I tripped over this, and it just made me grin. This is how I like to play with my girls . . .
I’d never heard of this guy Eric Herman before, but this is just the tip of the iceberg; he has some great stuff. Check out his website and you’ll see.
Category Archives: Video
God’s Own Fool
OK, so this one is Erin’s fault; I got along exploring her blog after her response (which I very much appreciated) to the meme I started, and ran across her post on foolishness and God. Apparently it’s part of a synchroblog that she and some other folks have going; but while I might not resonate with this in the same way as they do, this is something with which I resonate powerfully nonetheless. It begins with Jesus, God’s designated Fool; and it ends with us, his designated fools. I’ll talk about that tomorrow. For now, I want to let Michael Card do the talking, because I’ve always loved this song.
God’s Own Fool
It seems I’ve imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind;
But if God’s holy wisdom is foolish to men,
He must have seemed out of His mind.
For even His family said He was mad,
And the priests said, “A demon’s to blame”;
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane.When we in our foolishness thought we were wise,
He played the fool and He opened our eyes;
When we in our weakness believed we were strong,
He became helpless to show we were wrong.
And so we follow God’s own fool,
For only the foolish can tell;
Believe the unbelievable—
Come, be a fool as well.So come lose your life for a carpenter’s son,
For a madman who died for a dream,
And you’ll have the faith His first followers had,
And you’ll feel the weight of the beam.
So surrender the hunger to say you must know,
Have the courage to say, “I believe,”
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see.ChorusWords and music: Michael Card
© 1985 Mole End Music
From the album Scandalon, by Michael Card
More tomorrow.
Anniversary of a miracle
Today marks the 67th anniversary of a miracle—one which Michael Linton, writing in First Things some time ago, suggested is “the greatest artistic miracle of our times.” On January 15, 1941, in the Nazi POW camp Stalag VIII-A at Görlitz in Silesia, the great French Catholic composer Olivier Messiaen, a prisoner in the camp, premiered his Quatuor pour la fin du temps (“Quartet for the end of time”). Messiaen, who had been given time, space, and resources by the camp commandant to enable him to write, composed the quartet for himself (on piano) and three other musicians among the prisoners, a violinist, a cellist, and a clarinetist.
What makes the work miraculous is not only the place and time in which it was written, but its character. As Linton writes:
In the midst of chaos, Messiaen wrote about the apocalypse in a completely “unapocalyptic” manner. In the previous century, the sequence from the Requiem Mass had given composers the opportunity to unleash all the thunder they could muster to depict the horrific details of God’s day of accounting. Berlioz and Verdi had both written depictions that chill—or more honestly perhaps, thrill—us to this day. And not too long after Messiaen’s quartet was completed, Schoenberg, Shostakovich, Britten, and Penderecki would write pieces expressive of the horrors of the Nazis and their war, music full of screams, howls, and cries for righteous justice against the oppressor.
But Messiaen has no place for such neo-pagan hysterics. In the middle of a prison camp, a prisoner unsure if he would ever again see his family or home again, Messiaen composed a vision of heaven where anger, violence, vengeance, and despair are not so much repressed as irrelevant. This work has nothing to do with war, or prison, or “man’s inhumanity to man.” This piece is entirely about the work of God and the glory of Jesus. There is no darkness here. There is no bitterness. There is no rage. Instead there is power, light, transcendence, ecstasy, and joy eternal.
Messiaen’s music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, by any means—it’s modern music, for one thing, and then it’s modern in a different way from most of the music of this past century; but this is a beautiful and powerful piece that deserves to be appreciated. I’m not going to put all of it up (it’s a fairly long composition, in eight movements), but here’s a taste or two. This is a video of the first movement, “Liturgie de cristal”:
Here’s the fourth movement, “Intermède”:
And the fifth, “Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus”:
It’s great music, even if it isn’t to everyone’s taste; but just as much, and something we can all appreciate, it’s a powerful testimony to the way in which the love and the grace of God can overcome human evil.
