What a nice surprise this Lenten Season to have Bruce Springsteen release his newest and I believe one of his best cds. Many are big fans of early Springsteen, others are big fans of acoustic Bruce, but I have become a BIG FAN of The Boss' recordings beginning with THE RISING and nothing alters that opinion after several listens of his newest WRECKING BALL. I do not seem to be alone in that opinion. As a Christian, a theologian, a pastor and a human being I so value Springsteen's ability to tell the truth about real life with a sense of vibrant faith, hope and love which seems to be deeply shaped and formed by the biblical narrative and results in what I believe is a tour de force from start to finish! Perhaps only Bob Dylan is capable of doing the same.
Track One: "We Take Care of Our Own" (the first single released from the cd) speaks of the massive disappointment and despair for many living in the USA today. He sings "I been knocking on the door that holds the throne. I been looking for the map that leads me home. I been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone. The road of good intentions has gone dry as a bone...He then asks "Where're the eyes with the will to see? Where're the hearts that run over with mercy? Where's the love that has not forsaken me? Where's the work that'll set my hands, my soul free? Where's the Spirit that'll reign over me? Where's the Promise..."
Tracks Two and Three: "Easy Money" and "Shackled and Drawn"both articulate the disparity between rich and poor through the powerful images of looking for 'easy money' and the disappointments of being un/under employed as being "shackled and chained" yet both leave with a sound of hope as Shackled and Drawn finishes with "Pick up the rock son, carry it on. What's a poor boy to do but keep singing his song."
Track Four: "Jack of all Trades"continues with the same desperation of an un/underemployed person who is willing to do anything to work while expressing the hope that everything will be all right and that "it feels like the world's gonna change and we'll start caring for each other like Jesus said we might...we stood the drought, now we'll stand the flood, there's a new world coming, I can see the light and we'll be all right."
Track FIve: "Death to My Hometown"is just a statement of the reality of smalltown America. Having just returned from visiting my family in rural Wisconsin "death" was everywhere from what it once was. Springsteen articulates this reality very well with a raw-ness which shocks you as you listen and there is no real hope expressed.
Track Six: "This Depression" takes on a double meaning as and expression of both the economic and psychological depression which goes hand in hand. Yet, this song rises above the depression when it says "I've been down, but never this down. I've been lost but never this lost...I've been low but never this low. I've had my faith shaken but never hopeless...I haven't always been strong but never felt so weak. All of my prayers, gone for nothing. I've bee without love but never been forsaken. Now the morning sun is breaking. This is my confession. I need your heart. In this depression I need your heart."
Track Seven: "Wrecking Ball"(the title track) has a defiance with the words "When your best hopes and desires are scattered to the wind and the hard times come and go and here they come again, Bring on your wrecking ball. C'Mon and take your best shot . Let me see what you got. Bring on your wrecking ball." (This seems so close to Bob Dylan's Everything is Broken from his Oh Mercy cd)
Track Eight: "You've Got It"Is a love song about a woman who has "it" (perhaps his wife Patti) but the "it" is described this way..."No one ever found it. Ain't no school ever taught it. No one ever made it. Ain't no one ever bought it...no one can break it. no one can steal it. no one can fake it. You can't read it in a book. you can't even dream it. it ain't got a name...Well listen up my reckless love. It's precious so don't waste it. Can't tell you what God made it of. But you've got it. You got it in your bones and blood and you're realer than real ever was."
Track Nine: "Rocky Ground" is one of the best tracks on the cd acknowledging that "we've been traveling over rocky ground" but then comes the biblical and theological foundation for "traveling over rocky ground in rocky times". Listen to these lyrics: "Rise up Shepherd,your flock has roamed far from the hill, the stars have faded, the sky is still, the angels are shouting 'Glory Hallelujah'...Forty Days and Nights of rain washed this land. Jesus said the money changers in this temple will not stand. Oh Shepherd find your flock and get them to higher ground. The floodwater's rising and We're Canaan bound. Tend to your flock or they will stray. We'll be called for our service come judgment day. Before we cross that river wide, the blood on our hands will come back on us twice. Rise up Shepherd, your flock has roamed far from the hill. The stars have faded . The sky is still. The Son's in the Heavens and a New Day is rising...You use your muscle and your mind and you pray your best that your best is good enough. The Lord will do the rest. Your raise your children and you teach them to walk straight and sure. You pray that hard times come no more. You try to sleep and toss and turn the bottom's dropping out. Where you once had faith now there's only doubt. You pray for guidance only. Silence now meets your prayers. The Morning breaks. You awake, but no one is there. But There's a new day coming."
