It may surprise you to learn that there is a connection between Bono, the lead singer for the famous Irish rock group U2, and Eugene Peterson’s translation of the Bible called The Message. I first learned a little about this a number of years ago when I read that Bono read daily to his father from The Message while he was dying of cancer. I recently learned that there was more to the story, and that they have had deep personal friendship for many years.

The friendship (almost) started when Bono contacted Peterson saying how he felt inspired by Peterson’s translation and that he would like for them to meet; he invited Peterson and his wife to be his guests for a day which included one of his concerts. Peterson, who had no idea who Bono was, was in the midst of translating Isaiah and said (not to Bono), “Why would I want to leave spending time with a prophet to spend time with an entertainer?” He would later accept another invitation, and their friendship began.

Bono said, “I discovered Eugene Peterson’s The Message through the Psalms. In the dressing room before a show, we would read them as a band.” Bono said that they have been a great strength to him, and that Peterson has brought the text back to the tone in which the books were written. Bono has found Peterson’s wording to be inspiring; in the liner notes to U2’s 2017 album Songs of Experience Bono explicitly states that this has been the case for over twenty years. He said that as a songwriter, it was very clear to him that Peterson was “a poet as well as a scholar.” A number of U2’s song lyrics have Biblical connections, but their song “40 [How Long]” comes directly from Peterson’s Psalm 40. Learning of this David Taylor of Fuller Theological Seminary in 2015 produced a short film of Peterson and Bono talking about the Psalms. The film makes some interesting points and is well worth watching. You can find it online by Googling “Eugene Peterson Bono Psalms.”

Eugene Peterson died on October 22, 2018. The next evening U2 was giving a concert at London’s O2 arena. During the concert they dedicated the song “(13) There Is a Light” to Peterson’s memory. Bono stepped to the mike and said, “To the great Eugene Peterson, who left us last night. A beautiful spirit who opened up the Scriptures, opened up so much else, to me, to us, to lots of people here. A beautiful soul.”

I find the saga of their friendship very heartwarming. I know that the power of the Bible comes from its inspiration by God, but I love the way He can use a sedate scholarly church pastor like Eugene Peterson, a rock star like Bono, or even you and me, to expose its message that His love is unconditional.

Jim