Reflections of a Jazz Theologian

Playing the pain of others

I'm trying to learn how to understand the pain of those around me.  John Howard Griffin became "Black Like Me," choosing to live a pain that was foreign to him.

There is a reason why jazz musicians will choose to learn to play other instruments, it allows them to better support them and respond to them during the song.

Lately I have read two books that have affected me profoundly.

"The Greatest Generation," by Tom Brokaw, has affected me deeply.  I am in contact with people from this generation daily and I have found that they do not readily volunteer the pain but at the same time, it is very close to the surface...one only needs to ask a few questions.  Where did you spend your twenties?  How many anniversaries did you miss?  Tell me about the friends you lost during the war.  Do you still find yourself saving in case the economy crashes again?

The other book is, "Night" by Elie Wiesel.  The horrifying story of a 14 year old boy who was forced to survive in Hitler's concentration camps.  What caused this young devout Jew to grow up and write...

"Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.

Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes."

On the cross, Jesus chose to absorb our pain; I want to learn how to follow in his steps.  I want to be willing to read the books, see the movies, drive in the car for six hours until I reach the desolate reservation of our Natives, cross the street and talk to my neighbor that was arrested last month...my gay neighbor who just lost his father...the woman across the street whose husband just abandoned her...

Lord, help me to be willing to listen with my life.

Black Like Me

I'm re-reading Black Like Me.  Years have passed since I first followed John Howard Griffin's amazing journey of a white man living as a black man in the Deep South in the late 1950's.  If you don't know the story, Griffin, decided to discover for himself what it was actually like to live as a black man in America.  With the aid of medication and sun lamps he darkened his skin, shaved his head and set out on a spectacular journey into the land of lynchings, segregation and oppression.

Griffin offers us a tale of courage, honesty and cruelty from a perspective that most can only imagine-it is a challenging model for living out the incarnation. 

Griffin was able to speak to the problem of race in America because he was willing to become one with the oppressed in order to speak prophetically on their behalf.

I admire this man and am challenged by him because he became, "Black Like Me."

Jazz-Based Spirituality (Coltrane part 7)

Acknowledgment, Resolution, Pursuance and Psalm….Those were Coltrane’s stations. We could take them on as our own and seek to move through each stage ourselves; however, that would be a very classical approach!  A jazz-based spirituality is not about merely copying other people’s walk with God but being inspired by them to create and discover the Spirit’s song for ourselves. 

"I See You"

It is said that in parts of Africa, "hello" is replaced with "Sawu bona." Translated, "I see you." The reply is, "Sikhona." Translated, "I am here."

One author writes, "The order of the exchange is important: until you see me, I do not exist. It's as if, when you see me, you bring me into existence." Do we truly see each other? Do we truly exist?

To all those who visit this "place"...It's good to see you!