Pray For You

Read the lyrics.  Be entertained by the video.  To listen on MyDehonianPlayist:  just look to the right and press play.

From www.jaronatlrtl.com

I had a great discussion about this entertaining song's lyrics over pizza yesterday!  The verse sets us up for pious and nice thoughts, and the chorus delivers with prayers that jar the listener like a flowerpot from above.  A visit to church and a sermon about praying for one's enemies brings the singer to pray that their brakes go out on a downhill trip, among other things.  All with organ music waxing holy in the background.

Hypocritical?  Maybe not.

I am reminded of a traditional Jewish... well... blessing... I guess.  Relying on Yiddish's unique combination of wit and wisdom, this sort of prayer would go something like, May your engine stall while you are flying high, God Forbid!  Begin with words that express one's baser -but honest- desire.  End by placing the desire in God's hands.  (To learn more, check out page 214 of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish.)  I don't think the similarity between the song and the blessing is by accident.  Jaron David Lowenstein, singer and co-author of the song, was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home.  Chances are, he grew up knowing this rather unique sort of blessing.

What if there is wisdom in this song?  As a Dehonian, my belief is in a God who is profoundly interested in relationship.  God is interested in our Sunday best.  God is also interested in our Monday morning rush-hour worst.  Honesty.  Who we really are.  For better and for worse.  At our best, we can be incredibly generous and self-sacraficing.  But, I don't think I am the only one who occasionally wishes that someone's path is crossed by a rapidly falling flower pot.

What if there is some value in expressing our worst desires in prayer?  God forbid!  Such a prayer keeps us honest with ourselves, honest with God.  At the same time, such prayer also tempers that desire by placing the matter in God's hands:  "I would like the brakes on their car to go out, but your will, not mine, be done."

I know that sometimes I try to stifle and stuff my worst desires for others.  When I do, they usually find a way out.  Usually in ways that end up being destructive of relationships.  In ways that end in regret for my actions and words.  In ways that require forgiveness and consequences. 

Of course, the Gospel calls not just that we pray for enemies, but that we actually love them.  Maybe a few honestly expressed words, between God and I, followed by putting the matter in the hands of Providence will start me down this "high road", as the song calls it.  Love is the desired end, but to be honest before God, it isn't always the starting point.

          He said you cant go hating others who have done wrong to you.
          Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn.
          Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them.