Some "Soul" Music that Touched Me

A few weeks ago, while I was in the seminary library finishing up one of my term papers, I took a break to chat about music with one of my seminary classmates who works in the library, a Puerto-Rican-born youth minister named Marcos. Marcos and I had lunch and then headed across the street to his dorm room to listen to and talk about the different kinds of Latin and Afro-Caribbean Music. Marcos played samples of almost every style of Latin music while we tried to figure out how a listener could distinguish between the sounds of Salsa, Rumba, Flamenco, Merengue, Reggaeton, Tejano and Bachata (I think we finally broke it down to a workable science). We then talked briefly about R & B Soul music. I was surprised to hear that one of Marcos’ favorite soul artists is John Legend, a relatively new guy on the R&B scene. I’ve never been a big fan of Legend, but on my way out the door Marcos handed me his copy of Legend’s latest CD, Once Again. I accepted it reluctantly, not knowing what to expect. Nevertheless, I promised to listen to it and return it.

I have to admit that the CD sat in my Jeep’s disc player for over two weeks before I decided to give it a fair listen yesterday while I drove across town. I wasn’t too impressed with the CD until my ear caught a line from his song, Show Me, where he sings:

"I need a sign, something I can see
Why all the mystery?
I try not to fall for make believe
But what is reality?..."

Upon hearing that line, I thought: "Whoa! This dude sounds like he's talking to God right here." I started the song over again and this time I listened intently. Upon second listen I realized that the words of this song deal with questions that people ask when they are trying to make sense out of the reality they see and the personal God they have been taught to believe in. In this song, Legend has a late-night conversation with the God that he feels disconnected from, who is also the God that he feels the need to question. Line after line, Legend's lyrics described where I am right now in my faith journey.

Legend describes the state of being disconnected with God with lines like:

"I realized as I lay down to sleep
We haven’t spoke in weeks…"

He also addresses the human hope for a sign of divine confirmation with lines like:

"Show me the light...Show me the way
Show that you’re listening...
Show me that you love me
Show me that you walk with me…"

Legend then addresses the age-old skepticism about the extent of God's power, love and control in a world full of pain with the following lyrics:

"I can't stop questioning...
O God of love, peace, and mercy
Why so much suffering?
I pray for the world, it gets worse to me
Wonder if you’re listening…"

He raises the question why some people die while others survive:

"When people go...Why do they go?
Why don’t you choose me?..."

Legend closes the song with a commitment to live life to the fullest instead of being paralyzed by fear and despair:

"Maybe we’ll talk...some other night
Right now I’ll take it easy
Won’t spend my time...waiting to die
Enjoy the life I’m living…"

What shocks me most is how deeply John Legend's words resonated with me at this time in my life, especially since he is not someone I would normally listen to. I continue to be amazed by how some things in life seem to be so “on-time" in the midst of all that seems to be so random. Occurances like this renew my faith that there seems to be something guiding my experiences.