a world full of God's love

Psalm 33:5 tells us that the whole earth is filled with Yahweh's unfailing love. It's a nice thought - the world filled with love. But this isn't the warm, gooey love that comes with a box of Roses. It's God's loyal, covenantal love - his hesed, that combination of intimacy and security which is expressed in the self-giving of God himself.

The psalm affirms that the whole earth is filled with this covenant love. It's a remarkable statement at this point in redemptive history, when Yahweh's hesed was particularised in Israel. It isn't the land that is filled with hesed but the earth.

God's particular demonstration of covenant love and loyalty towards Israel was an expression of his covenant faithfulness to the whole of his creation. In places where torah was unknown and the voice of the prophets unheard, Yahweh's covenant love was nevertheless (mysteriously) present.

Maybe it was for this reason Paul felt able to use Psalm 19:4, material that is generally understood to speak of general revelation, as evidence that God's saving message has been heard (Romans 10:16ff).

a pattern of prescience

In John 1, Jesus displays his prescience in his encounter with Nathanael and it takes a particular form: statement by Jesus (v.47); response by Nathanael (v.48a); disclosure by Jesus of his knowledge (v.48b); recognition of Jesus' identity by Nathanael (v.49); a promise of greater things by Jesus (vv.50,51).

In John 4, Jesus displays his prescience in his encounter with the Samaritan woman and it takes a particular form: statement/instruction by Jesus (v.16); response by the woman (v.17a); disclosure by Jesus of his knowledge (vv.17b,18); recognition of Jesus' identity by the woman (v.19); a promise of greater things by Jesus (vv.23,24)

the church as temple

In his helpful material on Exodus, Peter Enns makes the following observations:

For centuries readers of Exodus have seen that the tabernacle is described in a way that makes one think of Genesis 1.

- The tabernacle instructions (Exodus 25-31) are given in six segments, each beginning with “Yahweh said to Moses” (25:1; 30:11, 17, 22, 34; 31:1). “Speaking” these six “creative” words to Moses parallels the six creative words of Genesis 1 (vv. 3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 22).

- The seventh word creative word in Exodus 31:12 introduces the Sabbath command. As in Genesis 1, we see a seven-fold creative act culminating in rest.

- In Exodus 39: 32 we read that the work was “completed.” This is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 2:2 to refer to the completion of God’s creative work.

- In Exodus 39:43 we read that Moses “inspected the work and saw” that they had completed the work according to plan. Likewise in Genesis 1 God inspects his creative work and “sees” (same Hebrew word) that it was good.

- Just as Moses “blessed” the people after completing the work (Exodus 39:43), God “blessed” (same Hebrew word) his creation in Genesis 1:22, 28; 2:3.

- In Exodus 40:33 we read that Moses “finished the work,” which parallels how God “finished his work” (same Hebrew vocabulary) on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2).

Further, the structure itself has creation overtones. The very fact that it is to be built according to exact specifications, no less than a heavenly “pattern” (Exodus 25:9) speaks to the “ordered” nature of the tabernacle as well as to its “heavenly” identity. The tabernacle is an earthly representation of God’s heavenly temple. Commentators regularly also note that the lampstand (Exodus 25:31-40) represents a tree and so likely symbolizes the tree of life, not only found in the creation story but a common ancient Near Eastern motif. The curtains of the tabernacle are blue, purple, and scarlet linen with cherubim woven into them (Exodus 26:1). This is not just a nice design. Rather, when you walk into the tabernacle and look around, you are to think of the heavenly place the tabernacle symbolizes.

All of this means that the tabernacle is more than a really nice tent. It is a micro-cosmos. It is a smaller version of what God did in Genesis 1. It is a “world” that symbolizes created order. It is a “sacred space” separate from the surrounding “chaos”.

And this is where Israel’s God dwells. Like Marduk in Enuma Elish or Ugaritic Baal, conflict ends in the building of a residence suitable for the high god. The tabernacle is the resting place of the victorious Yahweh. It is not an afterthought. It had to be built in response to the cosmic battle.

And in the NT we're told, over & again, that the church is now the temple of God. Sacred space. Separated from chaos. Orderly and harmonious; reflecting heavenly beauty. A 'place' to encounter the reality of God's own presence.

