Thank God for Incarnation–and iPods

People cross this world
Over and then back again
Never even one time lift their eyes
Or think of what they say

But I hear it in your voice, love
Like someone sweetly willing
The hope of all these years,
the prayer of a time
that we don’t even know

But it’s a hard road that we follow
The saddest cities, and the darkest hollows

But I hear it in your voice, love
The strongest sound
I’ve ever heard
Like water from a well
so deep in the ground
I’ll never thirst again

–“Hollow” from Hem’s “Eveningland”

And if God doesn’t get your attention with a good joke, them maybe some music will do the trick.

Saturday afternoon, I noticed that the new Liberty Mutual Insurance commercial seemed to be running in a continual loop during the football games. I had written on the first one a while back in my post “Evidence of Humanity on Planet Earth,” and I was pleased to see another one had been produced.

That led met to investigate the indie folk/progressive group Hem a little further, which in turn led me to their official site, unofficial site and their MySpace page. The latter contains full-length cuts from the commercials, “Half an Acre” and “The Part Where You Let Go.”

It’s funny how this works, but sometimes I see the love of God spreading like wildfire more in an insurance commercial–of all places–than I do at church. And there are times when I hear His voice more clearly in the ethereal, angelic strains of a pop singer from Brooklyn, New York than I do in your typical “you’re still not doing enough” sermon.

But don’t get me wrong; I’m glad God isn’t stingy when it comes to scattering His Grace among the creation. I’ll take encouragement anyway I can get it.

Thank God for incarnation–and iPods.

5 Comments

  1. mmlace

    I thought of you and your previous post when I saw the Liberty commercial! It is nice to see scenes of a world filled with His grace…a world where people act responsibly toward one another, “doing the right thing” for the sake of doing the right thing. Thanks for my Monday morning thoughts for the day! Much love in Him!

  2. greg

    I have a couple of Hem discs on my “save for later” list on eMusic right now.

  3. Donna

    It is sad when you walk out of the assembly thinking what was the point in being here today. Why do we stifle the love and lifestyle that Jesus came to show us?

  4. Scott

    I’ve been a huge HEM fan for a few years now. I’ve even blogged about them a few times. Funnel Cloud and No Word From Tom are two essential discs to have. Sally Ellyson’s vocals are transcendent.

  5. Mike the Eyeguy

    I’ve downloaded about 20 Hem tracks to get me started, but the fact that well-informed and credible music aficionados like Scott and Greg are fans only increases the likelihood of my dipping into that well again.

    Donna–you’ve got me to thinking, and I started to respond but it turned into a post-length comment! Look for my thoughts on the question, “Why bother?” later this week.

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