The Lamb as White as Snow

The latest installment of my thoughts on the spirituality of U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon. The song, White as Snow is not very subtle when it comes to its Christian message. The Lamb as White as Snow is clearly a Biblical reference to the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. I've written in my other blogs that NLOTH is filled with writings of the Apostle John. The same is true with White as Snow. In John 1:29 and John 1:36, The Apostle John records the words of John the Baptist when he saw Jesus: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" and again, "Behold the Lamb of God." In other places in the Bible, the description of Jesus reveals His Presence as White as Snow: In Daniel 7:9, the Ancient of Days has clothing that is "white as snow." And after the resurrection, Jesus' appearance is described as "white as snow" (Matthew 28:3). Then, in the Book of Revelation, the glorified Christ is described as having hair as "white as snow." White as snow is the symbol of absolute purity...no dirt, grime or sin. Perfection. Jesus had no sin. In the Old Testament, the only sacrifice that could be brought to the priests to gain forgiveness was an unblemished, spotless lamb (Exodus 12:5 and many others). The lambs brought to the priest simply foreshadowed the Perfect Lamb who would take away the sin of the world (see 1 Peter 1:19). The whole reason Jesus came, however, was to be slaughtered as the Lamb as White as Snow so that WE who are born sinners and sin daily in thought, word and deed might be made as white as snow as well. In Isaiah 1:18, God says that though our sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Bono begs the question...he calls us to consider..."Is it possible that a heart could be made as white as snow? Are we really able to hope that we can be made as white as snow?" The last line doesn't reveal Bono's doubt that it can happen...he's trying to get us all to think! "If only a heart could be made as white as snow...well, the good news is it CAN BE! Once again, Bono uses the stuff of real life narrative to be the conduit of spiritual truth. The story itself might be of a soldier in Afghanistan, just like Jesus told parables of real life seed and soil...but the purpose of the story was ultimately to communicate spiritual realities to those who had eyes to see and ears to hear. So, what about the rest of the song? In the first verse: "The land was flat, the highway straight and wide" could refer to Matthew 7:13 where Jesus warns us that "the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction." The Lamb provides the only Way to life. The brothers in the song would drive for hours, "Like we had years instead of days." We humans are incredibly adept at thinking we will have plenty of time for spirituality...why deal today with something we can start to get serious about tomorrow? Many people on the wide way that leads to destruction think they have years...and some only have days. Jesus said to one rich man, "You fool, today your soul will be required of you." Perhaps Bono is asking us to consider our destiny now, before its too late. "Our faces as pale as the dirty snow" would be a reminder that no heart is clean...we are all "dirty" because of sin...there is no one who is righteous...we all need grace! "Once I knew there was a love divine. Then came a time I thought it knew me not"--it seems that this is a line that captures the ebb and flow of faith in Divine Love. When difficult circumstances come into our lives, the knee-jerk reaction of the human heart is to fear that God may be angry and giving me wrath because I've been bad...so we make resolutions to be good to get God off our backs...or perhaps to try to twist His arm to treat us better. We have a hard time believing in mercy, grace and love when things go badly in life. I've told others, "Don't make conclusions about God's love through your circumstances; instead make conclusions about your circumstances by looking at God's love." Don't doubt the love of God in Christ just because life becomes tough. The love of God is based on the grace of God accepted in Christ...not because you or I are "good." "Who can forgive?" Only the Lamb of God. Then Bono sings of the icy waters...to me clearly a reference to the waters of baptism tht people who commit their lives to the mercy of God in Christ receive. The waters of baptism are a symbol of the cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb to take away sin. The lines, "Now this dry ground it bears no fruit at all, Only poppies laugh under the crescent moon. The road refuses strangers, The land the seeds we sow" seem to refer to the parable of the soils in Matthew 13. The dry ground is soil that doesn't bear fruit because the heat of the day scorches the plant. At this point each of us is drawn to look at our own hearts...the seed of the gospel is sown around us through the Church and the lives of Christians...are we receiving the seed of the Good News? Or, are we dry, rocky soil? Do our lives fit the description of "refusing the seeds" others sow? Could it be that we really don't believe Christ is the Messiah and we're looking elsewhere for a lamb as white as snow? We may still be asking "Where might we find the Lamb as White as Snow" when He is standing right in front of us? Hmmm...how can you stand right next to the truth and not see it??? Finally, Jesus taught on the presence of "wolves" that would seek to devour the sheep of His fold. At times it seems the world is filled with wolves...as we each face the "wolves" that would destroy our faith, we long that their hearts would be changed...we long that ALL hearts might be changed by the Lamb as white as snow...we long for ALL hearts to be made as white as snow...if only...if only...