The Theodicy of Beams of Heaven
Christian Worship
The hymn, Beams of Heaven, also known as Someday[1] written by Charles Albert Tindley, does not attempt to explain evil. It represents an anti-theodicy of Mystery to help people of God persevere in the face of evil and suffering, by helping them wait for, and hopefully anticipate, that promised day when Jesus returns. This essay first examines Tindley’s background, and the biblical references in the hymn. Next, the lyrics are analyzed for semantics of mystery, and lastly, a discussion of how this hymn, and others like it, can still be used to support Christ followers today.
A biography written by Charles A. Tindley’s youngest son. Professor E. T. Tindley tells the remarkable story of how his father, born into slavery on July 7, 1851, became the pastor of one of the most successful churches known to the world at that time. The thin thirty-six-page volume recounts numerous mysterious inclinations, miraculous provisions, and unexplained healings; albeit with grievous trials and tribulations. What God gave, evil tried to take away, but nothing could stop Charles A. Tindley from becoming the leader he believed God wanted him to be. [2] By the time Charles A. Tindley died on July 29, 1933, his church, Tindley Methodist Temple in Philadelphia, PA, had “TWELVE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED members, an assistant pastor, and forty-nine local preachers”[3].
Two scholars, C. Eric Lincoln, and Lawrence H. Mamiya, both African Americans, describe the social conditions Charles A. Tindley faced daily:
“Tindley wrote songs incorporating the black folk imagery which attempted to interpret the oppression African Americans faced as they settled in the cities of the North, an experience not essentially different from that which produced the spirituals. The Tindley hymns (which are congregational songs) admonish those who suffer the storms of life to stand fast in Christ. . .. They are also addressed to helping the oppressed to survive this world.”[4]
During his preaching tenure, from 1885 to 1933, Tindley wrote dozens of hymns to help the oppressed survive in this world. The hymn, Beams of Heaven, was written in 1905 while Tindley was pastoring at the East Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church that his growing congregation had just moved to in 1904.[5] The hymn is composed of four stanzas and one refrain has been published within 20 hymnals.[6]
Writers for the Hymnary suggest[7] that when Tindley writes, “Turn my midnights into days” (Stanza 1:4), he is referencing 1 John 1:5-7 that proclaims, “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” Also, when Tindley writes, “When in the darkness I would grope, Faith always sees a star of hope” (Stanza 1:5), he is referencing 2 Cor. 4: 8-10 that states, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” In both lines, Tindley is testifying that darkness is not an obstacle for God, and even the darkness, though it can be disheartening, cannot defeat those who trust in God.
Dr. Hawn of the United Methodist Church sees in the first stanza a comparison to the Exodus and when the Magi follow the star of Bethlehem.
“In stanza one, Tindley compares life to a “wilderness below” in which we “grope” in “darkness.” The biblical roots of this stanza can undoubtedly be found in the Exodus narrative that describes Israel’s flight from Egypt through the wilderness and into Canaan. Interestingly, the second half of the stanza switches to a New Testament image: A “star of hope” appears in the “darkness,” perhaps a connection with the Magi in Matthew 2. The refrain then clarifies who guides us through this wilderness. We may feel lost, but “if Jesus leads me, I shall get home someday.””[8]
Another obvious reference in, “Guide my feet in peaceful ways” (Stanza 1:3), is to Luke 1:79, “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” But the most significant references to the bible within the lyrics are the references to Revelation.
Revelation 21:23 states, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb,” which is what Tindley was depicting in “A day that never yields to night” (Stanza 2:6). And in Revelation 21:4, “he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away,” is what he may have imagined when writing “No mourning soul shall roam its plains” (Stanza 4:6).
And so, this is an eschatological hymn in which Tindley articulates the mystery of the coming eschaton. He writes “I do not know how long twill be, nor what the future holds for me” (Refrain: 1-2), for we do not know when Jesus will return to set up his kingdom and we especially do not know if it will happen in our lifetime. But, as the remaining lines declare, “But this I know, if Jesus leads me, I shall get home someday” (Refrain: 3-4), there is no mystery in how we shall persevere.
Each stanza of the hymn exhibits Jesus’ omniscient presence in each awe-inspiring turning from suffering to relief or relief to suffering. In stanza one, mysterious beams of heaven shine down into the wilderness guiding our feet and turning the dark of night into daylight. But even in the groping darkness, there is a point of light in the distance that provides hope for Jesus’ return.
Stanza two starts out with clear skies, bright and without tears that suddenly turn to clouds on the following day. Then we are reminded of the eschaton when there will be days that never end, and streets of glory to behold.
Constant battles with the enemy in stanza three make us feel like we are losing, but God, who wondrously rules from above, fights our battles until the someday peace that he promises is ours.
In stanza four, burdens, disappointments, troubles, and sorrows may abound but in the new Jerusalem that crowning joy of Christ, that gift for his bridegroom, shall have no mourning, only joy.
The eschatological hope expressed in this hymn and others like it may be what drew thousands to Tindley’s church in Philadelphia each week,[9] and his hymns are still sung in congregations today. Five of Tindley’s hymns are included in The United Methodist Hymnal (1989)[10], including Beams of Heaven.
How often it is currently sung, I cannot say, but during the twenty years I sang with Black Baptist choirs (1991-2011), the words of Charles Albert Tindley’s songs, such as Beams of Heaven and We’ll Understand it Better By and By, published the same year [11], transformed my understanding of the ascended Christ and maintained my hope in the presence of suffering, evil, and death. They increased my faith and created a thirst for God’s kingdom, and like Charles Albert Tindley, I eventually became the woman that God intended me to be. That is a good thing, for though times have changed, and oppression is not as severe in the U.S. as it once was, people face daily uphill battles that have nothing to do with their character. Evil is still at work trying to take what God has graciously provided.
In conclusion, Beams of Heaven is a timely example of anti-theodicy of Mystery in that it does not try to explain why followers of Christ suffer. It only recognizes that we do suffer, so it offers hope, the hope offered in the book of Revelation. Jesus is coming back to establish his kingdom someday. But in the meantime, we can trust him to lead us through the wilderness with abundant grace and mercy for today.
[1] “Some Day,” Hymnary, accessed October 5, 2024, https://hymnary.org/text/beams_of_heaven_as_i_go.
[2] Prof. E. T. Tindley Frank S. Hemingway, The Prince of Colored Preachers (Wilmore, Kentucky: First Fruits Press, 2016).
[3] The Prince of Colored Preachers, p. 5.
[4] Dr. C. Michael Hawn, “History of Hymns: "Beams of Heaven as I Go," Discipleship Ministries, accessed October 21, 2024, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-beams-of-heaven-as-i-go.
[5] “Charles Albert Tindley,” Hymnary, accessed October 5, 2024, https://hymnary.org/person/Tindley_CA.
[6] Someday, Hymnary.
[7] All Bible references are from The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)
[8] Dr. C. Michael Hawn, “History of Hymns: "Beams of Heaven as I Go," Discipleship Ministries, accessed October 21, 2024, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-beams-of-heaven-as-i-go.
[9] Charles Albert Tindley, Hymnary.
[10] “Charles Albert Tindley (1851-1933), Grandfather of Gospel Music,” Discipleship Ministries, accessed October 21, 2024, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/charles-albert-tindley-1851-1933-grandfather-of-gospel-music.
[11] Robert J. Morgan, Then Sings My Soul (Book 2) 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories (Nashville Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2004), p. 253.
I got an A!