Alright, first off, let's get this out of the way.
This song is directed to Sufjan Stevens' friend, Thomas Vito Aiuto. He is an ordained reverend who preaches at Resurrection Presbyterian Church, which Sufjan attends whenever he's in the area. Vito and his wife have a band called the Welcome Wagon, which Sufjan produces--their lyrics are all Christ-centered--and Vito collaborated with Sufjan on a lot of the songs on the latter's Christmas album. So, right off the bat, the title is, at least on some level, literal: It is a song about the ordination of a guy named Vito to the Christian ministry. All your guys' theories about divorced parents and sexual affairs are all well and good, but it's not what the song's about, and insisting that it might not be is sort of like claiming that it's unfair to say that the Battle Hymn of the Republic might actually be pro-Confederacy.
Now, to the lyrics:
"I always knew you/In your mother's arms" seems like a reference to Jeremiah 1:4-5: "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." This again makes the connection to someone being "ordained" to speak the word of God to people, who's been prepared for this mission since infancy.
"I have called your name" seems like an allusion to the story in 1 Samuel 3 where God calls the young Samuel three times in the night, which the boy mistakes for the voice of the high priest Eli. When Eli realizes who Samuel is hearing, he instructs the youth to reply, "Speak; for thy servant heareth." This is the beginning of Samuel's ministry as a prophet, and again the imagery of being called to the mission of declaring God's message is the theme here. This could also be a reference to Isaiah 43:1: "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."
The Apocalyptic imagery of Vito receiving a crown, the Bridegroom coming, etc. has already been discussed by other commentators here so I won't really dwell on it; and of course the song derives a lot from Psalm 139, as has also already been mentioned.
"When you wear your clothes/I wear them too/I wear your shoes/And your jacket too" is an interesting concept. Is it saying that God will be closer to Vito than the very clothes he's wearing? Is the idea that Vito is being clothed in the righteousness of Christ's merits, that he is "putting on Christ" (Romans 13:14)? I'm honestly not sure but I'm kind of reminded of Sufjan's other song "In the Devil's Territory" on probably his most explicitly Christian album that isn't Christmas-themed, Seven Swans, where there's the line "I stole my Father's shoes/I pulled His pockets too". That's another line I'm not too certain about, but it seems like the concept is the Heavenly Father's status and stature, as shown forth in His garments, is being shared with the believer.
Maybe the reference is to the story of the prodigal son being restored to his family described in Luke 15: "But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet" (verse 22). This might make sense of the lyric "I've made amends/Between father and son". If you watch Vito Aituo's personal testimony, which is currently on YouTube, he talks about how he really had no relationship with God throughout his high school years and only found faith later in life, so perhaps that's what this is a reference to.
Whatever the exact meaning of these details might be, the thrust of the song overall is clear. It's a song about God's election. Like so many of Sufjan's songs (maybe, in a sense, all of them), it's about Grace.
Alright, first off, let's get this out of the way.
This song is directed to Sufjan Stevens' friend, Thomas Vito Aiuto. He is an ordained reverend who preaches at Resurrection Presbyterian Church, which Sufjan attends whenever he's in the area. Vito and his wife have a band called the Welcome Wagon, which Sufjan produces--their lyrics are all Christ-centered--and Vito collaborated with Sufjan on a lot of the songs on the latter's Christmas album. So, right off the bat, the title is, at least on some level, literal: It is a song about the ordination of a guy named Vito to the Christian ministry. All your guys' theories about divorced parents and sexual affairs are all well and good, but it's not what the song's about, and insisting that it might not be is sort of like claiming that it's unfair to say that the Battle Hymn of the Republic might actually be pro-Confederacy.
Now, to the lyrics:
"I always knew you/In your mother's arms" seems like a reference to Jeremiah 1:4-5: "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." This again makes the connection to someone being "ordained" to speak the word of God to people, who's been prepared for this mission since infancy.
"I have called your name" seems like an allusion to the story in 1 Samuel 3 where God calls the young Samuel three times in the night, which the boy mistakes for the voice of the high priest Eli. When Eli realizes who Samuel is hearing, he instructs the youth to reply, "Speak; for thy servant heareth." This is the beginning of Samuel's ministry as a prophet, and again the imagery of being called to the mission of declaring God's message is the theme here. This could also be a reference to Isaiah 43:1: "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."
The Apocalyptic imagery of Vito receiving a crown, the Bridegroom coming, etc. has already been discussed by other commentators here so I won't really dwell on it; and of course the song derives a lot from Psalm 139, as has also already been mentioned.
"When you wear your clothes/I wear them too/I wear your shoes/And your jacket too" is an interesting concept. Is it saying that God will be closer to Vito than the very clothes he's wearing? Is the idea that Vito is being clothed in the righteousness of Christ's merits, that he is "putting on Christ" (Romans 13:14)? I'm honestly not sure but I'm kind of reminded of Sufjan's other song "In the Devil's Territory" on probably his most explicitly Christian album that isn't Christmas-themed, Seven Swans, where there's the line "I stole my Father's shoes/I pulled His pockets too". That's another line I'm not too certain about, but it seems like the concept is the Heavenly Father's status and stature, as shown forth in His garments, is being shared with the believer.
Maybe the reference is to the story of the prodigal son being restored to his family described in Luke 15: "But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet" (verse 22). This might make sense of the lyric "I've made amends/Between father and son". If you watch Vito Aituo's personal testimony, which is currently on YouTube, he talks about how he really had no relationship with God throughout his high school years and only found faith later in life, so perhaps that's what this is a reference to.
Whatever the exact meaning of these details might be, the thrust of the song overall is clear. It's a song about God's election. Like so many of Sufjan's songs (maybe, in a sense, all of them), it's about Grace.