U2 and Green Day collaborated on this song "The saints are coming" which is a cover of an old Skids song with an added first line from "The house of the rising sun." The song is sung from the perspective of a poor boy ruined by "the house of the rising sun," a New Orleans whore house. He calls his dad on the telephone to ask him when he will be home, but the line went dead. He laments the change since his dad has been gone. He hopes that when the weather changes for the worse, his dad will come home, but his daddy doesn't come home. He cries and there's no reply, no answer. It feels like the end. And so he sings...The saints are coming.
For according to scripture when Jesus comes again, he comes with his saints. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 says "at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." When Jesus comes, he's not coming alone. He's coming with his saints, that is to say those who follow Jesus. Those who follow Jesus are made saints not by working many wonders but by having faith in Jesus. In the end when Jesus comes to judge the world he will come with those who believe in Him.
But what about now? What if we feel like the boy in the song? We're hurting because of a distant father. We're crying out, even to God, but it feels like there's no reply. What's the answer? The Saints. The Saints are coming. Jesus has chosen to use those who follow him to bring kindness, warmth, salvation, and healing in a broken and hurting world. Saints have helped me on my way. When I am deep distress, I trust the Lord that he is sending his saints to help me.
The video shows scenes of the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. It shows people crying for help. It shows a street sign "Humanity st." drowning because of the flood waters. Then it shows "the saints" coming. It shows fake news clips of troops being brought home from the Iraq war to save survivors on rooftops and to airlift food and supplies in to hurting areas. It shows a superpower using its might... to save.
This is a wonderful picture of what God is doing with his superpower, with his might. He's using it not to destroy but to seek and to save the lost. He is using his church, his saints to bring relief to a hurting world. The only question remains...are we going to be the saints who are coming? Are we going to be God's answer to a hurting world? God has given his son to be the answer to our hurting world are we going to go and do likewise?
