Take Me to Church

Last night was the Grammys.  My wife and I watched some of it, but not all of it because we have other, more pressing priorities (i.e. Walking Dead and Downton Abbey).  One performance I did see was Hozier's performance of "Take Me to Church."  I was interested in the performance because I wanted to know exactly what the song was about.  I didn't catch all of the lyrics last night so I looked them up today. 

The song is a metaphor about the singer leaving the faith of his youth.  He uses the metaphor of a woman to represent his journey away from God so that he could reclaim his humanity.  Hozier grew up in Ireland and what he remembers about church is that it was repressive and handed out burdens to people that they could not bear on their own.  He did not speak of church in the light of grace, freedom, forgiveness, salvation, etc.  Is this surprising that he would feel this way towards church?  No.

Hozier wants to go to a church where he can be free to be who he is.  Hozier said about the song, "It's an assertion of self, reclaiming humanity back for something that is the most natural and worthwhile" (quote taken from interview on http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=32921).  Hozier sees humanity as the thing that is natural and worthwhile rather than church.  And, honestly I can't blame him. 

For too long the church has put more burdens on people than lead them to the lifter of burdens.  Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, "Woe to you lawyers also!  For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Luke 11:46).  What do you think Jesus would say to His church today?  I think he might say something similar.  Now, this is a generalization, but it needs to be heard.  Not all churches are like this because there are many churches who are leading people to Jesus.  But, the church as a whole in this country and in other countries has been putting burdens on people's shoulders rather than pointing them to Jesus who wants to take their burdens. 

The song that Hozier sung last night at the Grammys should be a wake up call for the Church.  Hozier represents a generation that sees the church as nothing but a burden that they don't want to bear.  They see humanity as the end-all-be-all.  Humanity has the answer for everything and this life is all we have.  But, as Switchfoot says, "We were made for so much more, have we lost ourselves?"  As humans we bear the image of God and as Christians we are clothed with Christ.  Christ came to lift burdens because he said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls."  Jesus came to lift the burdens of sin, guilt, shame, death, and more off of our shoulders.  As his followers, why should we add burdens on people's shoulders?  Jesus has taken our burdens and his shoulders are big enough to take other people's burdens.