Which makes me want to pray with Timothy Dudley-Smith:

Lord of the church, we pray for our renewing:
Christ over all, our undivided aim.
Fire of the Spirit, burn for our enduing,
wind of the Spirit, fan the living flame!
We turn to Christ amid our fear and failing,
the will that lacks the courage to be free,
the weary labours, all but unavailing,
to bring us nearer what a church should be.

Lord of the church, we seek a Father's blessing,
a true repentance and a faith restored,
a swift obedience and a new possessing,
filled with the Holy Spirit of the Lord!
We turn to Christ from all our restless striving,
unnumbered voices with a single prayer:
the living water for our souls' reviving,
in Christ to live, and love and serve and care.

Lord of the church, we long for our uniting,
true to one calling, by one vision stirred;
one cross proclaiming and one creed reciting,
one in the truth of Jesus and his word!
So lead us on; till toil and trouble ended,
one church triumphant one new song shall sing,
to praise his glory, risen and ascended,
Christ over all, the everlasting King!

(© Timothy Dudley-Smith)

the cosmic battle & exodus

Some really stimulating articles by Peter Enns on the cosmic battle and the exodus from Egypt.

Yahweh, Creation & the Cosmic Battle

Exodus, the Plagues and the Cosmic Battle

Exodus and the Cosmic Battle (Again)

Exodus, Mt Sinai & Creation

keller: some thoughts on approaching the big questions

I previously posted a link to Tim Keller's helpful piece on the big questions facing western churches today.

Here are his thoughts on how to approach those questions. Again, very helpful reading.

A taster....

4. We must develop a far better theology of suffering. Members of churches in the west are caught absolutely flat-footed by suffering and difficulty. This is a major problem, especially if we are facing greater 'liminality'--social marginalization--and maybe more economic and social instability. There are a great number of books on 'why does God allow evil?' but they mainly are aimed at getting God off the hook with impatient western people who believe God's job is to give them a safe life. The church in the west must mount a great new project--of producing a people who are prepared to endure in the face of suffering and persecution.

Here, too, is one of the ways we in the west can connect to the new, growing world Christianity. We tend to think about 'what we can do for them.' But here's how we let them do something for us. Many or most of the church in the rest of the world is used to suffering and persecution. They have a kind of faith that does not wilt, but rather grows stronger under threat. We need to become students of theirs in this area.

something truly funny

You really need to head on over to Justin Taylor's blog and watch the couple of videos embedded in this post. I haven't laughed so much in ages.

a joyful discovery

It's what Spotify is so very good at - giving access to jewels you never knew existed or had, at best, only heard rumours of.

The First Of A Million Kisses is one of those diamonds.

And thanks to The Masked Badger for reminding me that this album existed.

Exodus 16 in 2 Corinthians 8

It's another of those 'Not sure I'd have used the OT in quite that way, Paul' passages. And with an interesting twist. A number of things are possibly worthy of comment:

i. He does not give the Exodus text a Christological focus. While all the OT speaks of Jesus, it doesn't (or so it seems) only speak of him. It can be framed to teach NT believers quite directly.

ii. In Paul's use of Exodus 16:17,18 in 2 Corinthians 8:13-15, he aligns the experience of Israel in the wilderness with the church at Corinth. He isn't so much using fulfilment language as equating the two experiences. There is a proper continuity between the two communities.

iii. But there is a twist. In Exodus 16, the implication seems to be that people didn't pick too much or too little, even though it might have seemed that they had. Somehow - and the text could almost be taken to imply God's direct intervention - they all found that they had just the amount they needed. How will such need be met in Corinth and elsewhere? Through the generosity of God's people - those with more than enough will give to those who have too little, and in that way there will be parity.

Is Paul implying that this is what actually happened in Exodus 16, that he is seeing beneath the text to an implication that may not be clear at first sight? Or is he aligning the two experiences in such a way as to suggest that, whilst God may have directly intervened in the past and could still choose to do so today, the real emphasis lies on his people sharing the generous nature of God and taking steps to ensure their brothers and sisters are provided for? Perhaps his use of 'as it is written' is designed to show that there always was intended to be progression from an Exodus 16 type of situation, to the sort of action he is advocating. In which case, it raises the possibility of similar use of the OT in other places.

