On Francis and Wholeness
Today, in honor of Saint Francis' feast day, I woke up and listened to one of my favorite bands. Since Saturday happens to be my natural Sabbath (that is, when I'm not away on weekends ministering at a student conference or traveling otherwise), it's a must to be able to listen to some good tunes. Although I'd otherwise love to wax poetic about my new favorite Canadian indie, soul cuts, or rock-en-español, today is a day to honor the sacred.
I've written about Jars of Clay before, that breakout band of the mid 90's that gave us such popular titles as "Flood" and "Love Song for a Savior." It's their reflective, raw, and unflinching way Dan Hastletine's lyrics convey the Christian walk that attracts me to them. Today, I'm drawn to a lesser title on their eponymous debut album called "He." The lyrics deal in characteristic fashion of the complexities of faith in a broken world:
The song is a meditation on the journey of faith when we want to retreat, when we encounter the ugliness of ourselves and others, when purity and perfectionism fail to yield the results we hope for. Ultimately the confusion yields to the simple, repetitive refrain at the end of the song:
I spoke with a friend and spiritual mentor yesterday who helped me frame holiness in a new way. The mystics, he said, teach us that holiness is less about perfection and more about wholeness. We are finally able to come before God bringing all of ourselves, the healed and the broken, the light and the dark, the ugly and the beautiful. This is what it means to be sanctified. Surely Francis knew of this journey, for his intimacy with Christ showed him that radical acceptance of the brokenness of the world is the only way to draw close to our God. Francis, in kissing the leper, in preaching against the violence of the Crusades, in his acceptance and love of creation, shows us an alternative way against the world hungry for meaning. May we imitate and follow his example of radical obedience to Jesus.
Francis, great lover of God, pray for us.
I've written about Jars of Clay before, that breakout band of the mid 90's that gave us such popular titles as "Flood" and "Love Song for a Savior." It's their reflective, raw, and unflinching way Dan Hastletine's lyrics convey the Christian walk that attracts me to them. Today, I'm drawn to a lesser title on their eponymous debut album called "He." The lyrics deal in characteristic fashion of the complexities of faith in a broken world:
Don't try to reach me, I'm already deadListen to the whole song here.
The pain when it grips me, for things that I've done
Well I try to make you proud, but for crying out loud
Just give me a chance to hide away
Exhaustion takes over, will this someday be over?
The song is a meditation on the journey of faith when we want to retreat, when we encounter the ugliness of ourselves and others, when purity and perfectionism fail to yield the results we hope for. Ultimately the confusion yields to the simple, repetitive refrain at the end of the song:
He loves you, He sees you,
He knows you, protects you,
He needs you, He holds you.
I spoke with a friend and spiritual mentor yesterday who helped me frame holiness in a new way. The mystics, he said, teach us that holiness is less about perfection and more about wholeness. We are finally able to come before God bringing all of ourselves, the healed and the broken, the light and the dark, the ugly and the beautiful. This is what it means to be sanctified. Surely Francis knew of this journey, for his intimacy with Christ showed him that radical acceptance of the brokenness of the world is the only way to draw close to our God. Francis, in kissing the leper, in preaching against the violence of the Crusades, in his acceptance and love of creation, shows us an alternative way against the world hungry for meaning. May we imitate and follow his example of radical obedience to Jesus.
Francis, great lover of God, pray for us.
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