Early this morning, I was thinking. In the midst of my familiar morning movements, my mind turned to uncertainty, to mystery, to faith. And this is crazy, because last night, I got home around 12.50. Which means I slept little. But I was imagining how I would explain - or defend - one of the bands I saw last night. Not that I need to defend them to myself; it's simply that some of their lyrics are... odd. And I can easily imagine someone asking "what do they believe, anyway?"
Now, I don't think that a band's personal beliefs are necessarily indicative of their value or creativity as musicians. However, if I'm going to say I "love" a band, I want there to be good reason. And one of my reasons for "loving" mewithoutYou is their incredible, poetic, story-telling lyrics. I ask myself, sometimes, what they are telling with their words - what they are teaching about the world, and us in it. And therefore, what they believe.
I thought of a few things that come up, over and over again, in their songs: connectedness, forgiveness, nature, and not-knowing. Life in the midst of uncertainty. This beautiful life in the midst of mystery. And this, more than almost anything else, is what draws me to them. (And their music. Of course. But that needs no explanation. Just give them a listen.)
This concept we call mystery appears constantly. I wonder, sometimes, if, as someone who likes to know things now, uncertainty dogs my steps to keep me paying attention. It's fundamentally a paradox, you see, this life we live. We both know and don't know. We are both certain and uncertain. And yet we must keep moving forward.
I think about this most often in the realm of faith. I belong to a wonderful church community that talks a lot about how we can know God. And it's great - don't get me wrong - because one of the mysteries is that we can know Him. But. We also can't. We also will always see a infinite unknowable Being Who is beyond us. And I wish - oh, how I wish! - that this great mystery were talked about more, even celebrated more!
And why is it, I wonder, that we so rarely seem to talk about and embrace the mystery, the unknowableness, the hiddenness, of God?
On Tuesday, I joined a group gathered in a small living room. We read John 9 - the story of the "sassy blind man" as our leader called him. And ended up talking about not-knowing. And how this man, having been given sight, defended one he had never seen before the leaders who thought they knew all. The blind man did not know who healed him, whether he was from God, or not. And he freely admitted his ignorance: "whether he is a sinner or not I do not know." Yet in the midst of his uncertainty, he held on, very tightly, to what he did know: "I was blind but now I see." And this certainty was enough for him to stand up to the leaders. It was enough for him go about his new life with joy and confidence. And a bit of sass.
And mewithoutYou? I think they know this. They know that ignorance and knowing can go together. A person can be both known and unknown. A world can be known and unknown, too. And sometimes that one little thing we do know - that we can see, that the spider matches the leaf, that forgiveness heals, that love transforms us, that a rainstorm can both break plants and refresh them - is enough for us to keep going. The mystery of faith is that, even though we don't know, we believe. The mystery fills life with potential. With questions, too, but don't those questions keep us paying attention?
Now, I don't think that a band's personal beliefs are necessarily indicative of their value or creativity as musicians. However, if I'm going to say I "love" a band, I want there to be good reason. And one of my reasons for "loving" mewithoutYou is their incredible, poetic, story-telling lyrics. I ask myself, sometimes, what they are telling with their words - what they are teaching about the world, and us in it. And therefore, what they believe.
I thought of a few things that come up, over and over again, in their songs: connectedness, forgiveness, nature, and not-knowing. Life in the midst of uncertainty. This beautiful life in the midst of mystery. And this, more than almost anything else, is what draws me to them. (And their music. Of course. But that needs no explanation. Just give them a listen.)
This concept we call mystery appears constantly. I wonder, sometimes, if, as someone who likes to know things now, uncertainty dogs my steps to keep me paying attention. It's fundamentally a paradox, you see, this life we live. We both know and don't know. We are both certain and uncertain. And yet we must keep moving forward.
I think about this most often in the realm of faith. I belong to a wonderful church community that talks a lot about how we can know God. And it's great - don't get me wrong - because one of the mysteries is that we can know Him. But. We also can't. We also will always see a infinite unknowable Being Who is beyond us. And I wish - oh, how I wish! - that this great mystery were talked about more, even celebrated more!
And why is it, I wonder, that we so rarely seem to talk about and embrace the mystery, the unknowableness, the hiddenness, of God?
On Tuesday, I joined a group gathered in a small living room. We read John 9 - the story of the "sassy blind man" as our leader called him. And ended up talking about not-knowing. And how this man, having been given sight, defended one he had never seen before the leaders who thought they knew all. The blind man did not know who healed him, whether he was from God, or not. And he freely admitted his ignorance: "whether he is a sinner or not I do not know." Yet in the midst of his uncertainty, he held on, very tightly, to what he did know: "I was blind but now I see." And this certainty was enough for him to stand up to the leaders. It was enough for him go about his new life with joy and confidence. And a bit of sass.
And mewithoutYou? I think they know this. They know that ignorance and knowing can go together. A person can be both known and unknown. A world can be known and unknown, too. And sometimes that one little thing we do know - that we can see, that the spider matches the leaf, that forgiveness heals, that love transforms us, that a rainstorm can both break plants and refresh them - is enough for us to keep going. The mystery of faith is that, even though we don't know, we believe. The mystery fills life with potential. With questions, too, but don't those questions keep us paying attention?
"What new mystery is this?
What blessed backwardness?
The Immeasurable one is held and does not resist!
Struck by wicked words and foolish fists of senseless men
the Almighty One does not defend!
What new mystery is this?
In overflowing emptiness
the invisible is seen among the shadows and the mist.
Before my doubting eyes
the Infinite appears this time.
The Unquestionable is questioned
but makes no reply!"
Oh, the mystery of it all! That we see, that we don't see. That He replies, that He is silent. That we're able to ask in the first place! If there were no mystery, there would be no faith. If there were no times of silence, no depths of not-knowing, we could not be like the sassy blind man, saying: tell me so that I may believe. After the silence, one answer is enough; in the darkness, the smallest point of light changes everything.
