I guess I’m on a kick of listening to acoustic, and finding intriguing (for me) albums that have that just-right touch of delicacy and strength.
The album Work Songs by The Porter’s Gate is giving me much rest right now even as I consider the work to be done.
I’m energized by the idea that the gospel means something, and that meaning is more than a theological nicety. Now don’t get me wrong. Theology is a noble art and field of study. I absolutely do not mock it or think it powerless. Honest. At one point I thought my love for the study of God and the things of God would lead me into pastoral ministry (but as it turns out I am completely unsuited for that type of work).
Instead, I see that theology is the part of us that grounds us and frames us in our character. It provides the trellis for us to grow upon and to lean upon as we investigate the mysteries of life (including the mysteries of creation, of awareness, of satisfaction, and of extinction and death). Having that framework helps me to believe and to feel that there is a meaning behind what I do, and a clarification of the meanings that I understand. I might feel an urge to be compassionate, but I am not a master of every avenue of compassion. Theology can help me learn from the wisdom—and the mistakes—of the many others before me.
However, what energizes me now is the idea (!) that the gospel does bring changes in a person’s life, and that the gospel does bring changes in the person’s community. I’m deeply committed to justice and equality, and I’m deeply convinced that the Yahweh of Creation is the Yahweh of the Sword and the Yahweh of the Word. Teaching and movement are together how the justice of the kingdom is accomplished. I believe that the gospel, when it grabs a person, transforms the person, leaving them not the same but empowered and released. We are made to be the workers of the kingdom, and with the Spirit of God and the Words of the Lord we are equipped and directed.
But….
But it can be hard to stay focused on the kingdom and not upon success and accomplishment. I want the gospel to bring change, of course, but I am tempted to think that my work is meaningless or unfruitful if I don’t see that success.
What these songs do for me is remind me that the work is rest. The work is being the hands and feet. The work is listening and telling. The work is healing and restoring. The little things with great love, as the first track says.
The song I’m playing now is “In the Fields of the Lord,” and it intrigues me and it refreshes me. It is a reminder, at least to me, that we are here doing the work the Lord would do—and that, we hope, the Lord is doing through us. It is work, yes. There are tasks. There are actions. There are places to take a stand.
But it is only work, and not a pass-fail system where if we are not absolutely incredibly focused and energized we are not doing true work.
A couple of key lines:
In the garden of the Lord our work is sound
He is weaving every thorn into a crown
There’s some good theology packed in there. “Our work is sound” means, to me, that we’re not doing crazy, useless things. Rather, in doing the works of mercy and justice, of healing and restoration, we are doing good and true things. Yes, I see crazy people doing crazy things and calling it “Jesus.” I’m not a judge per se. I just don’t think it’s useful to do crazy things. But what I also see are people doing good, solid things. Feeding the poor. Bringing sleeping bags to the homeless. Protesting the incarceration of minorities, especially African Americans. Protesting the carceral state itself. Providing community to the broken and the lost. These aren’t works of theology in that they are not opportunities to spray forth words. Not every ministry is a Bible study. But they are the works of the Lord as he told us to do.
And that second line of the couplet is perhaps my favorite: “He is weaving every thorn into a crown.” Now, that’s theology. That is saying that the thorns of life—the things that wound, the things that stick, the things that keep us wounded (ever tried to get a thorn out that won’t come out?), are things that are turned into a crown. The parts of us that are wounded and broken become the things about us that most let the work and words of the Lord shine. My mess is my message. I don’t have a perfect life to bring forth to exemplify how God saves people. I will just show you my brokenness and my mistakes and my hollow parts. This is me, and this is what the Lord is doing to mend and heal and restore and renew. The thorns—they become a crown, fitted for me.
And the key thing in this album: there is work, but it is not a breaking work. It is not an onerous work. It is the work we do with great joy to bring about great joy.
The track is here, but I strongly recommend you get the entire album. Here are the words for the entire song.
VERSE 1:
In the fields of the Lord, our work is rest,
He is moving in our hands and feet to bless.
In the fields of the Lord, in the fields of the Lord,
in the fields of the Lord our work is rest.VERSE 2:
In the vineyards of the Lord our work is light.
He is tending every leaf and every vine.
In the vineyards of the Lord, in the vineyards of the Lord,
in the vineyards of the Lord our work is light.VERSE 3:
In the garden of the Lord our work is sound,
He is weaving every thorn into a crown.
In the garden of the Lord, in the garden of the Lord,
in the garden of the Lord our work is sound.VERSE 4:
At the harvest of the Lord the fields are white,
He will wipe away the tears from ev’ry eye.
At the harvest of the Lord, at the harvest of the Lord,
at the harvest of the Lord the fields are white.
ETA: I found out through accidental research on another site that “Work Songs” have a specific meaning that I didn’t know about before. This doesn’t take away from my understanding of the album, but it does deepen appreciation.