How dare they try to end this beauty?

Today I was recruited to sing a descant in chapel, and the reading they did in chapel was from Revelation about the new heaven and the new earth. I love Revelation--it's beautifully mysterious, and I love the mystery in the promise of new life. But it got me remembering back to when I was in Israel and reading "Simply Christian" by N. T. Wright, which talks a lot about the new heaven and new earth to come and that Jesus was the point where heaven and earth met. And being in Israel on the Sea of Galilee, I felt as if the land there was lost in a daydream and would whisper memories to me of the time when heaven touched the earth...as if the power of Jesus coming to that place had granted salvation to the very land itself. I've never been anywhere like it.

Summer 2011. I've got to go back then, if not this next summer. Besides, I want to dig some more :)

You know what it is about Sufjan Stevens' music that I love most? I love the imagery and mimicry of birds. I'm not sure whether it's intentional on his part, but birds/wings are everywhere in his music (lyrics and sound), and I love how they give everything a kind of unearthly feel. It's interesting because I think a lot about following God by transcending earthly things, but I do that by thinking of contrasting characteristics and trying (trying) to choose the more Christ-like of the two: love/hate, humility/pride, generosity/selfishness, welcoming/judging, trust/worry etc. But I love how the imagery of birds provides a concrete symbol for these more abstract transcendental ideas. And the symbol creates even more mystery because it's open ended. Basically, I think using birds as a symbol of the unearthly is a beautiful way to think about faith while staying true to the mystery and depth of faith.

I'd like to think the bird imagery is intentional and that it is meant to be a symbol of transcending earth, like I see it. Who knows, though. Perhaps if I ever meet him again (with the condition that I wouldn't be so terribly shy from embarrassment), I will ask. Although, who am I kidding--if there is any possibility that the symbol is meant to be as I see it, then no amount of shyness could stop me from finding out.