An Australian reader writes – with a beautiful song

January 1, 2017

A reader writes:

I hope this finds you well. I met you years ago in Australia, and in 2009 you posted a song of mine, which I had sent you in response to a piece you wrote for Sojourners.Years after first reading The Secret Message of Jesus, I continue to be impacted by the Jesus’ luminous kingdom-gospel which you describe there and in many of your books.

One image in particular from The Secret Message has stayed with me over the course of time… it’s the metaphor of the kingdom as an “invasion-by-stealth”. I just love this image and what it communicates. So much so that it has found its way into the lyrics of my new song ‘Glimpses’. I’ve written the song to capture how we can catch sight of the kingdom dawning in our midst (even as 2016 closes around us!)

Here’s the passage of yours which inspired me:

“If you get a glimpse of soldiers in camouflage uniforms sneaking through the forest, if you notice planes from an enemy country flying high above you, if key political leaders in your country disappear or are mysteriously assassinated, you might suspect an invasion is coming… But what if this kingdom that is invading is a kingdom of a very different sort? What if the invasion is one of kindness and compassion rather than force and aggression? What if sick people start getting well suddenly and inexplicably? What if rumors spread of storms being calmed, insane people becoming sane again, hungry people being fed, and dead people rising? Couldn’t this be the sign of a different kind of invasion–the coming of a different kind of kingdom?”

I put it this way in the first verse:

Abba
I am catching glimpses
Of a new order
Really at-hand
A silent incursion
Into the land
A secret invasion
From over the sea
Of love

I hope you enjoy the song (and trust you won’t sue me for copyright!) I’ve now finished a new CD of songs about the in-breaking of God’s kingdom.

Shalom,
Eden Parris