Surround Me

One of my college theology professors taught that somewhere along the way we lost touch with lament as a prayer form.  Oh sure, we can complain and moan before God about how mistreated we may be from time to time.  Maybe we are having an altruistic day and can even complain about how others are mistreated.  But, how often do we raise our voice in lament, reading God the riot act?  We do have reason.  Consider what we hear in the news:  the treatment of immigrants and citizens like outsiders and slaves, children dying of violence on their own lawns, one's economic security vanishing with every ring of the closing bell.

Surround Me reclaims the biblical tradition of lament.  We are not sure of exactly what the singer needs rescuing from, but that allows each listener to make the words their own.  They are the words of each believer who finds themselves desperate, lost, and begging God for help.  Surround me is not a request for God's protection, it is a demand that God remain faithful to promises made and lamenting that the promises are not being kept.  Surround me now, don't let me run, I am on my knees!  (And from You, nothing but silence!)

The lyric hints pretty strongly that if God is not faithful, then the believer has no reason NOT to run away and leave God be. After all, is God not leaving them be? Today, we have moved so far from lament, the idea itself seems foreign, even irreligious.  Yet, the psalms are filled with pleas for help to an absent God, desperate reminders to God of past faithfulness, reminders that if God continues to be silent:  God is the one who is going to look unfaithful and uncaring.

Pain is real.  The anguished cry of a parent who has lost a child due to senseless violence.  The desperation of one who has labored hard for years but is losing their security and home.  The often silent scream of someone who finds themselves lost and adrift.  We can be too quick to turn to pious words of comfort that ignore real pain.  God has given word to be a God of justice, and to be faithful.  Yet, seas of injustice leave so many stranded, with no recourse but to demand that God do what God has promised to do. 

I believe in resurrection, and that God's silence only seems to be that.  But, I also wonder if we sometimes rush too quickly to resurrection.  Surround Me is a good reminder that we are in relationship with God, that we have a right (desperate need?) to demand that God be faithful.  Maybe the relationship cannot go forward and deepen unless we take lament to heart from time to time and demand that God do what God has promised to do.

Let It Be

The Queen of Heaven meets the Queen of soul!  When thinking of my first song to blog about, there wasn't a choice. Aretha Franklin’s rendition of the Beatle's Let It Be is a litany that washes over the listener like baptism.  Darkness in the world, broken-hearted people, and cloudy nights?  Just take a look at the headlines.   

This lyric isn't about saying "Let it all be and let God take care of it."  No.  It is an echo of Mary's own fiat.  Her mission was recieved in a world as troubling as ours.  She knew that it was not going to be an easy road if she said "yes".  She was troubled at the annunciation, and I don't think because an angel appeared in front of her.  (Which would trouble the best of us!)  She knew that bringing the messiah into the world would bring pain beyond that of childbirth.

These words have a special ring for me as a Brother:  they are one of the mottos of my congregation.  Let it be.  (We use the Latin, Ecce Ancilla.)  When I see someone who is homeless, or others in need, this song reminds me I am baptized in the Spirit that washed over Mary at the Annunciation.  Whatever may be my required response to human need:  let it be.  Sometimes, I'm asked to say "yes" without knowing the full measure of the commitment I am making or where the road will take me.  In such times, this song brings a measure of peace.  Through this lyric, Mary comes to me, and I can receive grace from her conviction to take a step forward.  A step of cooperation in her Son's work of redeeming this world and the people in it.  Another step forward as one of the baptized.

Listen to Aretha's version on You Tube.

Well, Here Goes!

Thomas Aquanis says that "grace builds on nature."  Who am I to argue?

One of my earliest memories is of a journal my aunt (and Godmother) kept of song lyrics.  Back in her day, there was no such thing as a quick google of one's favorite lyrics, and a right-click cut-and-paste.  Nope.  This was retro when retro was new:  a journal kept on looseleaf in a three-ring binder covered with flowers.  (She was a child of the 60's and 70's.)  Each lyric was written by hand, representing time spent listening to the song over and over again, just to be sure she got it right.  This wasn't a painstaking task, but an act of devotion.  She loved music.

Thus began my own devotion to music.  I like music of all genres, sometimes in languages I don't understand.  Sometimes, it may be the beat that gets my feet tapping.  Sometimes, the song may simply be fun.  At others, the song might remind me of a time with friends or family.  Maybe the lyric gives words to something I am not able to express well myself.  All of this is great, but it is not what this blog is about.

I'm a Roman Catholic Brother.  I'm a Dehonian.  That is, a member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart.  As a Catholic, and a Dehonian, I've found grace in my natural love for music.  (Hence, the opening reference to Aquanis.)  Many times the lyrics and music I love have become fodder for deeper faith, even if the song is not overtly religious.  (Often when the song is not overtly religious.)  As a minister, I've also made use of songs such as these in teaching and passing the faith on to other generations.  (Sometimes, I've had students roll their eyes when I bring out that folk music of the 60's and 70's that was my aunt's mainstay.)  At other times, a poingnant lyric from a song heard daily on the radio has led to meaningful discussion, and I hope some measure of deepend faith when the song was next heard on the radio, or their mp3 player.

And so, in this blog, I will introduce you to My Dehonian Playlist.  It is a real playlist.  These are songs I turn to when I want to re-energize my commitment as a religious Brother, as a person of faith.  These are songs that I find have inspired and challenged me to live well my particular slice of our great, wide faith.  Just like that handwritten journal gave expression to my aunt's favorite music, I hope for this blog to be a record of those songs that are worth my time and that serve as an inspiration to my faith.