Here's a devotional I wrote for Interlinc's latest music mag (YLO79)
Song: FEZ- Being Born
Artist: U2
Album: No Line on the Horizon
Kirk Moore
Union Congregational United Church of Christ
Somonauk, IL
kirk@kirkogitation.com
Teaching Point: We live in a world filled with both devastation and hope. We serve a God who is present with us through devastation and hope.
Opening Questions: What troubles your soul? What gives you reason to hope?
Discussion:
FEZ-Being born describes a person traveling (according to Bono, on a motorcycle) near a “thin place” (where the boundary between a person and God seems just a little thinner.) for musicians, FEZ in Morocco. As the traveler continues, they can see the troubling sight of fires burning in Africa and they see an accident on the road. Somehow through the travelling experience they feel a sense of hope and new beginnings.
Ask:
- What is dangerous about this song?
- What about the song troubles your soul?
- Where in the song do you experience hope in the midst of devastation?
- What images of “being born” can you think of?
The Psalms are excellent for expressing hope in the midst of devastation. Look at the following examples:
Psalm 22: 1-2, 11, 26-27
Psalm 69:1-2, 13-14
Psalm 74:1, 11-12, 21
The Psalms do not describe a quick fix or a “just snap out if it! Things will get better really soon!” expression. They show real pain, real fear, real devastation and also true hope. They express a feeling of, or at least a hope for a connection to God through the best and the worst times.
Conclusion: Life is not all good. It is not all bad either. We can expect God to be near us in every part of our faith journey.
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