Song of the Week
I remember this song from Sheila Walsh’s heyday back in the ’80s, but I’ve never been able to find a copy of it; I’m glad to have Phil Keaggy’s version, but I don’t like his musical interpretation as well. It may be more fitting, though, as it’s certainly more mournful; and though he didn’t write this, it attests to his eye for a good lyric. He is and always has been a lot more than just a brilliant guitarist, after all. Anyway, I’ve liked this song for a long time—especially in my more cynical moods, or on days when loving the church is hard.
Jesus Loves the Church
You say that you believe in us—at times, I wonder why;
You say you see the Father in our eyes.
But I think if I were you, Lord, I’d wash my hands today,
And turn my back on all our alibis.Chorus:
For we crucify each other, leaving a battered, wounded bride—
But Jesus loves the church;
So we’ll walk the aisle of history, toward the marriage feast,
For Jesus loves the church.We fight like selfish children vying for that special prize;
We struggle with our gifts before your face.
And I know you look with sorrow at the blindness in our eyes
As we trip each other halfway through the race.Chorus
I want to learn to love like you; I don’t know where to start.
I want to see them all but through your eyes.
For you believed enough to live amidst the madding crowd,
Enough to die before our very eyes.Chorus
And as you hung in naked grief, bleeding for our crimes,
You saw our fickle hearts and cried,
“I love you—you are mine.”Words: Sheila Walsh; music: Phil Keaggy
© 1989 Word Music/Sebastian Music
From the album philkeaggy, by Phil Keaggy
Update, 10/23/15: Here’s Sheila Walsh’s version. 🙂
Musings on worship, illustrated by the Songs of the Week
The last week or so has been really rough; but God is good, and rough weeks end, the sun still shines after the rain, and that’s as worthy a reason to give praise as any.
As I write this, I have “Thinking of You,” a cut from the new/old band Future of Forestry, playing through my computer speakers, and that’s a good reason to give praise, too. I say “new/old band” because this is the same group as the worship band Something Like Silas—they reinvented themselves and went off in a new musical direction, under a new name. Fortunately, from the first listen (I’m now on to “Sanctitatis”), they brought their musical and songwriting gifts with them.
Anyway, if you’ll pardon the right turn—I’ll come back to Something Like Silas in a minute—I’ve been thinking about a conversation I had with a friend of mine a week or two ago about worship. This friend is one of the worship leaders for a big-city megachurch/satellite church/pocket denomination/whatever you want to call it; they seem to be doing great work for the kingdom, but from some of the comments my friend has made, I’m wondering when the folks leading that congregation will hit their Dave Johnson moment. Right now, they seem to be on top of the elephant; but they’re making some decisions that, from the outside (and a considerable distance—no churches that size up here), I wonder about.
For one, I understand they recently issued the dictum that in worship (which is to say, in the singing part of worship), 3/4 of the songs need to be songs addressed to God, not songs about God. Which, OK, I can see the reasoning on this, but (as my friend pointed out), there are a couple of problems here. First, if you’re trying to lead a church across multiple campuses, you need to accept that those are in truth different congregations, different gatherings of people, with different needs, which thus must be led differently. Trying to centralize decision-making in worship planning really isn’t a good idea—there needs to be some degree of freedom for the folks with leadership responsibilities at the individual sites to do what is appropriate and fitting for them, not just what someone halfway across the metro area thinks is a good idea.
And second, songs addressed to God are, logically, songs in the first person; and unfortunately, given the way folks write, they tend to be in the first person singular—”I” songs. Looking at the landscape of what is generally called contemporary worship music, the great majority of “I” songs tend to be focused on me and my experience and what I’m doing for God. As such, the dictum to give most of the time to songs addressed to God will likely tend to produce a shift toward songs that are actually more about me and myself—not about who God is, not about who we are as the body of Christ, but about what I’m doing and feeling. Doing and feeling about God, yes, but . . . well, just think of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) if you don’t see what I’m talking about.
That said, this shift is far from inevitable, even if it is the course of least resistance; and here’s where Something Like Silas comes in. I only have their last album, Divine Invitation—as yet, I haven’t picked up any of their indie releases—but while their songs are very personal expressions of worship, mostly “I” songs, they’re also songs which are unquestionably focused on God; some are expressions of praise, while others are heartfelt prayers for God to act. So, since I missed posting a song for last week, I thought I’d post an example of each, two tracks off Divine Invitation.
