Broken Hallelujahs

Does God respond to "broken hallelujahs?"

I watched the last hour of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies last night.  Pretty spectacular show but the lasting memory for me is K D Lang's performance of Leonard Cohen's song, "Hallelujah."  The voice was classic Lang at its best.  The performance was full of emotion and passion.  The setting was amazing.  The light show which accompanied it was mesmerizing.  It was all pretty incredible! 

Even this morning, the song and its performance won't let go of me.  I googled the lyrics because I had trouble understanding all of them as they were being sung.  They are powerful.  (You can't find the games opening performance on youtube because it is copyrighted by the IOC but you can hear her sing it on a number of other occasions.)  For those who don't have the words close by, here they are:

I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
You don't really care for music, do ya?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah


Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah


Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


Baby iv'e been here before,
Iv'e seen this room and ive walked the floor,
I used to live alone before i knew ya
But ive seen your flag on the marble arch,
Our love is not a victory march,
It's a cold and its a broken hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there's a God above,
But all iv'e ever learnt from love,
Is how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya,
It's not a cry that u hear at night,
It's not someone whos seen the light,
It's a cold and broken hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah

I am well aware of some of the lifestyle choices Ms. Lang has apparently made and God has not given me the reponsibility of standing in judgement over her.  She does not have to answer to me.  And frankly, I am thankful for that because I am sure I would do that imperfectly. 

The gripping part of all of this is the idea of "broken hallelujahs."  We know that "hallelujah" is a universal expression of praise to God.  The word is repeated over and over in this song.  And yet, it's a song about some who have struggled significantly with sin, especially sexual sin in their lives.  David is mentioned.  He committed adultery with Bathsheba.  Samson is mentioned.  He flirted with Delila until she discovered the secret of his strength and it cost him his life.  Both of these men sinned significantly according to our understanding and yet, somehow, God brought them back to a place of usefulness to him. 

I don't know what was going through Cohen's mind as he wrote the third verse or what goes through Lang's mind as she sings that verse but look at those words: "Our love is not a victory march, It's a cold and its a broken hallelujah."  It seems to me that there is some kind of struggle which makes it hard to have a relationship with God and yet, there is a desire to say "halleljah;" to give praise to Him even if it comes from a place of brokenness.  The last verse picks up this same idea: "It's not someone whos seen the light, It's a cold and broken hallelujah." The writer and singer are questioning if God is there and if He is, they are wanting to offer up a "hallelujah." They know they are broken.  They know that what they offer is accompanied by deep questions, doubts, and pain and is inadequate for someone who is so great. 

Does God accept "broken hallelujahs?"  We sometimes have difficulty believing that He does.  After all, look at them.  They don't fit into our neat and tidy understanding of someone who should be offering praise to God.  How can God respond to their "worship?" And yet, somehow, I think he does.  In my devotions this morning I read about the woman Jesus met at the well.  His followers were amazed that he would even be talking to a person like this.  She had so much junk in her life; five former husbands and now living common-law with a sixth man. 

I am not for one moment making excuses for living in known sin but I do know that some people's struggle to live in a "victory march" is much more difficult than many of us can possibly imagine.  God's love for them is just as great as it is for those of us who have lesser struggles (although looking down our prideful noses at others is just as great a sin) and our grace for them should be the same grace that we have received from God and would want others to give to us if we were in their place. 

We should probably spend less time wondering about other people's "broken hallelujahs" and be more concerned about our own because the truth is that all of our "hallelujahs" are broken to a greater or lesser degree.