Yesterday, an iconic member of Canadian culture passed away at age 77.
One of Canada’s most prolific and well-known country and folk singers, Stompin’ Tom was credited with writing more than 300 songs. He had released four dozen albums, with total sales of nearly 4 million copies.
Yet among all his creations, it may be that the Hockey Song will go do as one forever woven into Canada’s fabric and knotted closely with the nation’s obsession with its sport of choice.
If you need an orientation OR just a reliving of past memories, here you go. In honour of Stompin’ Tom, I give you “The Hockey Game”…
Today’s reading in my Lenten devotional contained this oh-so-basic but oh-so-vital truth. It is precisely relevant to the season of Lent but generally applicable to the whole pursuit of God:
The very first Scripture reading of the Lenten season is from the prophet Joel. In it, God declares “return to me with your whole heart” (2:12). The purpose of Lent is not purification and penance for their own sakes, but in order to return to God, and re-establish the relationship with Him that we once had (or to establish the relationship we are called to have).
How forgetful I can be. No act considered spiritual is to be undertaken for any motivation beneath “returning to God with one’s whole heart”, yet how easy it is to be driven by the lesser desire to “measure up” or appear impressive, to others or ourselves.
This is one of the killers of spiritual life, sold to us by religion and rebellion alike. Lent leads such ego to the gallows. And when the noose tightens, our souls will be on the verge of entering life, perhaps for the first time.
For those with music as a primary language (perhaps all of us!), Gungor’s song “We Will Run” has always struck my ears and heart as particularly powerful in this simple call. An abbreviated version is below for any who need a “Gungor orientation” this morning.
My Twitter feed served up this devotional based on the song “Brokenness Aside” by All Sons & Daughters. I only skimmed the article, but I have soaked in the song on numerous occasions. Inspired by the concept, I offer the following reflections birthed from this artful piece of worship.
These touching lyrics are below, and if the song is unknown to you, then THIS will help you “feel it”.
Brokenness Aside Leslie Jordan and David Leonard
Will your grace run out
If I let you down
‘Cause all I know
Is how to run
‘Cause I am a sinner If it’s not one thing its another Caught up in words Tangled in lies You are the Savior And you take brokenness aside And make it beautiful Beautiful
Will you call me child
When I tell you lies
Cause all I know
Is how to cry
CHORUS
“Will your grace run out if I let you down? ‘Cause all I know is how to run.”
I lived in a state of fear for years, certain that God’s nature must be as fickle as mine. In my finest moments, perhaps I am courageously consistent, steadily stepping toward God. But how few are my finest moments! The vast majority of moments involve failure to meet even my own lax standards, let alone the brilliantly holy nature of the One Without Beginning or End. Wearied myself by my inconsistency and unfaithfulness, it seemed only logical to conclude that God must sigh an exhausted sigh every time I returned in need-filled prayer. Stumbling the same path repeatedly was furiously frustrating to me, yet apparently it was not frustrating enough, as I was apt to be there again the next day. Every taste of personal disappointment worked to foster in me a belief that God’s dominant emotion toward me must be, at best, an obligated kindness. I mean, I would be frustrated enough to give up on such weakness. Surely God would too.
How pleasant to be woefully wrong about Him!
Will you call me child when I tell you lies? ‘Cause all I know Is how to cry.”
What a joy to sense God speaking over me as “His son”. The acceptance of the Father is staggeringly hard to accept. Truthfulness is so foreign to our crooked-to-the-core natures. Love freely given makes a mockery of the merit-based systems that we so proudly function within. Surely God cannot maintain His affection and commitment toward children so quick to compromise, so prone to wander. And yet, PRAISE GOD, He does, for His faithfulness is based upon the integrity of His being rather than than the fragmented states of the rest of us.
And that is indeed very Good News.
‘Cause I am a sinner If it’s not one thing its another Caught up in words Tangled in lies You are the Savior And you take brokenness aside And make it beautiful Beautiful
The distortion runs deep within us. The moment we shore up one gap, we create another. There is simply not enough wholeness within us to cover up our brokenness, not enough fabric to hide the nakedness. Yet God, the Abundant One, wades into the depths of our deception, cuts the cords that bind, and miraculously brings beauty from ashes. From Genesis 1 onward, the Spirit of God hovers over formless voids of darkness, shaping them into conditions that sustain thriving and God-honouring life. There is One striving to work such wonders in every life today, and Yahweh is His name. You can be certain that He is hovering over life as you know it today.
If you haven’t yet heard “Brokenness Aside”, then let your soul be fed by clicking below.
It was powerful, moving. It made the body rock and the head bob. For my life, I couldn’t have identified its title or artist. And I was mystified as to how I was humming along. A handy-dandy iPhone app called Shazam ended the confusion by telling me that the tune in question was called “Manifesto”, by Canadian band “The City Harmonic”.
This is no new release, but if you’re not already familiar with this anthem, then this is your time to hit PLAY and let it roll. I dare you to try barricading your mind against this insistent and forceful offering.
Yesterday, an iconic member of Canadian culture passed away at age 77.