Things to do, it’s getting late

There is this song that I was reminded of recently, and it begins like this:

I saw Jesus on the cross on a hill called Calvary
»Do you hate mankind for what they done to you?«
He said, »Talk of love, not hate
things to do, it’s getting late
I’ve so little time
and I’m only passin’ through.«

– Leonard Cohen, Passing Through

Sure, Leonard Cohen takes some poetic license. Saying what can’t be said in plain words, painting an emotional picture. And I am moved by his special arrangement of imagery.

Just imagine, maybe next time you see a crucifix, asking Jesus: »Do you hate mankind for all this?«

Notably, in Cohen’s lyrics Jesus doesn’t answer with »Yes« or »No«. Leonard Cohen’s Jesus correctly points out that the question contains what philosophers call a category mistake (Gilbert Ryle).

Yes, we know that Christians should love:

A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

– John 13:34

But this is not »just« a commandment and obligation. It is an ontological consequence too. A fire doesn’t need to be commanded to be warm – warmth is the nature of fire.

He that loveth not knoweth not God: for God is charity.

– 1 John 4:8

Leonard Cohen’s Jesus corrects the category: Talk of love not hate.

The lyrics switch to Jesus saying things that just as well could and likely should be said by you and me: »Things to do, it’s getting late. I’ve so little time and I’m only passin‘ through.«

People might feel the urgency of trying to fight fear and hate. But how do you »fight« hate and fear without love? How do you fight the cold without warmth?

These days politicians try to make laws against hate and fear. They will jail you if you express hate or fear.

Yet they only forbid the expression of hate and fear. They fail to change the underlying circumstances, both external and internal – and may even be fostering them.

And therefore:

Let us therefore love God: because God first hath loved us.

– 1 John 4:19

Yes, I surely feel the urgency in this song – the urgency in this message. We have so little time and we are only passing through. Things to do, it’s getting late!