Agnus Dei. Translation = Lamb of God. If you switch the letters around, though, it’s Angus Dei, or Cow of God. :-) Some of you may be familiar with the song – it was written by Michael W. Smith. Third Day recorded it, which amped up the coolness factor.
The song has held special meaning for me for a while. Partly because the “Cow of God” thing is kind of funny. I imagine the Cow of God as a Holstein, maybe because I’m fond of the black and white motif. Anyway … We’ve done the song with our praise team at church. It’s simple, builds from kind of quiet to kind of big, and it has this way of keeping you in worship mode as opposed to performance mode.
Last fall I went on The Music Boat cruise with some friends and family. It was just about the best vacation ever. We cruised with several of our favorite Christian bands, and Third Day was the headliner. Mac Powell, lead singer of Third Day, showed up all over the boat all week. He looked so happy and so at peace every time I saw him. And, interestingly, he has been sporting a longer haircut that makes him a dead ringer for our modern day image of Jesus.
So after spending a week cruising with “Jesus”, the farewell concert was held in the atrium of the ship, with several levels of people crowding around the railings, overlooking the stage. We were next to the stage, just a few feet from Mac. After singing along with lots of different artists, it was time for the last song. I hadn’t even thought about what it would be. With some acts, you kind of know what to expect for the big finale. You guessed it, Agnus Dei.
Flash forward a few months to the end of January. I was at my desk in Cubicle City in the land of Corporate America. My boss called me into his office and informed me my position had been eliminated. Wow. Now those of you who know me know that I’ve had a love-hate relationship with my career for some time. Those of you who know me really well know what a toll the stress took on my health. I blame the grace I had that day in my boss’ office on God Almighty. I was in shock, of course, but it was immediately clear to me that He wanted me to do something different.
I think my boss was more upset than I was. He had always been a fan of mine. And sometimes things are worse for those left behind to deal with the workload. I was allowed to pack my things at my own pace, dump personal files off the computer, etc. My boss himself brought me some boxes and a cart.
So I had the car packed. I was headed to lunch at a friend’s house. I start the car. The radio comes on. It’s tuned to The River. And what is playing …
