Dispatch #1

i had a dream last night that i was having a conversation, in my office at laurier, about kelly joe phelps’ voice. i don’t remember who i was talking to, or if the person even exists out here in my waking life.

kelly joe phelps is one of my heroes. he’s something of a blues alchemist: someone who can take the common elements of songcraft (strings, verse, and story) and conjure up something that shimmers and shines more brightly than the sort of FM leavings we’ve come to expect on our morning commute.

i haven’t listened to him in a while, but i decided to take the dream as an encouragement to hear him again. i listened to “roll away the stone,” a song that begins with nothing but his voice:

‘early one morning here as i look out across a worn out plain”

not unlike that caller in Isaiah, though maybe a little more weary. the song is one of supplication; it delivers a shout across a barren plain and moves toward this plea, in blues verse:

‘teach me lord that righteous way

teach me lord that righteous way

i want to roll away the stone’

a rolled away stone is one of the prerequisites for easter; without it, our faith is in nothing but interred bones.

i suppose that the rolling stone of easter morning was something of a singular event, historically speaking, and in terms of significance. i don’t think that means it was supposed to be the last time something like that happened. in fact, i think was intended to start an avalanche.

there are thousands of stones that need to be rolled away: stones that stand in the way of our understanding of god. the pathways between ourselves and our neighbors can be rocky and steep. there are big rocks out there that founder our faith and belief. there are boulders rolled in front of justice and stones that block the view of the kingdom.

the rolling away of stones is a big part of christian duty. i think that’s what kelly joe is singing about.

i’ve never been one for “mission statements” or “casting” my “vision.” those terms sound to me like the anti-poetry/soft jargon of the corporate boardroom. so, i’ll just say that i’m here on these campuses to help roll away some of these stones. that may sound a bit vague, but i think it leaves breathing room for the spirit of god to work.