides the ability to do this.

In this tragic story, it is a loving environment of acceptance and openness that is missing. Both of these people could have been saved had someone been willing to be open with them.

_____________________________________

Everyone who is tired of Dorothy’s clicking shoes raise your hand. Ha! My hand went up faster than yours and I know the membership committee’s hands were up before mine!

Since we know Dorothy got home, what do the rest of us care if the Catch gets home? Now maybe only my hand and those of the membership committee are presently raised. Why ours and not yours?

Maybe it is because the membership committee and I have an inside view on what it takes to run this thing called the Catch, and while I believe the committee has done an excellent job in communicating their commitment, maybe it is my error in not letting you in on the urgency. Since I prefer to keep a distance from the management of the Catch’s services and the cost of doing business, I sincerely believe the blame falls on me.  (Sure wish I could put the blame on Marti for this one. Where is she when I need her?)

What does a membership with the Catch get you? Not far, and certainly not fair, compared to those who enjoy the Catch and its services without contributing.

Better to think in terms of what you are giving when becoming a member:
You are making real faith to become human by removing barriers to believing – articulating what is at the heart of a matter, and initiating action that impacts eternity in the marketplace in the midst of a dynamically changing world.

You are creating a space where…
   Questioners can question, doubters can doubt and believers can believe;
   Where those who struggle with forbidden issues can get personal help, and
   Where barriers to love can be overcome.

You are keeping alive what would not exist were you not giving. It’s a lot of you giving consistently over time that will keep the Catch alive. So the real question is not what you would be willing to pay to receive the Catch, but what you would be willing to give a month for others to receive it.

Dorothy’s clicking shoes have been a fun way to get at this, but in the fun we may have sent the wrong message that this is a game, or that nothing is urgent. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have a board that Is forcing us to be financially viable, and a committee that wants us to succeed.

So heck with what any of us think about the shoes… they’re just a click – a click that can bring hope to lots of lonely people.