Or Did Jesus Find Him?

After multiple listens to M. Ward's 2006 release Post-War, I was working under the assumption that Ward had gone looking for the Buddha. 

After multiple listens to today's release of Hold Time, I can only assume that he ended up finding Jesus instead. Or did Jesus find him? The lyrics from Fisher of Men hint at the latter:

And he put his name in my verses and his name in the book
Before I knew what I was cooking, it was already cooked
He's got a line in the water, he's a fisher of men
And he put his name in my chorus, and the dark before the dawn

So that in my time of weakness, I'd remember it's his song

He's got a line in the water, he's a fisher of men

The fisher of men reference is certainly a Biblical one, what Jesus promised He would teach His disciples to be. And that isn't the only Christological reference on the album. The track listing includes songs like Save Me (which I assumed would be about a woman, but is clearly about God) and even Epistemology (the theory of knowing) which features lyrics like:

I learned how to keep my head from something Paul said
About keeping the fruit in the spirit from the chorus down to the hook

I read a review that surmised that "Paul" is a reference to McCartney, but I'm going to guess that the "fruit in the spirit" reference points to apostle and not Beatle.

This album is, musically, my second favorite among Ward's output and, thematically, my favorite. Which means that it could quickly and easily become my favorite M. Ward album.

Still, I am curious if there was a conversion story between '06 and today or if this is something I should go back and look for in all of Ward's songs.

Either way, check out M. Ward's latest album (released today), Hold Time. It's excellent.