two things this week
silksong & a setlist
a video game
I’ve mentioned here and here about my love for Hollow Knight. I’ve rambled ad nauseam about it with many of you in person (shout-out to naomi for still being my friend even when this game invaded your home life and dominated the lunch conversations for months hehe 🫶). Here is someone else’s thoughtful 15-min video essay that sums up my feelings.
The TLDR of why I love this game so much?
It reflects the Christian life so aptly.
It rewards patience.
It rewards perseverance.
It rewards long-term growth.
It rewards curiosity.
It rewards trusting the developers of the game.
Life is not linear. Life can be punishing.
You think you’re safe [from sin, from being lost] just because you beat a big baddie, but then oops a smoller, more ‘inconsequential’ evil ensnares you.
You cannot lower your guard against the Enemy.
Plus it’s cute.
And fun.
And the NPCs have a quirky, macabre sense of humor.
The long-awaited sequel, Silksong, dropped earlier this month and it is not an exaggeration when I say that I have thanked the Lord countless times for the perfect timing of this perfect gift. It’s different to Hollow Knight in many ways, and yet values the same essentials—patience, perseverance, growth, curiosity, trust.
I like reading this liturgy out loud before embarking into Pharloom, grateful that I’m not the only nerd who appreciates how spiritually formative a good video game can be:
I praise you, O God,
for this chance to play a game,
and experience in microcosm
reminders of the great tale of
creation, fall, and redemption, in which
my own brief life finds its place.The tensions, the stakes, the hard
choices and consequences and sacrifices
experienced within the narrowed boundaries of this game are, in their
own small ways, impressionistic echoes
of a cosmic conflict waged by and against
a very real enemy.Therefore let the playing of this game
today better equip me for my part
in that larger contest, reminding me
that I live my life in the context
of that great struggle—and even
greater story—and that my own
decisions and deeds are daily
invested with eternal weight.Amen.
🎮
a setlist
I love collabing with other worship leaders, and especially when we end up choosing the exact same song inspired by the passage. Enjoy mulling over this Sunday’s songs with me 🎶
Rejoice (G)
O Praise the Name (Anástasis) (G)
I Am Not My Own (F)
God and God Alone (F)
Every Step (D)
love,
reb