Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Easter Parade" (Bing Crosby)

Rules of Civility #9 - "Spit not into the fire, nor stoop low before it, neither put your hands into the flames to warm them, nor set your feet upon the fire, especially if there be meat before it."

Greetings!  приветствия!  Grüße!  Salutations!   인사말!  Sveicieni!   

Вітаю!

      Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!  The above greetings represent the 7 languages spoken in the 12 nations that have discovered Tuesday's Musical Notes over the course of its existence as a blog.  The Notes would like to say "Thank You" (insert your specific language translation for "thank you" here) for finding this spot on the internet where rumination and religion find a cohesive ground.  Thank you also to those  who receive The Notes in your email box each week.  I have received encouragement from several of you and look forward to the opportunity to ponder with you each week at the intersection of songs and spirituality.  Keep those cards and letters coming!!!  If you wish to receive Tuesday's Musical Notes in your email box, please email "Send Me The Notes!" to rawacr@gmail.com and we'll add you to the growing list.  Otherwise, please saunter on over to http://tuesdaysmusicalnotes.blogspot.com/ to see the latest ravings on bands and The Book.  Thanks again!!!

     It began in the US as a casual spring stroll along popular avenues in cities around the country in the late 1800's.  It reached its high point in New York City where in the 1940s millions strolled along Fifth Avenue as they were adorned in their Easter finery.  It was made into a song in 1933 by venerated song writer Irving Berlin, who promptly placed it in the musical revue As Thousands Cheer, on Broadway.  The song "Easter Parade" was thus introduced to the listening public.  It was prominently featured in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.  Take 1:

Easter Parade from Holiday Inn

In case you were wondering the rotogravure that Bing sings about was the magazine section or fashion pages of the newspapers in the 30's and 40's.  It was so named for the process by which pictures and typset were printed from an itaglio copper cylinder. 

     Fred Astaire would later team up with Judy Garland to star in the movie version of the song, 1948s Easter Parade.  Take 2....Roll camera please....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL2SebPfBew

     There was another parade that occurred about this time of the year a very long time ago.  It happened in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover, the celebration of God's deliverance for the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery.  Estimates say that approximately 2.5 million people would have been in Jerusalem at the time of the aforementioned parade.  Interestingly, some theologians believe this to be a similar amount of Israelites who left Egypt during the Exodus.  The crowd in Jerusalem would have been a melting pot of peoples.  Roman guards would have been present on every corner. 

⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosann^a in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this? - Matthew 21:7-10

This group of people were ready to accept Jesus as the Messiah, but He was not necessarily the Messiah they had anticipated.  They had either misinterpreted or taken the prophecies of Messiah out of context and made the coming One to be something that Jesus would never have been.  As the the week progressed following Palm Sunday, the crowds began to diminish.  Jesus was not what they anticipated.  When Jesus is not what we anticipate.....Are we any different?

     If you've never heard "the rest of the story" as the great commentator Paul Harvey would put it, please read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  They are considered the Gospels or "good news" of Jesus.  Or you can go to this link to see a graphic representation of the last week that Jesus spent on earth: Jesus Last Week Day by Day If you need a Bible, please email The Notes at rawacr@gmail.com and we will make sure you get one.  These Gospels will tell you of Jesus love.  A love so great that He, as a man, would redeem mankind, as God's son.  They will tell you of an excruciating form of capital punishment meted out by the Roman government on behalf of the Jewish religious leaders.  They will also tell you of a miracle involving a tomb that has nothing in it.  He is risen!!  He is risen indeed!!!

     The Bible is the testimony of God's love.  Each Book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, affirms God's intense desire to have a relationship with His creation, man.  For those who believe, the relationship will be restored.  For those who do not, an eternity awaits outside of the Presence of God.  Restoration and transformation awaits those who read and believe each story in the Bible.  These stories  point  to the ultimate Easter Parade when Jesus returns to earth as Redeemer and King!   For more regarding the prophecy as well as the actual events of Jesus final Easter Parade......just click it:  Second Coming of Jesus

     As you celebrate this season that is so special in the lives of Christians, remember there are those who don't fully understand Easter without rabbits and baskets and perhaps a leisurely stroll down Fifth Avenue.  We have the opportunity to let them know that while there have been sonnets, written about Easter bonnets, the redeemed will be the ones that Jesus takes to the Easter Parade. 

