A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall: A Companion to Advent

Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” is a powerful companion to Advent. Both the song and the season wrestle with the unthinkable—the upheavals that shake the foundations of our world—and respond by calling us to bear witness, take responsibility, and imagine a new way of living.

Bearing Witness to Catastrophe

Advent acknowledges the profound disorientation that comes with events like the destruction of Jerusalem—moments when, as the poet says, “the light of God is gone.” Dylan’s song reflects this same sensibility, confronting us with cascading images of despair and devastation:

“I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’,

I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’.”

Dylan refuses to shy away from the reality of human suffering, recounting what the narrator has seen and heard to confront listeners with the harsh truths of their world. Advent similarly refuses to gloss over the horrors of Jerusalem’s fall or the tragedies of our time, instead urging us to face them with courage and faith. Bearing witness is not passive but an act of defiance against despair.

Hope and God’s Faithfulness

Advent is a call to hope: even in the face of destruction, we trust that God will not abandon us. Dylan’s refrain—“A hard rain’s a-gonna fall”—is often interpreted as a lament for impending disaster but also carries an undercurrent of renewal. Rain, though destructive, is also cleansing, offering the possibility of new growth. Dylan suggested the song is about the persistence of beauty and truth amid hardship.

Similarly, Advent holds the tension between judgment and redemption. The homily reminds us, as Jeremiah prophesied:

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made…”

This hope parallels the resilience in Dylan’s work—a belief that there is a reason to press on even in the face of despair. Both Advent and Dylan’s songs remind us that hope is an act of trust in something more significant than the present moment’s brokenness.

Human Responsibility

Advent emphasizes human agency: our choices contribute to the world’s suffering, and we must take responsibility for them. Dylan’s lyrics highlight this duality of beauty and violence:

“I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow,

I met another man; he was wounded with hatred.”

These juxtapositions reflect the complexity of human nature, where creativity and destruction often coexist. Pascal’s observation, quoted in the homily, that “he who would act the angel, acts the beast” aligns with Dylan’s insistence on confronting human culpability.

Neither Dylan’s song nor Advent’s message allows us to retreat into apathy. Both call us to move beyond denial and own our role in shaping the world—for better or worse. They challenge us to choose courage over complacency, recognizing that our choices carry profound consequences.

Imagination and the Kingdom of God

Advent is a call to live into God’s future now, embodying the values of the kingdom of God in the present. Dylan’s closing verse captures a similar vision of ethical responsibility and hope:

“And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,

And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it.”

The narrator’s declaration to return and share what he has learned is a prophetic act. It echoes Advent’s challenge to live as if the kingdom is already here, acting with Christ’s values in a broken world. Dylan’s insistence on bearing witness—“from the mountain”—is a refusal to let despair define the future.

Both Dylan’s song and the Advent message emphasize the power of imagination to envision a world redeemed by truth, justice, and love, even when the present seems irredeemable.

Living in the Tension

Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and Advent invite us to live in the tension between despair and hope, judgment and redemption, present brokenness and future renewal. They challenge us to:

1. Bear Witness: Confront the truth of the world’s suffering without turning away. As Dylan’s narrator recounts:

“I heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world.”

2. Take Responsibility: Acknowledge our role in creating or perpetuating injustice and work toward change. The song warns that inaction only compounds the world’s suffering.

3. Live Prophetically: Embody the values of God’s kingdom now, even as we wait for its fulfillment. Dylan’s narrator resolves to act, proclaiming:

“And I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinking,

But I’ll know my song well before I start singing.”

Advent is a season of waiting, but it is not a passive waiting. Like the narrator in Dylan’s song, we are called to return to the world, speaking and living truth in the face of darkness. And like the faithful in Advent lessons, we are called to trust in the ultimate victory of God’s mercy and truth—a “Great Amen” that will one day redeem all creation.

The Challenge of Advent and Dylan’s Song

Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and Advent leave us with a profound challenge: Will we live in this tension? Will we “live God’s future today”? Or will we let the “hard rain” sweep us away without response?

Both the song and the season insist that our response matters. Bearing witness, taking responsibility, and imagining a new way of living are acts of faith and defiance. The choice is ours, and Advent reminds us that God’s grace empowers us to choose hope, faith, and action.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Despair is, at its core, an act of presumption

  At a time of deep despair, when John Claypool felt the darkness closing in, an elderly rabbi offered him a piece of wisdom that reframed his struggle: “Despair is the only unforgivable sin for a Jew.” The rabbi explained that despair is, at its core, an act of presumption. It declares with certainty that no hope is left and that the future holds nothing but the weight of our present sorrow. And yet, the rabbi pointed out, this is a future we have not seen and cannot predict. In presuming to know the outcome, despair claims authority over time and God’s possibilities, which none of us possess. This wisdom is a reminder of humility. None of us can see beyond the present moment, yet our faith invites us to trust what we cannot see—that God’s grace may break through in ways we cannot imagine. Even in the darkest moments, this stance of humility keeps the door to hope open. Claypool’s encounter with the rabbi challenges us to resist despair, not by pretending we do not hurt, but by h...
Read more

Homily for Proper 15 Year C

  Homily for Proper 15 Year C Luke 12:49-56   If, in the first century, you walked down a dusty road in Galilee you would know who is in charge —not because someone told you,  but because you could feel it. [1] The soldiers at the crossroads.  The eagle of Rome stamped into every coin. [2] The shadow of the Antonia Fortress  [3] leaning over the Temple.  Even the taxes—layer upon layer —remind you who holds the power …Caesar, far away, yet so very near.   And in that same air—  Pharisees debating purity codes in the marketplace. [4] Sadducees in their fine robes,  managing the temple and political alliances.  Essenes disappearing into the wilderness,  withdrawing from it all.  Zealots whispering about revolt.  Everywhere talk of revolt. And, people, without a label,  just keeping Sabbath,  raising children,  and praying for deliverance. [5] A people of faith, rich in hope, but also fractious,  noisy wit...
Read more

Reflection on “Where Sea Meets Sky”

Mary Louise Porter at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art Was on View: December 21, 2024 – May 18, 2025 There is a sacred hush in the space where sea meets sky—a liminal line both constant and always changing. This exhibition, curated in partnership between the Walter Anderson Museum of Art and painter Mary Louise Porter, honors that threshold, inviting viewers not merely to look, but to pause, to breathe, and to be drawn into wonder. Porter’s work is a meditation on the Gulf Coast’s quiet majesty. A Louisiana native now rooted in Mississippi, she brings with her the eyes of a newcomer and the heart of one who has stayed. Her canvases reflect a reverent attention to the elemental drama unfolding along the coast: water and light, color and movement, impermanence and return. In Where Sea Meets Sky, we encounter not only static images but a dynamic relationship. Porter’s Horizon Blocks—modular painted boxes she will rearrange over the course of the exhibition—are more than aesthetic devices...
Read more