Crying Out A Broken Hallelujah

Every now and then a song just haunts me and won't let me go.



Such is the case with the song "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. It started when a favorite songwriter, Michael Knott, recorded a sparse arrangement of the song and put it on his myspace page. Then author/pastor/teacher/theologian/cool-guy-I'd-like-to-know Christian Scharen announced that his next book would carry the title "Broken Hallelujahs" as it explores faith messages in popular culture (his previous book, One Step Closer, is an awesome theology book based on the music of U2). Here is Scharen's description of why he picked the title "Broken Hallelujahs":

In this life, all we are capable of is a broken hallelujah. We’re only even able to raise a broken hallelujah because of what God has done for us. Knowing that keeps us from trying to please God with our shiny “holy hallelujahs” and allows us to be honest about ourselves, our need for God’s mercy, and our call to join in the God’s mission of mercy in the midst of a broken world. (full article)

Back to the song...

The video with this post is my attempt to reflect the way that this song has kept me up late the last few night playing the guitar and singing. Here's the lyrics:

I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew that Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above,
But all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.

The final verse (in my arrangement) is my favorite. I'd be quite happy to have it be the words I use to sum up my existence if I have the opportunity to do so when my time comes:

I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my lips but...Hallelujah

Thank you Leonard Cohen.

What do you love about Jesus (in 60 seconds or less)?

Kelly Fryer has started a new group on Facebook around her most recent book, Reclaiming The "E" Word.

Even as a church professional, I find myself wondering often if I'm actually living my faith in real life. I don't get hung up on doing good works or worrying if God loves me, but I do wonder about how being a follower of Jesus is making a difference in how I live.

Kelly just started this Facebook group (and if you're not on Facebook yet, how exactly are you wasting your time these days?) and she sent around a question in hopes that we would actually answer it:

"What is at the CORE of what you believe and why your faith matters to you and what difference you think Jesus makes in the world??? Can you say it in 60 seconds or less??"

Part of "reclaiming the E word", I think, is being able to EXPRESS it simply, passionately, in a way that makes sense to everyday people. As a Christian who happens to be a mainliner or progressive, what IS the core message of your faith. What, in a nutshell, is what you believe? It'll help me - and all of us, I think - to hear your answers to that question.

I really like that idea of not being afraid to share what I believe. Some may be surprised to hear that this is a struggle, even for a pastor. Deal with it. I'm trying to. So I offered the following reply on Facebook, trying to stick close to 60 second guideline:

I love Jesus because Jesus came into our world and announced that there was something better. A new kingdom. Not off in eternity somewhere, but here and now. On earth as in heaven.

I love Jesus because Jesus is totally fine with the fact that we can't accomplish this new reality on our own, but nonetheless calls us to put all that we are into making it happen.

I love Jesus because Jesus always seems to line up next to those on the outside. This gives me great comfort when I don't fit in and challenges me immensely when it's someone else on the margin.

I love Jesus because everything that seems messed up about the way Christianity is lived out today is ususally best exposed not by the critique of others, but by the life and teachings of Jesus himself.

So get over to Facebook and join the group. And then...answer the question. You can post your responses to the question here, too.