Start a Fire -- Jason Harrison and Darrin Sasser

 

They began with a modest goal, and then their collective experiment and experience just went to another place for this pair and the musical endeavor that they and their friends spawned. They were all from Houston, Texas (see the flag of Houston here), and what Darrin Sasser and Jason Harrison and some of the others said with lyrics may have grown from something they had found in the pages of a bible. They would not have needed to study too many times to find someone who said “Start a Fire”, either physically or metaphorically – perhaps it was actually God from whom they derived this inspiration. Maybe it was something about the way Abraham was supposed to offer Isaac (Genesis 22), or was it the way that Moses first encountered God (Exodus 3), or jumping ahead many centuries, was it the way the Apostles were equipped for their mission to the world after Jesus ascended (Acts 2)? In all these, some fire was God’s method for communicating or carrying out His purpose for those following Him. Want to be with God, or involved in His plan? Get ready with the fire. That seemed to be what Jason and Darrin saw.

 

Jason and Darrin haven’t shared specifically what inspired the fire about which they wrote, but one can make an educated guess at what happened generally around the end of the 20^th Century (in or about 1998-99) in Houston. They were a group of guys who wanted to help advance a bible study, especially for teenagers and college age young adults, with the music that they offered to provide. It wasn’t just for a few months, but for six years that this effort endured, offering these fellows, who eventually named their group Among Thorns, the opportunity to hone their skills and really capture a vision for something broader. Their own group’s name and the ‘Start a Fire’ song they wrote could have emerged from the pages of one or more of those study times. Many fires in scripture (as already mentioned) could have been the focus of what they read and discussed together. As for the name they chose for themselves – Among Thorns – we’d really have to quiz them to see exactly what they were thinking, but could it have been an allusion to the parable in which Jesus spoke about His word being sown, and unfortunately choked, among thorns (Matthew 13)? One could imagine a group of young people trying to live for God, and yet finding so many daily urgencies and distractions that challenged their aspirations. Their group’s biography mentions that they felt God had been preparing them for ministry in music in those six years, but Darrin indicated that none of them had really thought initially about worship ministry as a calling. Their desires had to change so that they could become His tools. Perhaps some other things had to be burned away in a fire, even some thorns that they and the bible study group had discussed, before that purpose toward which they felt God was directing them could be realized. Some of their lyrics say ‘burn away the dross’, and so one can hear their thoughts emerge from the music they wrote, and as they considered their group’s name.

 

Fire is a dangerous thing. Just read all of the 430 ways that the word occurs in the bible’s pages (in the English Standard Version), and it’s just part of fire’s nature that it was used to destroy or frighten or capture the attention of people that God wanted to direct. So, starting one is not usually part of a casual attitude, although one might be started in order to provide warmth and so that food can be cooked. Jesus’s cousin John the Baptizer said he was preaching in order to usher in the One who would baptize with fire (Matthew 3:11). We can be reasonably sure that Jason and Darrin were thinking of a fire that ushers in a new way, and not one just to make them feel comfortable and well-fed. Sometimes things need to be upended, so that a better, fresher growth can begin; a forest fire is like that oftentimes. God is like that, as Darrin noted in his own thoughts about Among Thorns and their purpose – that He was ‘cut(ting) and prun(ing)’ during those six years of a bible study that Darrin, Jason, and their friends helped facilitate. Six years might seem like a lengthy time for trimming, but is it really? Moses went through a period like that for decades. And so might you and I, if we’ll let Him.       

