Sunday, September 21 is Leonard Cohen’s 80th birthday.
Leonard Cohen the psalmist.
The ancient psalmist prays:
May the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O Lord, my rock and redeemer.
I wonder.
Has Leonard ever prayed those words?
Has Leonard presented his many, many words before the throne of God?
Has Leonard prayed that his meditations might be acceptable before his rock and redeemer?
I think so.
The ancient psalmist writes:
The heavens are telling the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours fourth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth.
Has Leonard strained to hear that voice whispering through all of creation?
Has he had an ear for that voice without words?
Might he have the gift of translating such creational glossalia?
I think so.
And the ancient psalmist rejoices in that word of God proclaimed by the starfields,
that word of God graciously given in the Torah of Israel.
With a smile on his face the psalmist sings that the
guiding, correcting, enlightening and regenerative word of God is,
more to be desired than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings from the honeycomb.
Has Leonard tasted of that word?
Has Leonard meditated upon that word?
Might he be a psalmist of such a word?
I think so.
Is Leonard Cohen a psalmist?
Consider his prayer “Not Knowing Where to Go” from his Book of Mercy
reformatted into a leader/response litany:
Not knowing where to go,
I go to you.
Not knowing where to turn,
I turn to you.
Not knowing what to hold,
I bind myself to you.
Having lost my way,
I make my way to you.
Having soiled my heart,
I lift my heart to you.
Having wasted my days,
I bring the heap to you.
Blocked by every thought,
I fly on the wisp of remembrance.
Defeated by silence,
here is a place where the silence is more subtle.
And here is the opening in defeat.
And here is the clasp of the will.
And here is the fear of you.
And here is the fastening of mercy.
Blessed are you,
in this man’s moment.
Blessed are you,
whose presence illuminates outrageous evil.
Blessed are you,
who brings chains out of darkness.
Blessed are you,
who waits in the world.
Blessed are you,
whose name is in the world.
Such a prayer, such a psalm,
resonates deeply with so many of us
who don’t know where to go,
who don’t know where to turn
who don’t know what to hold,
who have lost our way,
who have soiled our hearts,
who have wasted our days
who are defeated by silence.
And this 80 year old psalmist will tell us
that there is an opening in defeat,
that here there is the fastening of mercy.
The ancient psalmist saw such fastening
proclaimed in the very warp and woof of creation,
still on offer in the gracious words of God.
The more recent, but now also ancient psalmist replies,
Blessed are you, in this man’s moment.
Blessed are you, whose presence illuminates outrageous evil.
Blessed are you, who brings chains out of darkness.
Blessed are you, who waits in the world.
Blessed are you, whose name is in the world.
Amen, Mr. Cohen, Amen.
Happy Birthday.
