There is a new Regina Spektor Album out today. It is called Far (Album). I listened to some of it on the way into work. One song in particular caught my attention, and apparently it has actually been around for about a month.
While she is not writing this from a Christian perspective, she certainly hits on some things that we in the Church can learn from. I am struck much less by the verses as I am with the Chorus. The god she sings about in the chorus is more of a caricature than what I believe the bible teaches us about God. Nonetheless it is a pretty good description of the god that has been preached and presented over and over by many in the Western Church.
The challenge we face is to preach the living and true God, and live our lives in and by his Spirit. Only when the Church is doing this will the caricature begin to fade and the reality come back into the foreground. This is no easy task, because as with all things Christ-related, it means we must allow ourselves to die and be given new life in Christ. It means that some of the ways we do things "because that is how they have always been done" must be abandoned or altered.
I make no claims to know what these things are, even if I have my opinions. I am also a big fan of Church Tradition, it means a lot to me. But tradition for tradition's sake means nothing to me. As the church learns to be the Bride of Christ, it must continually seek out what the Holy Spirit is doing in this world and then participate in that. Traditions and habits can be very edifiying to the Church and the world, but only when they are God-centered.
Here are the lyrics to Laughing With:
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor
No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one's laughing at God when it's gotten real late and their kid's not back from that party yet
No one laughs at God when their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake
No one's laughing at God when they see the one they love hand in hand with someone else and they hope that they're mistaken
No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door and they say "We've got some bad new, sir,"
No one's laughing at God when there's a famine, fire or flood
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke
God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they've lost all they got and they don't know what for
No one laughs at God on the day they realize that the last sight they'll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one's laughing at God when they're saying their goodbyes
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke
God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God in a hospital
No one's laughing at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor
No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
We're all laughing with God
4 comments:
for those wondering
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rov3pV9PsRI
This is a really interesting combination of an almost "there are no atheists in foxholes" poem, and cultural criticism of some of the new Western church doctrines and traditions your referencing.
I find the last line "We're all laughing with God" compelling for what Spektor might be saying about who God is, who God of culture's creation is, who God in her understanding is, and the source, relationship, and consequences of all the different perspectives.
We've been talking at my church about the power of art and metaphor to say the things that are beyond normal "saying." I think this is kind of a good example of that for complexity of faith or at least curiosity in a context of craziness swirling around God to the point it can be hard to parse out the God of existence from the God of people's belief. Still, I at least often want something that is artistically intriguing to be laid out, I must admit.
thanks for retweeting my dream about Barack.
But the clincher for me subscribing to your blog is this post.
One of the best concerts I have seen in my life (the best?) is this woman on a piano at the House of Blues in San Diego.
Heartbreakingly beautiful.
Hey there, I definitely enjoyed the dream post. The questions you raised about Gandhi & MLK are ones which crop up every time he mentions them, Gandhi especially has cropped up and I wonder what exactly the lessons he takes away from them actually are.
As for Regina Spektor, I had not heard of her until a few years ago, but she has definitely become one of my favorites to listen to. I have not gotten a chance to see her in concert (although to be honest I don't do concerts much at all.
I look forward to reading your posts more, as I have only recently come across your blog. I am an ecclesiastical mutt who has been finding a home in the Anglican communion through my local Episcopal church. And your self label of Christian anarcho-pacifist seems to fit right in line with where my thinking has been heading recently. Happy new year!
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