 

 

 

See a profile of the group Among Thorns Artist Profile | Biography And Discography | NewReleaseToday

 

This site indicates the year of the album (1998) on which the song appears, and the group (Among Thorns) that sang it: Among Thorns - Start A Fire lyrics | Musixmatch

 

Some biographic information on the group: Among Thorns Discography: Vinyl, CDs, & More | Discogs

 

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Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis) – Simeon

 

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; ³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation ³¹that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

 

You could say it was Simeon’s exclamation, and not just the mark one might make at the end of a sentence. This one was worth a whole life’s wait. (See here the 19^th Century artwork Simeon the Righteous by Aleksey Yegorov.) The story of Joseph, Mary and their unique son Jesus began before He was even born, and four songs marked this unique occasion. Three other songs had already been sung because of events surrounding Jesus and his relatives. The first one was Mary’s song called the Magnificat (Glorifies, in Latin) when she visited her aged relative Elizabeth, and the baby inside Elizabeth rejoiced because he recognized Jesus even when He was still in the womb; the second one was the song of Zechariah (Elizabeth’s husband) and was called Benedictus (Praise Be, in Latin) and celebrated his son John the Baptist’s role as a prophet heralding/announcing the Messiah’s coming ministry and salvation; the third was the song Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the Highest, in Latin), which was the angels’ song announcing Jesus’ birth to shepherds; and the fourth was the song sung by this old man named Simeon. All four of those songs are in the first 2 chapters of Luke.

 

Joseph and Mary, though poor commoners, were doing what the Jewish law dictated, but also what the angel had told them to do, and they named the baby Jesus (Luke 1:31/Matthew 1:21; Jesus is the Greek form of the name that means Joshua [the Lord saves]). They traveled the five or six miles or so from Bethlehem north to Jerusalem to do what was required. Three distinct Jewish legal requirements they performed after naming Him were these: first, they had Him circumcised (the eighth day after birth, according to the law [Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3); second, they waited until 40 days after Jesus’ birth (so, 33 days more), so that Mary could make an offering at the temple for her purification (Leviticus 12:4); and third, they had to offer Jesus, as the firstborn son, as a dedication to the Lord – what is known still today as Pidyon Haben (redemption of the firstborn son) – according to the ancient law (Exodus 13:2,12-15; Numbers 18:15-16). It was probably just before this Pidyon Haben that Joseph and Mary encountered the man named Simeon. Simeon was apparently a ‘devout’ man (Luke 2:25) whom the Spirit had moved to come into the temple courts (verses 26-27).  And he said something that he must have been wanting to say his whole life – that this baby was the source of salvation for all. That’s very important, because it is so strikingly reminiscent of what the prophet Isaiah had said about a servant centuries earlier (see Isaiah passages – 42:6 and 49:6). To be clear, Isaiah wasn’t necessarily looking ahead to a Messiah, but this Simeon was looking backward to what Isaiah had said, and through the Spirit that moved him, projected that that servant who would be a light and offer salvation for the Gentiles, and would be a glory to the Jews, would in fact be this baby he was holding. When Simeon said he was satisfied that he could now be dismissed and feel at peace, would it be too much of a stretch to say he was singing his own funeral’s song? What a way to conclude one’s life, not with a dirge, but with an exclamation of utter delight! Nunc Dimittis (in Latin) – Lord, you now dismiss!

 

 After Simeon had sung his song, Joseph and Mary marveled at what he’d said (verse 33) – very similar to Mary’s treasuring up things in her heart (verse 19) earlier, on the night Jesus was born. But then, Simeon told them some things that must have made them cringe, too – that Jesus was to be a source of clashes and controversy, and some heartache for them too (verses 34-35). Aren’t all children, even occasionally, sources of some anguish for parents? Where would an exceptional child from God rank on that heartache spectrum? An old prophetess named Anna, who stayed at the temple all the time, also was moved by Jesus’ presence, and told others about the redemption of the city. And so, no parents in history had more to ponder, nor felt more responsibility for a child in their care, than those two from Nazareth.

 

The above story details are all obtained via the NIV Study Bible and notes for the Luke 2 account of this episode.

 

See a well-done, pretty moving rendition of Simeon’s Exclamation here: Nunc Dimittis by Peter Wilkinson

 

See information on the artwork here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yegorov-Simeon_the_Righteous.jpg …This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.

