Ezekiel 37 Song

I am really digging my Exilic Prophets class. It's one of the best classes I've had at seminary, without a doubt. One thing that's really great about it is that it's a great mix of very academic reading and work, personal/emotional engagement with the material, and openness to experiencing and responding the text in different ways.

So, while we do write brief academic type papers every week (e.g., compare Ezekiel and Jeremiah's understandings of sin, etc.), there are also some other types of projects we do. For example, there's the very familiar passage of Ezekiel and the dry bones. So instead of having us work in pairs/groups to write a paper saying the same thing that's been said about it a million times, she has given us the assignment to creatively respond to the passage, and share them w/ the class next Tuesday. People are doing all sorts of things with it.

My friend and I decided to write a song responding to the passage (since I write songs anyway). Now, a really good song is always deeply personal. So we decided to write a song about our own grief and loss, and how it feels to be down in the valley of dry bones, waiting for God to send someone to speak into our pain. The writing process was pretty emotional today, and we were both in tears. We decided to each write a verse speaking to our father. Her father committed suicide this past year, and my father is alive, but, well, it's a long story. Anyway, we both have some deep feelings of loss and grief. I think we're going to have to sing each other's verses, because otherwise we probably won't make it through the song.

Sometimes you just need someone to tell your pain for you. Art is a powerful thing.