A few entries back I mentioned how I thought fear was the greatest enemy to art. Today I was talking to my friend Pastor D about Johnny Cash (who we both appreciate) and it occured to me that perhaps one of the reasons Cash resonated with me (and many others) was his bare-wire honesty. If his music was art than it was a fearless art. It was music that was written and sung by a man who was not afraid of what people thought about what he had to say and how he said it.

 

I think this is why I like Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen…there appears to be a fierce honesty in their work (time will only tell if Springsteen carries it forward like Cash).

 

In some ways this is also the reason why the prophets were so compelling. There is an honesty in their words that burns people (and the prophets themselves). The prophets rarely said anything people actually wanted to hear. Most often they rarely said the things they themselves wanted to say. They said the things that God wanted them to say and they suffered for it.

 

Maybe great artists are like the prophets in this way. They say things that we don’t want to hear but we need to hear. They say things they don’t want to say but need to say. Like the prophet they live outside of society because society does not want them too close – they scare us. We recognize there is something completely other about them and sense that they may be useful but we’re just not sure how…so we don’t let them get too far away – just far enough to feel safe.

 

I sense the spiral in these posts and there will likely be more.

 

P.S. Happy first day of Winter