Song of Glory -- Calvin Nowell and Tony Sutherland

 

They called Him Son of God, the very first words in what they wrote. And so, Calvin Nowell and Tony Sutherland were echoing what the Father-God said when it came time for His son to launch His earthly ministry, when Jesus was baptized and God acknowledged Him (Matthew 3:17/Mark 1:11/Luke 3:22/John 1:29-34; see a representation of that moment in this work of art The Baptism of Christ, by 15^th Century artist Jean Colombe). That time was pretty crucial and has been the reason, along with the earthshaking events that happened at the end of His time on earth, why so many songs have been written about Him, including the “Song of Glory” that Calvin and Tony co-wrote in 2007. The world and the destiny of you and me would be very different if He wasn’t the Son. What Calvin and Tony said poetically was similar to what Jesus Himself said – that if people don’t say who He is, the other parts of creation, even the stones, would cry out (Luke 19:40).   

 

Though Calvin and Tony have not shared explicitly what circumstances spurred what they wrote, their lyrics capture what they felt and express what is so true for all of us. Perhaps that’s why Calvin, in some brief comments he gave at the end of a recording of the ‘Song of Glory’ and two other songs, shared what he obviously felt deep inside. In short, Calvin spoke of what is common for all us humans: that we mess up, but that that doesn’t stop us from being able to approach God with our admission of guilt and regret. He can in fact use our imperfections to speak His power into any situation that troubles us. Calvin urged watchers/listeners to engage with Him, to feel Him deep inside, and know that He loves people, and wants to hear from them so that He can heal them spiritually. That motivation seems to be at the heart of what these two composers shaped into a musical offering to God. The grace and mercy that He has poured out on humankind is so vast, that it cannot be contained just inside us mortals, even if we are His image-bearers. The ‘sky’ and the ‘oceans’ and ‘seas’ that Calvin and Tony mention are also part of His creation that joins in the chorus of praise to Him. That His grace ‘saturates my life’ is really an extension of how the non-human elements of His creative power are expressing – each moment of every day – Him. He forgives and grants mercy that doesn’t just sit there, it ‘sings’ of Him, and if we’ll open our eyes and hearts, we might capture what Calvin and Tony saw – that the ‘strong melody’ He has composed for us overcomes and ‘breaks the chains’ of guilt that we might otherwise bear. He stood in ‘endless light’, but gave of Himself so that ‘a thousand dreams’ became reality. A ‘rescue’ that you and I desperately need has been provided by what He’s done – really, by who He is. He is the love (1 John 4:8) that we proclaim, just as mightily, we aspire, as the ‘seas (that) resound’, the ‘oceans (that) roar’, that ‘fills the sky’, and ‘as the heavens sing’. Just try doing what nature is saying without pausing, Calvin and Tony suggest.

 

That is the life of the believer, this ‘Song of Glory’ that Calvin and Tony coax us to live. ‘Send up a shout’ from the very depths of your insides, as you stop for a moment and contemplate what they’ve said about Him. If you have something that hinders your praise, He wants ‘your deep’ reaching out to His ‘deep’, because He’s not just an everlasting being who is set on casting you aside. You and I are part of His creation, but in fact the most special living things that have been made in His likeness to exercise dominion over the rest of the living things (Genesis 1:26-28). That Jesus came as a man, looking like the rest of us, underscores that Genesis principle. And, Jesus exercised authority over the rest of creation while He was here -- as when He stilled the storm on the sea (Matthew 8:23-27) -- that really epitomized what God said about dominion that He wanted man to exercise. Mistakes entered the picture, seemingly upsetting the perfect picture that God had made. Except, He had a plan. And, it’s still working, and cannot be detoured, as when the first human pair were forced out of Eden. In fact, we’re all looking forward to making our way back to the beginning, to Eden. Jesus Christ is blazing the trail. Wanna join in?    

 

See some brief comments from one of the composers (Calvin Nowell) at the end of the video linked here (10:09-minute mark through 11:40 [end], a collage of three songs he sings [Unrestrained; Song of Glory; and Jesus Come]): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr-edxRbII8

 

see PDF copy + Song Of Glory this site that shows copyright date of song in comments section

 

See information about the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Folio_109v_-_The_Baptism_of_Christ.jpg …The author died in 1493, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.