Categories: uncategorized
Date: 16 November 2007 10:49:10
To everything (turn! turn! turn!)
There is a season (turn! turn! turn!)
And a time to every purpose under heaven.
I'm in a church music group along with a couple of other Wibloggers, Lanark and Nessa. (Rhys was also in it, but we split due to artistic differences, so I'm petulantly not linking him.*)
Generally, I lead it and pick the songs for the service. However, Lanark did this Sunday's. The theme of the service is 'Stewardship (Time)'. Lanark thinks we should play the above quoted song, if only after the service. His inner hippie wants an outing, and his excuse is that it vaguely fits the theme.
So we get into a discussion on the song's meaning, to see whether it's actually trying to say something which may cause disquiet amongst The Elders. Unfortunately, I can't even remember Lanark's take on it (not even sure he really expressed one), but as it's my blog, I get to pontificate about my own interpretation.
To me it's saying that there is a season for everything, but the seasons of war, hate and poverty have always been with us, and now it's time for love and peace: 'I swear it's not too late'. So turn! from the old ways to the new. It's a genius piece of songwriting.
And this gets at the heart of whether you see Christianity as a force of conservatism or a force of change (no it does, bear with me a minute here). Does our faith just talk about a fallen world which will always be this way, no matter what we do? That men are evil, so war will always be there? That there's a time for hate? I find some comfort in a homespun philosophy that acknowledges the world as it is, and to some extent accepts that it's like that.
But that has to be held in tension with the idea of the kingdom of God: God is redeeming the world, and has gathered about him a group of people (the church) to aid in this endeavour. So the church needs to be shouting ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!' at the war, hate and poverty.
Karl Marx said, ‘Philosophers have only described the world as it is; the point is to change.' I agree and disagree in equal measure. The point is to change; but Jesus' manifesto for that was far more radical than Marx's. And a truly realistic understanding of the fallen world is vital for changing it.
Turn! Turn! Turn!
*This is, of course, untrue; it just sounds more interesting than the truth which was something to do with new structures and rotas. And I've linked him in the entry below. Go on, read his blog, it's very good.