This post is a deviation from my normal blogposts on scripture. I post it as a kind of palate-cleansing set of thoughts at the conclusion of this series on the book of Lamentations. Think of it as that slightly savory cheese and cracker at a wine-tasting… meant to help you appreciate the tastes you’ve had and those yet to come. I have found music to be very healing and helpful in processing my need for peace beyond loss. But honestly, I LOVE MUSIC! I mean I really love music… all kinds… all the time. So what resonates with my soul, may not do so for you. But with that disclaimer, I will let you in on a playlist I have developed over the last few months. I play it every morning as part of each start of the day. These songs aren’t losing any meaning to me anytime soon. I’ll give a little explanation as to WHY each one is meaningful, and I hope you’d find them enjoyable too. Hyperlinks will take you to each separate song.
1. “Ulysses” by Josh Garrels from his album Love & War & The Sea In Between. This has been flat out one of my favorite albums for a long time. And this song defines my conviction that the ancient Greek concept of “Thumos” as the fire inside each man’s masculine soul is crucially important. It seems at least to me to be part of the image of God, but of course, the Greeks went goofily polytheistic with it. Discernment is a must. (Good blog posts HERE and HERE if you wish to explore further.) I was raised in a weird mix of “proto-hippie” anti-authoritarianism and hyper-fundamentalist dogma, which meant from the age of 8 to 14, we had no television in my home. Instead, my mom pushed me to the glory of books… particularly the classics. She ordered a mail-order collection of classics with a new volume arriving in the mail each month. And when I first read Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, I never got over the adventure and the romance those epic stories told. This song captures that “thumos” fire… that romance… that epic motivation. And I realize that the last eight words of this song will be my Odyssey… a fulfillment I will only know when I sail my ship back, not to Ithaca, but into my eternal home. And this driving passion is comforting. I will let it carry me… both to any new adventure… and eventually to the finale of the story where I confidently know those last eight words will make the fire’s burning worth it all.
2. “Steady” by Loud Harp. It’s the chorus of this song that comforts and mystifies at the same time: “You’re the joy in the middle of my pain. You’re the peace that I cannot explain. You’re the love I’ll never escape. You are God.” Plus the song has a river in it… I’m practically aquatic, so that flows a special comfort into my soul as well!
3. “Is He Worthy?” by Andrew Peterson. The questions and the litany back and forth in this praise song are the questions of life… asked plainly, almost disturbingly so. I LOVE IT! And Jesus is the only One able to answer these questions that haunt us in this broken place! After Rich Mullins died in a horrible accident in 1997, I thought there would never be a more authentic singer/songwriter on the Christian scene. Fortunately I later found Andrew Peterson to restore my hopes. This is just wonderful worship. And real!
4. “Far Kingdom” by the Gray Havens. A band named for Tolkien’s concept of heaven? Yeah… gotta love that. And this song, mixing biblical imagery and Tolkien metaphor is a wonderful perspective builder. The last verse just makes me weep with the realization that heaven already knows my name! Umm… and another river in the chorus!
5. “Gratitude” by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. I am indebted to my niece for the notion of “Sacred in the Secular” when it comes to music. I find something holy in this song. Not a Christian band necessarily. Not a Christian song exclusively. But it captures gratitude better than anything I’ve ever heard… lots of these little things add up to overwhelming thankfulness. And I am OK with that “first sip of whiskey” line… I may be Baptist, but I am pretty sure when it comes to Bourbon, I was actually born Presbyterian!
6. “Long Journey” by Sarah Jarosz. Again “Sacred in the Secular” going on here. My son introduced me to this 4 time Grammy winner (all before age 30). She is a gifted song writer and musician. Hard to believe she wrote and recorded this at the tender age of 19… another “Odyssey” song (this time from a feminine perspective) and also a love song. Sarah helped me give up my grudge against love songs with this one. I can listen to them again now. And her voice… I want it in my ear as much as possible.
7. “Broken Heart” by Andy Gullahorn. Like Andrew Peterson, another authentic voice that fills the Rich Mullins gap for me. I have used lines from this song in counseling for years… my favorite is this: “A broken heart is better than one that doesn’t feel”. Yes… Yes it is. The last verse is a wonderful worship reflection.
8. “Psalm 13” by The Corner Room. This band does scripture songs exclusively. I mean the lyrics are ONLY scripture quotation. Great to learn some scripture memory. This one is good lament… “How long O Lord?” Plus it is bluegrass/country with some banjo pickin’ and fiddle-playin’… and that sound is hard-wired in Burch DNA… the music of my people!
9. “Doubting Thomas” by Nickel Creek. This will be controversial I know. I hope Chris Thile has not fully deconstructed his Christian faith, but that is entirely possible. Still this tune is NOT about rejecting God. If you listen carefully, it runs to God, with doubt. The last verse is a clear prayer for forgiveness and a commitment to believe despite doubt struggles. The line that gets me the most: “Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face, then I beg to be spared because I’m a coward.” Also that repeat of “O me of little faith”… Yep. Been there.
10. “Jesus…” written by Rich Mullins, performed by Ashley Cleveland. This is from the record Rich never got to finish. But his band took the songs and rough recordings Rich left and several singers lent their talents. This is such a powerful song… all the way through… lyrics that squeeze the doubt and difficulty right out of my thinking and blinding me with the light of Jesus! The last line lingers hauntingly… “Feels like the devil’s rolled a stone onto my heart. Can You roll that stone away?”
11. “Pastures New” by Nickel Creek. Just a wonderful acoustic instrumental song. And it evokes some Psalm 23 imagery. For me it is the simple melody and counter melodies back and forth between instruments that bring a sense of calming peace.
12. “Jesus is Better” by Austin Stone Worship. This worship band just consistently produces some wonderful music. I need this simple three word reminder… a lot. “…in all my sorrow, Jesus is better, make my heart believe.”
13. “Psalm 23” - by The Corner Room. Another scripture song… this time the most recognizable scripture in all the world. So good to know a Shepherd is leading me …even in the valley of the shadow.
14. “Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call (Psalm 42)” - by Matt Boswell & Matt Papa. A modern hymn… majestic… biblical… powerfully captures both lament and hope. “When all I possess is grief, God be then my treasure.” A new favorite of mine as well.
15. “(144) Steadfast Love” - by Loud Harp. Yet another Psalm set to music. It is “steadfast love”… grace… that gets us through the hardest times, showers the good times with outrageous joy, and takes us all the way home! And God Himself IS that steadfast love… It is not PART of Him, It IS Him!
16. “All Because of Christ” - Austin Stone Worship. Play this song at my funeral! It is the song that most defines my life. If there is anything in this man at all… it is because of Christ. “…though the things of earth may fall… You will remain. ..If I stand and see it through, if I stay the course and make it home, if my heart is overwhelmed with peace in the storm, it’s all… it’s all because of Christ.” This is Odyssey “thumos” fire redeemed by the True Warrior King!
17. “Farther Along” - by Josh Garrels. I bookend this playlist with a last one from the same album that started the list. This remake of an American gospel song with a modest hip-hop beat behind it is awesome. Josh’s ability to do a sing-song slow rap of the verses is a complex, thought-provoking, spirit-lifting sermon in and of itself. And the journey goes all the way to the final destination… a reminder of the true voyage that “thumos” fire is fueling. “So cheer up my brothers… we’ll understand this all by and by.”
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