Maybe.

being authentic

This piece wasn't written for pastors but it contains wisdom that is eminently transferable.

a hundredfold: patriarchal blessing

Isaac inherited God's promises to Abraham. In Genesis 26:12 we're told that he planted crops and in that same year "reaped a hundredfold because YHWH blessed him".

When Jesus spoke of the fruitfulness of his word in people's lives, he spoke of it multiplying thirty, sixty or even a hundred times.

Maybe he had in mind God's blessing of the patriarchs and his promises to them, now coming true through his transforming word.

At Jacob's well

Jesus asks for a drink from a woman. She then takes his offer of living water to the townspeople who also come to believe that he is 'the Saviour of the world'.

Way back in Genesis, Abraham's servant asked a young woman for a drink at a well. Later on, again at a well, Jacob drew water for a young woman's flock.

Maybe we're meant see feel the resonances. A woman deeply mired in shame will share the blessisngs of Rebekah and Rachel. A town of despised Samaritans will share the blessings of Abraham - not through the purity of their lineage but through faith in the Messiah.

messiah & his people: incorporation; representation

In Psalm 28:8 there is a great example of synthetic parallelism that brings out the connection between the people and the Lord's anointed one (Heb. מָשִׁיחַ; mashiakh). "YHWH is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one."

He is their strength and a fortress for his Messiah. The two are bound together; what the LORD is to the King, he is to the people. He represents them and they are incorporated into him.

You get similar ideas in Psalm 84:9 and in Psalm 89:38ff, all preparing the way for the representative and incorporative language of the NT as it speaks of Messiah and his people.

the rule of faith: jesus the messiah

The claim of the NT writers was that

in light of the event of Jesus Christ, the Old Testament takes on new, unforseen significance. This depends on a very particular conviction about the identity of Jesus Christ. In the second century, Irenaeus had a nonbiblical term for it that nonetheless gets to the center of New Testament claims about Jesus: recapitulation. jesus was not just a great teacher, nor was he just God with limbs and a mouth. In Jesus, the whole history of Israel - and through Israel, humanity - was recapitulated, or lived again. But this time the one who was true Israel and true human being did not take the path of the first Adam. As the second Adam, Christ was the righteous one, the perfect human covenant partner. But this perfect covenant partner was also the Word incarnate, the one in whom the fulness of the deity dwelt. If the New Testament writers really believe claims like this about Jesus, then it is logical to apply any Old Testament passage related to the true end of Israel, humanity, and the new work of God that is hoped for in the future to one person Jesus Christ.

If the New Testament writers saw Christ as the key to Scripture, should we as followers of Christ do any different? The idea that Jesus is the road we travel on the journey of biblical interpretation has very deep biblical and christological roots.

J Todd Billings, The Word of God for the People of God: An Entryway to the Theological Interpretation of Scripture, Eerdmans 2010

Preaching in the real world

demands a lot of thought about who you're speaking to and what their assumptions are - something this short talk illustrates well.

the great albums (2) - kind of blue

Years ago I'd have been stunned to think I would include a jazz album in a list like this - it just wasn't on my horizon at all. But my defences were slowly taken down by exposure to Humphrey Lyttleton's Best of Jazz on Radio 2 and then this album made me realise I'd turned the corner; decisively so.

I think the motivation for picking-up a copy of Kind of Blue, Miles Davis' masterpiece, was down to it being enthusiastically recommended by Chris Rea. I'm not sure I understand all that's going on in music like this but I really love this album. I wish I could explain it more coherently but I can't.

It just blows so cool.

the kindle app: so easy (and cheaper, too)

If you don't have a Kindle (and I, for one, don't know anyone who has) yet you do have an iPod Touch or an iPhone (and there are hordes of you out there) then the Kindle app for the iPhone is really rather good. It's so easy to get hold of a book - and sometimes (maybe often) cheaper, too. Oh yes, there's a free app for Windows PCs too. So you're not restricted to reading on the small (but entirely adequate) iPhone screen.

Take this one example. Todd Billings' book The Word of God for the People of God looks really interesting. The UK price on Amazon is £11.99. It can be had from Amazon.com for $12.99 but that's extra postage. But on Kindle it's $14.09, which is about £8.75. And delivered to my iPod in seconds.

