The teacher in Ecclesiastes speaks of the absurdity of life--meaningless, a chasing after the winds. What does it matter? Good or evil, rich or poor... in the end we die, and everything is meaningless. Except, he concludes, nothing is forgotten. Nothing is meaningless. Everything is remembered in the memory of God. And some day there will be a reckoning.
The Christian tradition speaks of a “great judgement day,” when every wrong is named, and every deception is exposed--and, as I understand the redemptive work of Jesus, forgiveness and grace are extended to all who will receive...receive and share. This isn’t a day when “they” get what’s coming to “them”--it’s the day when everything is exposed, everything is set right, and everything is covered in forgiveness and the willingness to forgive. This is the judgement of the One who is love. The old English puritans had it right--they knew that there was no true freedom without truth-telling, but they knew that they could look sin “straight in the eye” because no matter how great the sin, the grace of God is greater. “Deeper than the deepest ‘NO’,” Tillich wrote, “is the resounding ‘YES’.” A prayer of greatest wisdom endures: Father, forgive my trespasses, as I forgive those who have trespassed against me.
lyrics
I run to keep just ahead of the voices
I run to keep just ahead of the mob
I run to shake off my collectors
B-but I know that the hammer must fall
M-must fall
B-but I know that the hammer must fall
M-must fall
I run so hard that my bones are breaking
I run so hard that I’m bound to fall
I run to shake off my collectors
B-but I know that the hammer must fall
M-must fall
B-but I know that the hammer must fall
M-must fall
I run to you when I’ve lost my senses
I run to you when the devil come’s call’n
I run to you ‘cause you’re my religion
B-but I know that the hammer must fall
M-must fall
B-but I know that the hammer must fall
M-must fall
I’m gonna lay me down to die now
I’m gonna lay my burden down
I’m gonna face all my collectors
Because I know that the hammer must fall
M-must fall
Because I know that the hammer must fall
M-must fall
M-must fall
M-must fall
M-must fall
M-must fall
Gorgeous fingerstyle guitar playing from this Portland, Oregon musician that captures the spirit of American Primitive in dazzling detail. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 30, 2021
