If you’re a regular reader of Thinking Through Christianity, you might be familiar with my affinity for Gungor from my post about Christian music. I love the way they experiment with music and the way their lyrics often come straight from Scripture and always minister to my soul.
This song in particular, from their album, Ghosts Upon the Earth, is so beautiful. So, so beautiful.
We live in a world of division and strife and pride that condescends and marginalizes. Our churches are rife with division and strife and prideful condescension. There is good in the world, and our churches do much good in the world too. But. Until Jesus Christ returns to restore all things, our jaded and weary hearts need healing and hope.
Here’s what I think the lyrics are getting at. They’re saying: Don’t bicker. Discuss. Argue, even. But don’t bicker about nonsense derived from generational differences, theological differences, cultural differences, political differences, lifestyle differences… Being “right” is nothing without love.
“Church Bells”
Let church bells ring
Let children sing
Even if they don’t know why let them sing
Why drown their joy
Stifle their voice
Just because you’ve lost yours
May our jaded hearts be healed
Amen
Let old men dance
Lift up their hands
Even if they are naïve, let them dance
You’ve seen it all
You watch them fall
Wash off your face and dance
May our weary hearts be filled with hope
Amen
About The Author
Renea McKenzie
(Editor in Chief) is a poet whose work often centers around the relationships between nature and the city, loss and love, faith and protest. She holds an MLA in English Literature and an MA in African American Studies. In between her two Masters degrees, Renea took a "gap year" to study theology at the famous L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. L'Abri is also where she read the Harry Potter saga for the first time and fell in love with the characters and the story's triumph of sacrificial love. Renea leads an incredibly talented creative writing group at her church and spends a fair amount of time binging books and Netflix and swing dancing at the historic Sons of Hermann Hall.