God on the Mountains

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
-Isaiah 52:7

My friend Sam helpfully put this passage from second Isaiah in its exilic context during his chapel sermon this morning. It reminded me of the way apocalyptic literature functions to comfort oppressed and suffering people with the proclamation of God's universal authority vis-a-vis the humiliating political might of pagan rulers like Babylon and Rome. This passage is so frequently used in reference to Christian evangelism (I think Paul uses it somewhere in Romans) that it made me think of the connections between preaching the gospel and comforting the oppressed.

This cuts both in the direction of what is sometimes thought of as classical evangelism--Jesus died for your sins--and social gospel evangelism--Jesus calls his followers to support and fight for those in need. Both are ways of saying that the evil and the cruel powers of the world don't have the final say, but rather the merciful and just God of Israel.

The Man in the Mirror

"He was given to fits of rage, Jewish liberal paranoia, male chauvinism, self-righteous misanthropy, and nihilistic moods of despair. He had complaints about life but never any solutions. He longed to be an artist but balked at the necessary sacrifices. In his most private moments, he spoke of his fear of death, which he elevated to tragic heights when in fact it was mere narcissism."

~Woody Allen, Manhattan

Equipping the Called

Re: the disciples

"For our Savior's election respected not any merit or worth, but took them which were farthest off from likelihood of fitness, that afterwards their supernatural ability and performance beyond hope might cause the greater admiration..."

~Richard Hooker, The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, V.77.13

All I can say is Hallelujah.

Spiritual Food

"As long as the days of our warfare last, during the time that we are both subject to diminution and capable of augmentation in grace, the words of our Lord and Saviour Christ will remain forcible, 'Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.'"

~Richard Hooker, The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, V.67.1

The Shepherds of our Songs

It continues to disturb me that there aren't more (any?) contemporary artists out there combining a strong sense of the canon and biblical theology (esp. the psalter) in their lyrics matched thematically by music that reflects personal or collaborative artistic engagement with their subject material. Everything seems geared for CCM radio play, bubblegum-pop hymnody for the Osteen-era consistently tilting towards subjective and at times solipsistic (anything where the song is about the act of singing) theological reflection. Exceptions such as "In Christ Alone" and "Revelation Song" notwithstanding, this brand of flimsy congregational cheerleading has become so prevalent as to wear down whatever surprise at the phenomenon I might have had left--and it continues to eat at my hope for alternatives.

I'm always open to classic hymnody in settings new or old, although I have to admit the lyrical/melodic complexity of some hymns strains my ability to engage with them as worship rather than just keeping up with the syllables.

Contemplating the being, character and deeds of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is what I believe to be at the heart of worship, and so few of our contemporary works seem to have this task in mind with any kind of seriousness. The one major exception I know of is some of the music and lyrics coming out of the folks at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO--they at least take this aim as their raison d'etre. Their strange theological emphases and own tendencies toward overt subjectivity, however, weaken their ability to put forth truly great examples of contemporary worship.

What I want to know is, where is the independent worship scene? Where are the artists and lyricists who compose in order to enrich the worship of the church without first being engineered for CCM radio? Where are the poets and the prophets, the singing theologians? What we sing about God has a profound affect on what we most deeply believe about him--lex orendi, lex credendi--where are the shepherds of our songs?