Words That You SaySpeak in this close communion,
Though this hour seems timeless still,
I wait for your words that bid me come.
Breathe in me, Holy Spirit,
The will when my tomorrow comes
To follow when this song is gone.So I await the words that you say—
I open my life;
I am longing just to hear these words
That you say, that you say.Shape me with words of wisdom,
Free my torn heart from this world;
Renew my mind and form my will.
Teach me to wholly offer
More than words that I can sing,
So I become the song I bring.ChorusCan I be an instrument of praise
And here pursue your heart,
So my life will tell of who you are?
Can I be a channel of your love,
A reflection of your light,
And live to bring you praise and serve you, Lord?ChorusWords and music: Eric Owyoung
©2004 Birdwing Music
From the album Divine Invitation, by Something Like SilasInfiniteLord, a thousand years go by,
Just a moment in your eyes,
‘Cause you alone are far beyond the infinite, O Lord.Lord, all the heavens sing to you,
You’re full of grace and truth,
And you alone are far beyond the infinite . . .So I’ll trust you when I cannot see;
So I’ll trust you when the shadows hover over me
And I’ll love you when the distance leaves me cold.
So I’ll love you . . . I will still believe that you are sovereign, Lord.Lord, your promises are true,
Your mercies always new,
Your love for us is far beyond the infinite, O Lord.Though I fear I walk alone,
You reach into my soul;
Your love for me is far beyond the infinite . . .ChorusI’m learning to trust,
I’m learning to feel,
I’m learning to love you always . . .ChorusWords and music: Eric Owyoung and Steve Hindalong
©2004 Birdwing Music/New Spring Publishing, Inc./Never Say Never Songs
From the album Divine Invitation, by Something Like Silas
Lenten Song of the Week
This isn’t the most lyrically deep or complex hymn, to be sure, but in its simplicity it’s an excellent one for reflection and prayer–rather like many of the Psalms in that respect. I have a deep fondness for Appalachian folk hymnody, both texts and music, and this is one of my favorites. If you’re not familiar with the tune, the link is below.
What Wondrous Love Is ThisWhat wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down;
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul!To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing,
To God and to the Lamb I will sing!
To God and to the Lamb, who is the great “I AM,”
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing!And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on!
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be,
And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And through eternity I’ll sing on!Words: Appalachian folk hymn
Music: Southern Harmony, 1835
WONDROUS LOVE, 12.9.12.12.9
Song of the Week
Andrew Osenga is probably best known as the guy who replaced Derek Webb with Caedmon’s Call; others might recognize his name from his work with Andrew Peterson. To an unfortunately small number of us, though, he is first of all the frontman for The Normals, who released three albums between 1998 and 2002 before breaking up; with strong lyrics and a sound all their own, they naturally weren’t a big hit. After all, what do you expect a DJ to do with a song titled “We Are the Beggars at the Foot of God’s Door,” anyway?
We Are the Beggars at the Foot of God’s Door
We are gathered in cathedrals on a Sunday;
We are shrouded in our pride and lust’s despair.
We have heard that You said, go to where your hearts once were,
Trusting we’d arrive to find You there.We have known the empty senses of a funeral;
We are haunted by the promises of death.
We have asked to see Your face and noticed nothing
But a well-timed honest smile from a friend.O we of little faith, O You of stubborn grace . . .
We are the beggars, we are the beggars,
We are the beggars at the foot of God’s door.We have grown cold to the kisses of our lovers;
We have rolled the windows up and driven through
The forests of the autumn, the innocence of snow,
The metaphor of Jesus in the dew.We have known the heated passion of the cold night;
We have sold ourselves to everything we hate.
We’re hypocrites and politicians running from a fight;
We’ve cheated on a very jealous mate.Chorus
We have known the pain of loving in a dying world,
And our lies have made us angry at the truth–
But Cinderella’s slipper fits us perfectly,
And somehow we’re made royalty with You.Chorus
And You have welcomed us in.
Words and music: Andrew Osenga and The Normals
© 2000 Starstruck Music/BMG Songs/Northern Shore Music
From the album Coming to Life, by The Normals