Grace and Truth

Grace and truth, effort or earning, works or faith, justice or mercy, these are the conundrums of my life. I know that Jesus came into this world full of grace and truth and ever since, we who follow his example have desired to be people of grace and truth. I can never seem to find the right balance nor live in the right place of tension between the two. The newspapers tell us that the elders of Willow Creek Church in Illinois know all too well that one can easily extend too much grace, demand too much truth, trust people too much, love people too little, and fail miserably at justice for all. There is no doubt in my mind that I would rather extend grace than mete out justice. I would rather love and forgive than hate and punish, but there is a part of me that realizes that when I forgive Sir John A. MacDonald for his part in “The Indian Act,” I am hurting those who were hurt by the ethnic cleansing brought about by the Indian Act. Some of my current friends are people whose culture and their very lives have been damaged by the Indian Act. How do I seek justice for all? How does God extend grace and justice to all? Could God ever forgive those who have hurt or killed huge populations of people? If God forgave Hitler, could the Jews ever forgive God?

Perhaps “the answers to these questions are more questions such as these.”[1] Perhaps we need to give up our obsession with getting what we deserve and take what we are given. Perhaps the answers are found in songs, poetry, stories, and parables. J.R.R. Tolkien once interpreted the actions of one of his characters in the following way.

“One tiny Hobbit against all the evil the world could muster. A sane being would have given up, but Samwise burned with a magnificent madness, a glowing obsession to surmount every obstacle, to find Frodo, destroy the Ring, and cleanse Middle Earth of its festering malignancy. He knew he would try again. Fail, perhaps. And try once more. A thousand, thousand times if need be, but he would not give up the quest.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

“Come, Mr. Frodo!' he cried. 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he'll go” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Might all of us choose to be one tiny Hobbit, one cog in the massive mechanisms of the universe? What difference might we make by pursuing the one thing to which we are called? Do we desire to be a Hobbit or a powerful Lord of the Eldar? Each has their place and their work to be done. Can we be satisfied if God has made us the Hobbit type?

"Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay by small acts of kindness and love." - J.R.R. Tolkien

I wish I had more answers and less questions. It seems that as I age, the questions multiply but the answers only subtract. I am learning more, but as I learn more, I find that I know less, because I have found more questions to ask. The stories begin to answer the questions. The parables hold the key, if only I could understand them better. The poetry of life contains the entire universe. May Jesus lead us ever closer to knowing him and his mission in the world.

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[1] “Socrates” song written by Mac McAnaly on the album Live and Learn, 1992.

Truth

“Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” -  Blaise Pascal (French Mathematician, Philosopher and Physicist, 1623-1662) "In De l'Art de persuader ("On the Art of Persuasion") 

"What is truth?" Pontius Pilate CE 33; John 18:38.

I feel like I may have used one or both of these quotes before. However, it seems with every passing day that these words become more important.

Great Moments in Music History

Great Moments in Music History

If I were a music DJ (does such a thing still exist?) I would curate a show that focussed on some of the greatest moments in music and radio history. There would be plenty of room to talk about first radio transmissions and music innovations, but I would also address great solos and production of modern music phenomena. Today’s blog highlights one such moment.

Even though it only lasts a little more than 40 seconds, the saxophone solo on the song “Urgent” by Foreigner is one of those great moments in music history. The album, Foreigner Four, was released in 1981 and contained the song. It was instantly popular on Top Forty Radio for its rhythms and guitars, but it was the sax solo that made it a legend that lives on to our current day.

Junior Walker of Motown fame who led the band Jr. Walker and the All Stars, played the solo on the recording. Take a listen to it again here. Notice how there is a hint of the solo at approximately one minute and thirty seconds of the song; then the true solo breaks out at 2:40. Mick Jones of Foreigner heard that Junior Walker was touring through the same town in which they were recording Foreigner Four. Jones sat in on his sets at the Lone Star Café and then talked to Junior in his dressing room. Junior was happy to oblige and went down to the studio. However, he was taken aback by the fact that he was playing to the track previously recorded by the band. He had wanted to play live with the band.

The recording was done and it took a few edits to get what they wanted. But, when Junior Walker played with the band in concert a few weeks later, they were perfectly in-sync and played like they had always played together. It is truly one of those great moments in music history.

Send me one of your favourite moments in music history. Maybe you will see it featured on this blog.

Chained to the Rhythm

I have a confession: I like one of Katy Perry’s songs. “Chained to the Rhythm” is her latest single and she debuted the song on the Grammy Awards Show. Why do I like this song? The message of the song is aimed at the average person in North American culture, and the message is that we should no longer be content with the things that previously made us happy. The white picket fence, enough drinks to keep us comfortably numb, and our favourite songs to keep us dancing and distracted should not be the way to the good life. Simply putting on “rose colored glasses” and pretending that all will be well is not going to solve the problems of the world. It reminds me of another song, from another time, from another artist: “It will all get back to normal if we put our nation first. But the trouble with normal is it always gets worse.” (Bruce Cockburn, “The Trouble with Normal”)

The bridge of the song features Skip Marley and suggests that it is time to “Break down the walls to connect, inspire.” Yes, I can concur with those sentiments. He then begins to speak about rioting. Is that the solution? Surely in every culture, riots should be a last resort and they must always be peaceful. Martin Luther King, Jr. led what might be called riots; but it was always his desire that they remain peaceful. These protests have long stood as some of the most effective in history.

“Chained to the Rhythm” is designed to be a “wake-up call” for all of us. The artists of our culture have often provided a prophetic role. The solutions remain for other prophets to proclaim.

Chained To The Rhythm
(Written by Katy Perry, Max Martin, Sia Furler, Ali Payami, Skip Marley)

(Listen to the song while you read the lyrics.)