Brilliant.

little by little

I found this post by Mike Rohde really helpful - I'm trying to take the same approach to reading big books (well, any books actually) - a little bit every day and, lo and behold, one day you get there.

But what I also liked was the emphasis on enjoying the little bit that you're doing. In the past I've been tempted to despise the enormity of the whole task which then translates into something of a dislike of the process involved. I can see now that that need not be.

And what a great sketch, too!

sulk: crazed hysteria

Friday nights are often punctuated by new discoveries on spotify; this week is an album by The Associates that spills 1982 into the air with unerring accuracy - just check out the album cover for starters.

I remember the singles - Party Fears Two in particular - they were odd, club-based songs and not my natural milieu. But something always made me want to listen to Sulk; I think something about them intrigued me.

Well, now I can and it's perplexing, rewarding, unsettling and more. Fascinating. One review said, "Extravagant yet haunted by doubt." Precisely.

lewis: the nearness of god

The relation between Creator and creature is, of course, unique, and cannot be paralleled by any relations between one creature and another. God is both further from us, and nearer to us, than any other being. He is further from us because the sheer difference between that which has It's principle of being in Itself and that to which being is communicated, is one compared with which the difference between an archangel and a worm is quite insignificant. He makes, we are made: He is original, we derivative. But at the same time, and for the same reason, the intimacy between God and even the meanest creature is closer than any that creatures can attain with one another. Our life is, at every moment, supplied by Him: our tiny, miraculous power of free will only operates on bodies which His continual energy keeps in existence - our very power to think is His power communicated to us. Such a unique relation can be apprehended only by analogies: from the various types of love known among creatures we reach an inadequate, but useful, conception of God's love for man.

C S Lewis, The Problem of Pain, p.33

psalm 21 - messiah reigns

The king rejoices in your strength, YHWH.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!

2 You have granted him his heart's desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.

3 You came to greet him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.

5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.

6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

7 For the king trusts in YHWH;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.

8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.

9 When you appear for battle,
you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
YHWH will swallow them up in his wrath,
and his fire will consume them.

10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from the human race.

11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.

12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.

13 Be exalted in your strength, YHWH;
we will sing and praise your might.

excuses/uses

I was just thinking that maybe what really matters is not how much reading material I get through per se but how much thinking that reading leads to.

marked

I have no wish to
mark this day,
as though your loss was
confined because you
were coffined and
dissolved, beyond view,
all your days lost
and erased.
And so a day needs
to be raised to
resurrect you to
sight?

This is simply a
marker in the sands
of sorrow, a flag
hoisted to an unforgiving
sky. I cannot bear its
sight, and yet I'm the one
who chooses to raise it.
You'd know why.

You'd know why
I've kept it all
under wraps,
staunched the flow
and choked-off the
flood.
And in burying beyond
sight, the pain,
the unremitting
sorrow, I know
I've shown myself
your son.

You've left your mark;
deeper than you ever
knew.


(for Mam)

are we a gospel-church?

A great piece by Ray Ortlund.

I especially appreciated the wisdom and challenge of these words:

A major part of pastoral ministry is preaching the doctrines of grace and managing an environment of grace. The latter is harder to accomplish than the former. It is more intuitive. It requires more humility and self-awareness.

(HT: Justin Taylor.)

neil young: dreamin' man

Just spotted this recently-released Neil Young live album on Spotify, Dreamin' Man Live '92.

What a treat; the old man in full-bloom. It's the more reflective, acoustic Neil (in fact, it's a live version of the Harvest Moon album, albeit with a different track order).

A perfect Friday evening chill-out.

(If you want a cheap introduction to Neil, Amazon have his re-mastered album, Harvest, available for download at the moment for 69p)

augustine: interpreting scripture

3 paragraphs from his commentary on genesis

37. In matters that are obscure and far beyond our vision, even in such as we may find treated in Holy Scripture, different Interpretations are sometimes possible without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such a case, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search of truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it. That would be to battle not for the teaching of Holy Scripture but for our own, wishing its teaching to conform to ours, whereas we ought to wish ours to conform to that of Sacred Scripture.


