Earlier this month, I was at a gig where the finale was a powerful performance of a song called 'Hope'. As one year ends and another begins, it can be difficult to keep hold of hope when we reflect. It seems so fragile.
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band that, despite being Grammy award-winning, not many people I know have heard of. I had the privilege of being introduced to them by the Generation Z members of my family. This year, they released their fifth album, 'Only God Was Above Us', which one critic described as a journey out of negativity into something deeper. ‘Hope’ is the final song on their album, but its lyrics are anything but hopeful. It contains images of a phoenix that burned but did not rise, of a prophet who is insincere and whose words failed, of righteous anger being nothing but foolish pride. The verses reference injustice, failed systems, broken states, inadequate politics and false religion, finishing with losing faith in a relationship. Yet it has the refrain:
‘I hope you let it go
Reading God’s Word in a 'post-literate' world
As Christmas approaches, gift buying is underway. Shops are full, and atmospheric Christmas markets entice you with their beautiful, expensive, …