Are we crazy?
Living our lives through a lens
Trapped in our white picket fence
Like ornaments
So comfortable, we're living in a bubble, bubble
So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, trouble
Aren't you lonely?
Up there in utopia
Where nothing will ever be enough
Happily numb
So comfortable, we're living in a bubble, bubble
So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, trouble

(Aha)
So put your rose-colored glasses on
And party on

Turn it up, it's your favorite song
Dance, dance, dance to the distortion

Turn it up, keep it on repeat
Stumbling around like a wasted zombie, yeah
We think we're free (Aha)
Drink, this one's on me
We're all chained to the rhythm
To the rhythm
To the rhythm
Turn it up, it's your favorite song
Dance, dance, dance to the distortion
Turn it up, keep it on repeat
Stumbling around like a wasted zombie, yeah
We think we're free (Aha)
Drink, this one's on me
We're all chained to the rhythm
To the rhythm
To the rhythm

Are we tone deaf?
Keep sweeping it under the mat
Thought we could do better than that
I hope we can
So comfortable, we're living in a bubble, bubble
So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, trouble

(Aha)
So put your rose-colored glasses on
And party on

Turn it up, it's your favorite song
Dance, dance, dance to the distortion
Turn it up, keep it on repeat
Stumbling around like a wasted zombie, yeah
We think we're free (Aha)
Drink, this one's on me
We're all chained to the rhythm
To the rhythm
To the rhythm

Turn it up, it's your favorite song
Dance, dance, dance to the distortion
Turn it up, keep it on repeat
Stumbling around like a wasted zombie, yeah
We think we're free (Aha)
Drink, this one's on me
We're all chained to the rhythm
To the rhythm
To the rhythm

It is my desire
Break down the walls to connect, inspire, ay
Up in your high place, liars
Time is ticking for the empire
The truth they feed is feeble
As so many times before
They greed over the people
They stumbling and fumbling
And we about to riot
They woke up, they woke up the lions
(Woo!)

Turn it up, it's your favorite song
Dance, dance, dance to the distortion
Turn it up (turn it up, turn it up), keep it on repeat
Stumbling around like a wasted zombie (like a wasted zombie), yeah
We think we're free (Aha)
Drink, this one's on me
We're all chained to the rhythm
To the rhythm
To the rhythm

It goes on and on and on
It goes on and on and on
It goes on and on and on
'Cause we're all chained to the rhythm

Big Picture

Song-writers can be keen social commentators that help us see the bigger picture of issues in our world. They may comment in cryptic and sometimes crude ways, but it is worthwhile hearing what they say. The Eagles wrote and performed a song for the 2007 album, Long Road Out of Eden. The lyrics of "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" speak of reacting in the moment, being driven by emotions and desires, but failing to grasp the “big picture” of what is happening in the world. The bridge of the song is particularly telling as it speaks of how we may be tempted to treat God. Do we only pray to him with our own provincial interests in mind? Do we ask him to help us and then turn away from his will for our lives?

Nearly ten years after these words were released, they still ask us to consider important questions. They still speak to the small views we have of current events.

“And we pray to our Lord

Who we know is American

He reigns from on high

He speaks to us through middlemen

And He shepherds His flock

We sing out and we praise His name

He supports us in war

He presides over football games

And the right will prevail

All our troubles shall be resolved

We have faith in the Lord

Unless there's money or sex involved

Frail grasp on the big picture”

Written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey

Published by © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Don Henly/Glenn Frey/Eagles

Walking in the Light

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. – 1 John 1:5-7

What does this passage mean when it uses the words “walk in the light?” Light reveals things and allows them to be seen. Darkness hides; but light reveals. So if we walk in the light we are walking in such a way that our lives are being revealed. When we walk in the dark, we hide things. Walking in the light is about being honest with others. It is about finding someone with whom to be honest when we sin. It is being honest and admitting that we commit sins and are fallen broken people still progressing in a journey of holiness.

Randy Stonehill seems to understand the danger of sins that are hidden in the dark. Listen to the words of his song, “Under the Rug.”

Under The Rug
Lyrics and Music by Randy Stonehill from the album The Lazarus Heart
(Listen here)
I have a secret I can't tell, and I've learned to conceal it well,
Under the rug.

I have a secret I can't tell, and I've learned to conceal it well,
Ah, but this disturbing smell keeps coming from the carpet, (under the rug)
That's where the old ghosts hide away, down in the darkness and decay,
I work so hard to make them stay down beneath the floorboards. (under the rug)

Oh, I needed the perfect plan, but it's all gotten out of hand,
I keep my head in the sand now,
It's so scary under the rug.

"Bury your sins and they won't survive," I told myself 'til the big surprise,
Down in the dirt is where they thrive, like little poison toadstools,
Under the rug,

It's the thing in Pandora's box, biting through all the chains and locks,
Now the whole house is rocking,
It's so scary under the rug, (so scary)
It's so hairy under the rug, (under the rug)
It's so scary under the rug.

Oh, skeletons dance, and I fear they might rattle their bones in the broad daylight,
Oh, yeah.

So I wear a poker face; I close all the curtains just in case,
But something lurks in the crawling space, pointing bony fingers, (under the rug)
I hear the ticking of my telltale heart, like a bomb set to blow my world apart,
I wish that guilt would make us smart, but I'm sweeping all this garbage...

I have a secret I can't tell, and I've learned to conceal it well,
Under the rug.

We each must ask, “Am I walking in the light and revealing my life to others or am I still keeping some things hidden in the dark?” Sins that are allowed to sit in dark corners will incubate and grow. Those exposed to the light lose their ability to harm us and harm others. Each of us needs one person or a few people to whom we truly reveal ourselves. Then we will be walking in the light “as He is in the light.”