Litany at the End of the Century… the come back.

So I promised that I would give you a contrasting song to the previous song… Litany at the End of the Century. I know that it had pretty hard hitting lyrics, but I think that provocative words are good for us to reflect on from time to time. Anyways, this is a different take on Psalm 42, from Jaromir Nohavica’s CD Moje smutne srace (My Sad Heart) BMG, 2000.

As a deer that wants to drink water

Runs through the forest to the hidden stream,

As a deer that wants to drink water,

 

So I long to be with you

I feel anxious alone

So I long to be with you.

 

Help me in my loneliness,

Help me in my life,

Help my abandoned soul.

Every night I call to you

Every night I call for help

 

A deep anguish has settled in my heart,

What darkness in front of my eyes

A deep anguish has settled in my heart.

 

I have never been as lonely as tonight,

Over-reaching pride has built a wall.

I have never been as lonely as tonight.

 

Help me in my loneliness,

Help me in my life,

Help my abandoned soul.

Every night I call to you,

Every night I call for help.

 

I believe in spite of everything

That my calling will reach to your ears,

I believe in spite of everything.

 

When the leave of the aspen tree fall down in October

I accept without reserve all that will come,

When the leaves of the aspen tree fall down in October.

 

Help me in my loneliness,

Help me in my life,

Help my abandoned soul.

Every night I call to you,

Every night I call for help.

 

(Note: In the Czech Republic, the aspen tree loses its leaves in November/December. So you can draw your own conclusions about what he’s saying!) I really love the lyrics to this song, and the music is beautiful too. I love the honesty and openness of what he is saying to God. Our lecturer asked us if we thought that we would be able to pray this song as a prayer in times of hardship. Most of us agreed that we would. She pressed us by asking whether the words about the leaves falling from the aspen tree would be included. I think that most of us still said that we would say them. What I like about the lines ‘when the leaves of the aspen tree fall down in October, I accept without reserve all that will come…’ is that in reality, although we may say that we give everything to God, we often keep something back for ourselves. We want to give all of our selves, lives, plans and futures, but we’re also scared to do that. These lines attested to that reality. I think they’re beautiful. Anyway, that’s all the lyrically fun for now!

On a completely different note… have you seen the trailer for the film ‘Jesus Camp’? It is very scary… A short article on Ekklesia gives a brief description: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060919jesuscamp.shtml Basically, it seems to be a documentary film about a camp in America (obviously) that is ‘training’ up young ‘warriors’ to ‘take back America for Jesus’. In the trailer young children are seen weeping uncontrollably, shouting out etc. Its scares me to see young children so indoctrinated and brain-washed. (And it makes me even more scared of what their parents must be like to be sending them on a camp like this!) The leader of the camp says that she wants to train American Christian children like Muslim children are trained. Firstly, I feel that her perception that all Muslim children are trained to be jihad warriors, is crude, wrong and highly offensive. I also cannot understand why she thinks that taking a violent approach is helpful. Surely if she took those same children into different faith communities so that they could meet children from those backgrounds she would be building much more valuable bridges? Why always the war rhetoric? Why always the ‘we’ll teach ‘em’ attitude?

I believe that the challenge to Christians throughout the world today is not to condemn, judge or shy away from people of other faiths, but instead to engage and work with others for peace, for safer communities and for an end to poverty, strife and hunger. I hope that we will take up this challenge, because if we don’t, the future is bleak.

On another different note… my wonderful friend from Edinburgh, Laura, is coming on Friday for the weekend! Hopefully she will be the first of many! I am looking forward to showing her around Prague in all its gloriousness! It also means that I have a lovely weekend off from thinking about my theology/philosphy essay… which is excellent because I am really struggling at the moment. I’ve never been a fast reader when it comes to academic books, and having had a years break has definitely not helped! If you pray, please pray that I will be able to read much quicker!