The more I know, the less I understand.
All the things I thought I knew,
I'm learning again.
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter,
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter.
But I think it's about forgiveness, forgiveness,
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore.
When Henley and friends wrote The Heart of the Matter in 1989, I doubt they ever considered it might become part of a scripture reflection. But I find it perfect for reflecting in our time of quarantine. As the song unfolds, it reveals the singer has learned that an old love has found someone new. How many songs have you heard with similar themes? A hundred? A thousand? And, if that was all there was to it, it would still be a hit because of Henley's voice and the fact it is so singable.
But there's quite a bit more to it.
What may not be apparent at first is that the song includes themes of love, grace, and trust. A close listener will discover the song is not really about someone pining for a lost love. Rather, it’s an exploration of what should come after that. Henley, of course, pours his soul into each verse, making it easy to get lost in his singing ... and miss the song. A careful listener will soon realize that the singer's search for that next step, "the heart of the matter," leads to just one place: forgiveness.
You don't find that in just any old song about lost love. This, then, is truly more; a transcendence over the love that was lost; an elevation to a higher love, a love that forgives "even if" his old love doesn't love him anymore.
Listen to The Heart of the Matter here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAeJy3KDwMw
The word for this kind of love is Agape. It’s an unconditional love, a love without self-benefit, often referred to as "love, in spite of." It's the kind of love one employs to love one's enemies.
No one considers it an easy thing to do.
Agape is also the kind of love the Apostle Peter is referencing in this week's passage from 1st Peter. He exhorts his readers to, ". . . love one another deeply from the heart." The Common English Bible renders that as "love each other deeply and earnestly" and the God's Word translation has "Love each other with a warm love that comes from the heart." Peter is calling on believers to truly live out the new commandment Jesus gave them. “Love one another,” is more than a little challenging, but is essential to life together as His disciples.
In the song, we discover: "All the things I thought I figured out, I have to learn again." Now is the perfect time start learning, again, how to release all the negatives; bitterness, envy, anger, revenge, malice, hatred. We have to continually revisit this, to keep returning to it —deeply and earnestly from the heart— as a fundamental building block of our growing faith ... especially in this time when we are so separated from each other.
Forgiveness ... that's how we "get down to the Heart of the Matter."
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PHOTO: Steve Orr
Portions of this reflection are borrowed from one called The Heart of the Matter which appeared in May, 2014.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Third Sunday of Easter (April 30, 2017)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=41
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19
1 Peter 1:17-23
Luke 24:13-35
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I wish I could see you Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast to read the scriptures, discuss their meaning, and learn how better to love one another. Alas, our continued quarantine means we are still not meeting.
Below are this week’s scriptures along with a reflection to use in meditating on them.
Keep safe. Keep in touch.
Steve
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