38. Let us suppose that in explaining the words, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and light was made,” one man thinks that it was material light that was made, and another that it was spiritual. As to the actual existence of “spiritual light” in a spiritual creature, our faith leaves no doubt; as to the existence of material light, celestial or supercelestial, even existing before the heavens, a light which could have been followed by night, there will be nothing in such a supposition contrary to the faith until un-erring truth gives the lie to it. And if that should happen, this teaching was never in Holy Scripture but was an opinion pro-posed by man in his ignorance. On the other hand, if reason should prove that this opinion is unquestionably true, it will still be uncertain whether this sense was intended by the sacred writer when he used the words quoted above, or whether he meant something else no less true. And if the general drift of the passage shows that the sacred writer did not intend this teaching, the other, which he did intend, will not thereby be false; indeed, it will be true and more worth knowing. On the other hand, if the tenor of the words of Scripture does not militate against our taking this teaching as the mind of the writer, we shall still have to enquire whether he could not have meant something else besides. And if we find that he could have meant something else also, it will not be clear which of the two meanings he intended. And there is no difficulty if he is thought to have wished both interpretations if both are supported by clear indications in the context.

39. Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking non-sense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of the faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men. If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by those who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books. For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, although “they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion.”

keller: the big questions

Some really stimulating stuff here from TK.

As a taster, here's his 3rd point:

3. The new non-western Global Christianity. The demographic center of Christian gravity has already shifted from the west to Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The rising urban churches of China may be particularly influential in the future. But the west still has the educational institutions, the money, and a great deal of power.

What should the relationship of the older western churches be to the new non-western church? How can we use our assets to serve them in ways that are not paternalistic? How can we learn from them in more than perfunctory ways?

second-hand books

Strangely, I don't normally buy them (and that isn't implying I get them by other, more devious means). But today I have - 3 of them.

REO White - A Guide To Pastoral Care
D Bonhoeffer - The Cost Of Discipleship
D Bonhoeffer - Creation and Temptation (nb: that link is to a book that only contains the first half of the book I bought)

I'll need to be careful it doesn't become a habit.

not sure what

all the BUZZ is about?

This might help.

ed clowney: essays in biblical theology

You cannot fail to be really helped by these essays by Ed Clowney:

A Biblical Theology of the Church
A Biblical Theology of Prayer

Available over at Beginning With Moses (just do a Clowney search)

There's also a great series on iTunes featuring EC & Tim Keller, dealing with Christ-centred preaching. Mint.

kate walsh: tim's house

You might have heard about this album's rise to prominence (I have to say I hadn't). But either way, it's gorgeous. You need to give it a listen.

when pigs look like people

James seems to be written to those who, in large part, are poor and who are suffering at the hands of rich people ('Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into court?' 2:6b). And yet they are themselves guilty of 'dishonouring the poor' (2:6a).

Isn't that often the case? It reminds me of the closing scene of Animal Farm where the pigs now stand on their hind legs, like people, and their faces change into human ones.

lust

Lust is the craving for salt of one who is dying of thirst.

(Frederick Buechner, quoted in Wilson, God So Loved The World, p.30)

intense joy & real sadness (james 1:2)

'Pure joy' is a good rendering of the Greek phrase pasan charan (lit. 'all joy') since the word pas here probably suggests intensity (complete and unalloyed joy) rather than exclusivity (nothing but joy)...James does not, then, suggest that Christians facing trials will have no response other than joy, as if we were commanded neverto be saddened by difficulties.

D J Moo, The Letter of James, IVP, p.53

the government of trials

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but James' use of ἡγέομαι in 1:2 is very interesting. The word can mean a governor, a ruler; it also has the meaning (as it does here) of 'to consider, deem, account, think, count, esteem, have rule over, be governor'.

Is James intimating that trials are not to be determinative for the Christian, that we have the opportunity to be 'over' them, in some sense, and not simply 'under' them? That we can properly make choices with respect to them - for example, to choose in the midst of trials to discover new joy in God?

That is never easy, of course, and sometimes simply isn't possible (for example, during clinical depression) but the possibility of it is heartening.

eschatalogical urgency

So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother good-by,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen* and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant. (1 Kings 19:19-21)

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:61,62)

Plowing. Leaving to follow. Saying goodbye to family. In one case, permitted; in another, disallowed. Why the difference?