Track Ten: "Land of Hope and Dreams"is my favorite on the cd and is very reminiscent of WoodY Guthrie's "This Train is Bound for Glory" and Bob Dylan's "Slow Train Coming" as Springsteen invites people to "grab their ticket and their suitcase" and "thunder's rolling down this track " heading for "The Land of Hope and Dreams". Then Springsteen tells us who is on the train..."This train carries saints and sinners; losers and winners; whores and gamblers; lost souls; the broken hearted; thieves and the sweet souls of the faithfully departed; fools and kings...Yes, on this train dreams will not be thwarted, faith will be rewarded and the bells of true freedom will ring...ALL ABOARD!"
Track Eleven: "We are Alive" (another one of my favorites on the cd) is a death and resurrection song which begins "There's a cross up yonder on Calvary Hill and There's a Graveyard down below where the dead will come to life. And this is the they'll sing: 'We are alive and though our bodies lie alone here in the dark our spirits rise to carry the fire and light the spark to stand shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart...Let your mind rest easy. sleep well my friend. It's only our bodies that betray us in the end...' Then Springsteen inserts himself into his lyric "I awoke last night in the dark and dreamy deep, from head to my feet my body's gone stone cold. there were worms crawling all around me. my fingers scratching at an earth black and six foot low. Alone in the blackness of my grace. alone I'd been left to die. Then I heard voices calling all around me and the earth rose above me and my eyes filled with sky. We are alive and though our bodies lie alone here in the dark our souls and spirits rise to carry the fire and light the spark. Thank God we are alive." What a great song celebrating the communion of saints, as well as death and resurrection.
Bonus Tracks: BUY THE DELUXE EDITION to get these two great songs
Swallowed Up (In the Belly of the Whale) is a masterful parable based on Jonah which begins "I fell asleep on a dark and starlit sea with nothin but the cloak of God's mercy over me. I come upon strange earth and a great black cave. I dreamt I awoke as if buried in my grave...We've been swallowed up, disappeared from this world...we've trusted our skills and our good sails and our faith that with God, the righteous in this world prevail. But we've been swallowed up and disappeared from this world."
American Land has shown up in Springsteen's work such as The Dublin Sessions but really is the proper close to this cd (again reminiscent of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land") as it binds together the hopes and dreams of so many and voices hope even in the midst of grave socio-economic and political difficulties which has created a culture of fear and despair.
I can only say once again, thank you Bruce for giving voice to the human condition and to the hope that invites all to ride the train to the land of hope and dreams (the kingdom of God). I will be listening often during this Lenten Season as a practice of repentance, a call to alms giving, and an invitation to prayer that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the true Hope for all.
My wife and I are leaving for mainland China soon. It is our first visit and the primary purpose is to perform a wedding for a very close family friend whose family and fiance's family live in Shanghai. We go with great anticipation and wonder at what we will see and experience while there. We have traveled alot through the years and have been on every continent except Asia. It has been interesting to have people tell us what it will be like...We have many Chinese (1st, 2nd and 3rd generations) offer their insights and recommendations, as well as others we have known who have visited or even worked there for a while. In preparing to go, I first had a similar sense that I had preparing to go to Africa my first time in 1996 (which was and continues to be an incredible continent to visit and minister), but the closer I have come to departure, I have a very different sense...I call it an "ambivalent anticipation"...a mixture of not knowing what to expect and of looking forward to the totally new cross-cultural engagement that China offers. The overwhelming words we have heard from all the people we have spoken to is that "Shanghai will be unlike any place you have ever been." We will be spending time in ancient, old, modern and contemporary Shanghai and beyond, SO we are ready to commence the journey. I have found several books to be very insightful in preparing:
I do not usually spend alot of time reflecting around my birthday(s). Tomorrow, February 6th, I turn 52 years old. As I came home from teaching at Regent College in Vancouver, BC Canada (
In one of the greatest sermons ever preached ("The Weight of Glory") CS Lewis begins by stating that AGAPE LOVE, not selflessness, is the greatest virtue of the Christian faith and that God's desire for us is to be filled with JOY rather than seeking our own desires and pursuing our own agendas, pleasures and enjoyment. He further challenges us to reflect upon the fact that for most of us "it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who want to go on making mud pies in a slum because (s)he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea." Lewis concludes that we as Christians and human beings are "far too easily pleased." 