“If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves. They shall remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall serve with you until the year of the Jubilee. Then they and their children with them shall go out from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property. For they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. You shall not rule over them with harshness but shall fear your God.
Leviticus 25: 39-43 NRSVue
from the Joshua Tree album 1987
Did you catch the interview on CBC Radio's Q with Bono a couple of days ago? Tom Power spent the better part of an hour in conversation with the frontman for the band U2 who is on the road to promote his autobiography, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. U2 has been in existence for nearly half a century and became arguably the most popular band of their era. Bono is in his early sixties now and over time he's become an advocate for social justice causes and is a philanthropist. You might recall that he became very involved in the Jubilee 2000 global debt relief program in which the United Church of Canada participated. In 1999 he seemed to be everywhere, meeting with world leaders and the pope, advocating on behalf of poorer nations. The name and concept came from scripture, the directive to have a jubilee year every 50, relieving the crippling burden of debt.
Pope John Paul II dons Bono's signature shades in 1999
In the Q interview Bono talked about his faith, and that of the band members, which in their teens was attached to a inter-denominational Christian community in Ireland called the Shalom Felllowship. As the band gained popularity they were told that they must choose between rock fame and their faith, an either/or which they didn't accept -- at least three of the four didn't. Guitarist The Edge left the band briefly but returned and has been an integral part of their rise to fame.
Bono suggested that being part of a band was a rather selfish enterprise and that teachers and others were more important in the grand scheme of society. Just the same, their global popularity has given them a platform for engaging in causes for justice and good.
I was intrigued to hear that band members still pray together and that prayer is part of Bono's family life. Tom Power did a great job in this interview and along the way shared that he had departed his Newfoundland Roman Catholic roots because of the Mount Cashel sexual abuse revelations but has come back to a spirituality which has room for some of the rituals and practices of his childhood. It was lovely to hear Bono affirming Tom's spiritual quest, the importance of asking questions, and even getting testy with God.
This was one of the more worthwhile interviews about faith that I've heard through the years. I have Bono's Surrender on hold from the library, so you may be subjected to further musings on my part along the way.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-50-q/clip/15948782-full-episode-bono-alek-keshishian
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