This song is not about Easter, but it is what Easter is about: ‘Love, sweet love.’ And always was, and should be, about.

Nothing I could say about Easter’s doctrine or metaphysics could be more moving than the pure import of these lyrics, nor than the desire of these youthful performers to offer hope and solace amid Covid. So I will only add that those feel fully in accord with Jesus’ heart of love, of which, there is indeed ‘just too little’ in our world.

When this music was new, during the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Cold War, it had the same vibe shown here: Appealing especially to young people not yet hardened by adult responsibilities, nor seduced by self-interest.

Rejecting hopeful ideals is often seen as shrewd maturity, but this pop classic is a case where simplicity is more compelling than sophistication. Perhaps this song, with its message dear to the Angels, will kindle hope for you too, even if life has encumbered such for you, as it does for many who live long enough to be laden with its burdens.

As someone far pithier than me said, ‘You are as old as your fears, and as young as your hopes.‘ Idealism is easier before the duties of adulthood must be shouldered; Life’s stern realities can be rocks on which we can be wrecked, but they don’t have to be. Even for us who are no longer young, yet who still care about making this Life less awful for a dearth of sweet love (and indifference to that dearth may eventually backfire on ourselves), the promise of such an ideal can be embraced, and celebrated.