A Little About Jazz and Coffee...

Earlier today I had the chance to sit down with a few friends, enjoy a cup of coffee, and listen to some "smooth jazz" music in the background. I know... stereotypical, right? But there is something about coffee and jazz that really excites me. They are two things that are somehow foundational to my belief system. Let me explain:

Jazz is free form. It is built on the concept that real musical expression exudes from ones being. It is not something that is learned by rote, nor is it somehow encased in a particular form or style. Music is only alive in as much as the musician is alive. This being said, Jazz should not properly be called a style of music... it is a kind of philosophy. Jazz is not music itself, rather Jazz is the potential for music. The REAL music is from deep within the musician.

Something similar is true with coffee (at least as far as my biases--and addictions--are concerned). Coffee is not so much an end as it is a means. For me, indulging in a hot, black cup of bitter, roasted, bean water is not about the drink itself, rather it is what the coffee brings about. In other words, coffee is not about coffee. Coffee is a catalyst for conversation, and an impetus for imagination. This is historically true. Rousseau, Voltaire, and the other minds of the enlightenment were fond of setting down before piping-hot cups of this magical black liquid. One french Coffeehouse in particular, Café Procope, was arguably the birthplace of the encyclopedie--the first modern encyclopedia. (Thanks, Wikipedia) It could be argued that coffeehouses brewed not only coffee, but perhaps the enlightenment period itself. Coffee is not about coffee. Coffee is about something BEYOND the coffee. Much in the same way that Jazz is not really about the music, form, notes, or what have you. It's about something deeper.

Perhaps many would argue that I am over-interpreting jazz and coffee. But I would beg to differ. The reason that Jazz and coffee excites me so much... is that both of these realities are not about themselves. Jazz is more than music, and coffee is more than a drink. One could say that both Jazz and coffee hinge on the idea of potentiality. It's not about what coffee and jazz ARE... is about who we are as we participate with them.

--And now, the part where I make spiritual application-- This is a beautiful metaphor for our spiritual lives--I think. Christ says that the christian gospel rests upon three things: Faith, Hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love, right? So tell me. What is the form of love? - What does hope look like? How about faith? -- Any ideas? This is beautiful to me, because they can look like anything. No doubt each of us can think of many different forms or manifestations of faith, hope, and love. And they can all be true. These three concepts move and change. In essence, they are free form.

Ask 20 people to draw a picture of faith, hope, and love--I mean, the something real-- not little hearts and doves, but what does it look like--really--to them. Chances are you will find a multiplicity of things. Jesus gave us many prime examples of what it might look like in his particular paradigm and he left it to us to continue to figure out what his radical brand of faith, hope, and love looks like in each of our very diverse contexts.

Faith, hope, and love are not about themselves... they are about somthing deeper--perhaps even infinite. Christ is about something deeper than form. He regularly reminds us in the scriptures that the greatness that we see in him (the human him) is not about him... but about his father who sent him. Jesus is greater than his form. He is great in as much as he is connected to that which is beyond him--his father. We also are invited to this kind of reality of faith, hope, and love. But what does it look like? Honestly, WHAT does it look like?!? How can we package it? I love these questions, because they can't be answered. Faith can look like many things--because it is potentiality. We can't package it--to do that would be an insult to its beauty and complexity.

See? And you thought this post was about Jazz and coffee. Well... it is. But, you see, Jazz and Coffee are much more than just Jazz and Coffee.

So...what is the black and white, practical application of this blog-post? That is for you to figure out. You see, this blog-post was not written to have an end, because...