Then I Shall Know
(Audio Sample - 1.26 MB)
Lullaby for a Better World
Is there a land where truth prevails?
Is there a place where justice and peace endure?
Show me the day when the poor will be satisfied:
Then I shall know, know your coming.
Is there a land where dreams come true?
Is there a place where darkness is put to flight?
Show me the day when the harvest is plentiful:
Then I shall know, know your mercy.
Is there a land where hope is born?
Is there a place where death has become unveiled?
Show me the day when the earth holds enough for all:
Then I shall know, know your kindness.
Is there a land where law is love?
Is there a place where freedom is known by all?
Show me the day when the dawn comes for everyone:
Then I shall know, know your promise.
Is there a land where deaf can hear?
Is there a place where even the blind can see?
Show me the day when the dumb-struck cry out for joy:
Then I shall know, know your healing.
A Reflection on Revelation 21:1-6
I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw a new Jerusalem coming from heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a voice saying,
"This is the dwelling place of God,
who shall live among us as our God,
who has called us to be a holy people.
"Then every tear will be wiped away,
there shall be no more death or mourning,
for the old order has passed away."
And I heard the voice say,
"It is I who make all things new."
Composer's Reflection
The Isaiah prophecies paint a vivid picture of human experience and expectation. Life is clearly seen as a vale of tears, in which suffering and alienation are prominent. But life is also characterized by hope and expectation. At the end of every long night comes a dawn of incomparable beauty. All that is required is for us to endure the darkness, and the light will eventually emerge around us, to wipe away the shadows of the past.
Transferred to the political scene, this vision, though somewhat naive, is also quite valid. The victims of South African apartheid, white and black, have seen an end to their turmoil, the fulfilment (in part, perhaps) of their dreams. Others in the world still await, with varying degrees of hope (or despair), the dawn of their liberation. Sometimes this process is even further retarded by those for whom terrorism and resistance have become a career, handed on from one generation to the next. However, history which takes a longer views of things, attests to the end of the Dark Ages and the birth of a new era of enlightenment, a renaissance, an epoch of self-determination and new-found freedom. Then, the struggle is only just beginning: freedom from tyranny, yes, but freedom for what?
In the Judeo-Christian context, the dawn has always yet to arrive. But, as salvation history teaches, we can be sure that it will. The deliverance of Noah from the flood waters, Moses from Egyptian slavery, Israel from Babylonian Exile.... the list is endless. Since this religious culture is based on the future fulfilment of promises made in the past, we have enough evidence to justify our expectations. We may safely assume that the day will eventually dawn when creation, marred by human misadventure, will be again restored to a harmonious whole, when there will be no further deprivation, repression or violation of human dignity. On that day, true injustice will have arrived, for good.
Then I Shall Know sings about such expectation. It is a strophic, closed-form piece and may be sung as a simple five verse unison song, or as a choral piece in as many parts as resources permit. It is written in a pan-celtic style, flirting with the ancient pentatonic scale. In the present cultural climate, this tradition is generally associated with the New Age, a concept which has become somewhat suspect. However, in the true sense of New Age, as enshrined in Psalm 72 for example, an era of universal prosperity is something worth contemplating. In the words of the Lord's Prayer, we have no option other than to pray for that day to arrive, when God's will and the kingdom expressive of this become apparent on earth. And, as a consequence of praying this prayer, we assume the responsibility of struggling for this very day to arrive.