Category: Catholicism

The King and I

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The following is the parable of the King and the Maiden by Soren Kierkegaard:

Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. Every statesman trembled before his power. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents. And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden who lived in a poor village in his kingdom. How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist – no one dared resist him. But would she love him?

She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she be happy at his side? How could he know for sure? If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the unequal can be made equal.

The king, convinced he could not elevate the maiden without crushing her freedom, resolved to descend to her. Clothed as a beggar, he approached her cottage with a worn cloak fluttering loose about him. This was not just a disguise – the king took on a totally new identity – He had renounced his throne to declare his love and to win hers.

servant-king

Learning from the Artist’s art

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tuscany

“[Y]ou can learn a great deal about an artist from the works he creates. Surely you see that God is more creative than we can possibly imagine, and romatic to the core. Lovers and honeymooners choose places like Hawaii, the Bahamas, or Tuscany as a backdrop for their love. But whose idea was Hawaii, the Bahamas or Tuscany?” – John Eldridge, Epic, Page 46

Wounds in Heaven?

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Today I’d like to talk about one of the songs from a recent album of my favourite contemporary Christian band, Casting Crowns. The song is entitled “Wedding Day” and describes the wedding feast of Heaven when Christ’s Bride, the Church, is finally presented to the Him:

Towards the end of the song there’s a lyric which speaks of the scarred hands of Christ wiping away every tear:

When the hand that bears the only scars and heaven touch her face
And the last tears she’ll ever cried are finally wiped away
And the clouds roll back as He takes her hand and walks her through the gates
Forever we will reign

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Not a complete Grinch…

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At the beginning of Advent I did a short post with a video of my favourite Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (The Piano Guys were even good enough to release their rendition of that hymn today on YouTube).

Today I wanted to share one of my favourite non-religious Advent-ish songs. The song is by Karmin, the group which rose to fame on YouTube after releasing their own version of Chris Brown’s Look At Me Now. Here’s their newly-released song, “Sleigh Ride”:

I’ll admit I still find it very strange listening to songs which talk about snow while living in Southern California…

So what’s your favourite non-religious Advent/Christmas song?

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