This week, our songs were gathered around the theme of the divine-human relationship. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Songs
Death In His Grave by John Mark McMillan
Wandering by Jameson McGregor
Diamond by Sarah Dossey Keilers [Dossey]
All the Poor and Powerless by All Sons & Daughters
How They Fit In:
There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme.
Death In His Grave: We sang this song to reflect on what God has done for us in Christ. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, God changed the way that death works for humanity. Thinking in terms of the divine-human relationship, these events become something of a starting point or center. These events are God's extended hand to humanity--they pose a question; something to the effect of, "i have come further than seems appropriate to make things right--are you willing to enter into reconciliation with Me?" Or perhaps, "I have fixed what was broken between us. Do you realize what that means for you?"
Just A Closer Walk With Thee: This song explores the tension between the kind of life we are inclined to live when let to our own devices, and the kind of life that Jesus has shown us how to live. We have a tendency to beat ourselves up when we knowingly fail to live like Jesus, but this song suggests that there is a better way to handle failure. The line in the second verse, "In this world of toil and snare//If i falter, Lord, who cares?//Who with me my burden shares?//None but Thee..." God does not wait for us to fail so that God can have cause to be angry with us, but instead shares our burdens--God knows how far the gap is between the way we are and the way Jesus has shown us to live, and carries this weight with us. Instead of lingering in self-pity or self-disgust, we can move forward knowing that we are not alone.
Wandering: We sang this song to proclaim that God is faithful to us even when we consistently misconstrue what it is to be faithful. The verses of this song imagine various ways in which we recognize the power of God, then try to harness this power for our own devices--with what seem to be the best of intentions--and how God chooses to continue to journey with us anyway, coaxing us into understanding that God is not one to be tamed.
Diamond: To read Sarah's thoughts on this great song, visit the blog on her site here.
All the Poor and Powerless: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last weeks' songs. This is what we said about All the Poor and Powerless then: We sang this song to proclaim God's identity as a God who is present with the lowly, the powerless, the hopeless, the hurting, the self-loathing, the addicts, on and on. This is a God who not only lowers Godself to interact with humanity, but the lowest parts of humanity.
Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.
-JM