The eschatalogical urgency of the coming of the Messiah.

As Kingfishers Catch Fire ( G Manley Hopkins)

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.

I say móre: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.

between here & gone: three lyrics

Goodnight America
I'm standing at a traffic light somewhere in west L.A.
Waiting for the sign to change then I'll be on my way
The noise, the heat, the crush of cars just robs me of my nerve
Then someone yells and blasts their horn and pins me to the curb
I'm a stranger here, no one you would know
My ship has not come in, but I keep hoping though
And I keep looking past the sun that sets above
Saying to myself goodnight America

And I am driving into Houston on a rain-slicked Texas road
Land so flat and sky so dark I say a prayer to float
Should all at once the San Jacinto surge beyond its banks
Like Noah reaching higher ground I'd offer up my thanks
'Cause I'm a stranger here, no one you would know
I'm just passing through, I am therefore I go
The moon rose in the east, but now it's right above
As I say aloud goodnight America

Midnight, it's hard to see the stars
Out on a highway near Atlanta full of strip malls & used cars
First light, just roll your window down and smell
The salty air perfume of Charleston town

Well I'm looking with a pilgrim's eyes upon some promised land
I'm dreaming with my heart outstretched as if it were my hand
And I'll hit the Cross Bronx just in time to beat the rush hour lock
But I got no clue what time it is from this world's busted clock
Yeah I'm a stranger here, no one you would know
I'm from somewhere else, isn't everybody though
I don't know where I'll be when the sun comes up
But till then sweet dreams, goodnight America.

Between Here And Gone
Tonight, the moon came up, it was nearly full.
Way down here on earth, I could feel its pull.
The weight of gravity or just the lure of light,
Made me want to leave my only home tonight.
Yeah I'm just wondering how we know where we belong.
Is it in a photograph, or a dashboard poet's song?
Will I have missed my chance to right some ancient wrong,
Should I find myself between here and gone?

Now I could grab my keys and peel out in my truck,
With every saint on board bringing me their luck.
I could drive too fast, like a midnight thief,
As if there was a way to outrun the grief.
Yeah I'm just wondering how we know where we belong.
In a song that's left behind in a dream I couldn't wake from.
Could I have felt the brush of a soul that's passing on,
Somewhere in between here and gone?

Up above me, wayward angels, a blur of wings and grace.
One for courage, one for safety, one for just in case.

I thought a light went out, but now the candle shines.
I thought my tears wouldn't stop, then I dried my eyes.
And after all of this, the truth that holds me here,
Is that this emptiness is something not to fear.
Yeah, I'll keep wondering how we know where we belong,
After all the journeys made, and the journeys yet to come.
When I feel like giving up instead of going on,
Somewhere in between.

Yeah, I'm just wondering how we know where we belong.
Is it in the arc of the moon, leaving shadows on the lawn?
In the path of fireflies and a single bird at dawn,
Singing in between here and gone.

Grand Central Station
Got my work clothes on full of sweat and dirt.
All this holy dust upon my face and' shirt.
Heading uptown now, just as the shifts are changing,
To Grand Central Station.
Got my lunch box, got my hard hat in my hand.
I ain't no hero, mister, just a working man.
And all these voices keep on asking me to take them,
To Grand Central Station.
Grand Central Station.

I want to stand beneath the clock just one more time.
Want to wait upon the platform for the Hudson Line.
I guess you're never really all alone, or too far from the pull of home,
And the stars upon that painted dome still shine.

I paid my way out on 42nd Street.
I lit a cigarette and stared down at my feet.
And imagined all the ones that ever stood here waiting,
At Grand Central Station.
Grand Central Station.

Now Hercules is staring down at me.
Next to him's Minerva and Mercury.
I nod to them and start my crawl, flyers covering every wall:
Faces of the missing are all I see.

Tomorrow, I'll be back there, working on the pile.
Going in, coming out, single file.
Before my job is done, there's one more trip I'm making,
To Grand Central Station.
Grand Central Station.

Grand Central Station.
Grand Central Station.

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

in conclusion

A really helpful quotation on the subject of what a conclusion ought to be and do.

HT: Matt Perman

The Unpardonable Sin

This is a really helpful piece on the unpardonable sin.

HT: Justin Taylor