A 2003 survey conducted by Lifeway Research indicated that 96% of folks who don't attend church consistently would at least be somewhat likely to go.....if they are asked. 

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Our House" (Madness)

     Welcome to Tuesday!!!  It's time for the Notes!!!  Have you noticed a different feel to the air?  Is that a popcorn smell?  "We Will Protect This House!!!" Perhaps a rise in the decibel level?  Certainly disappointment for some parts of the country.....it seems that this time of the year can be described in one word.....Madness!!!

     It's the time of the year where brackets are stylish and ones favorite team's colors are more in vogue.  People of differing backgrounds come together for a few weeks to support the one thing they have in common....their basketball team.  People invest time and effort into competing with friends and family to see who can determine the best in the NCAA.  Unfortunately, The Notes favorite team will not be in any post-season basketball tournament.....sigh...is it baseball season?... Go Hogs!!!   We will continue to watch with interest as the games play themselves out and the best in the land at basketball is eventually determined for this year's season.  So cheer for your favorites and let the bracketing begin!!

   They share the record (214 weeks) with UB40 for spending the most weeks on the United Kingdom singles chart during the decade of the 1980s, yet with the exception of 1 song and a greatest hits album, they are not well known in the United States.  They started as a ska band, transitioned to pop, and experimented with adding reggae and new wave with each successive hit.  They continue to tour around the world with the 7 man lineup of the most popular formation of the band. Their newest full album release Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da came out in October 2012 and put them back in the charts in England, making the band Madness one of the most successful English acts in Rock history. 

"Our House" Madness

     Madness reached #7 in the US with their 1982 single "Our House".  It was an ode to a simpler time when "Father wore his Sunday best" and the house was considered one's castle.  This theme of a man's house being a place of shelter and security has been around for many years, even dating back to Biblical times.  The earliest reference is found in Genesis, where Jacob dreamed of the original "stairway to heaven" and set up a covenant altar to commemorate his Godly encounter.  Bethel became the first mention of "God's house" in the Bible. 

Genesis 28:20 - " Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God  and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Notice the prayer for the necessities of life.  Jacob is asking for Providential care over his house as he is committing to worship God with his life and resources.  This physical representation of a house for God continued in the form of the tabernacle that Moses and the Israelites constructed and carried throughout their wanderings in the desert.  This place of meeting with God would be the precursor for a much larger and ornate house.  



The tabernacle's basic design would be utilized later in Jerusalem.  God continued to show His intense desire to have a personal relationship with His people as His Glory filled the temple that King Solomon built in 2 Chronicles 7

After the temple was destroyed, the synagogue, while not known as God's house, became the principle facility for Jewish prayer and communication to God.  The following picture is at the remains of the synagogue in Capernaum. Notice the darker stones of the foundation.  These are the stones of the synagogue from Jesus time.  Capernaum is where Peter's mother lived and many of the disciples used as a "home base".

Finally, the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church about how God manifests His Presence during the church age as the Holy Spirit dwells in believers.

^16-17 You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.  1 Corinthians 3: 16-17 The Message

Did you pick up on that?  As believers, our bodies serve as a Bethel, a tabernacle, a temple, a synagogue for the same God whose Glory filled the tabernacle in the wilderness and the most splendid temple ever known to man dwells in the believer through the person of the Holy Spirit.  (The Notes concedes the possible tangents that can be derived from this passage of scripture. At this point, everything that you can do to your physcial body from gluttony to tattoos could be discussed.  However, The Notes firmly believes that is an issue between the believer and God and not something that can easily be debated.)  We are struck by the incredible responsibility as well as the awesome power that we carry in "Our House".  Paul also writes to his apprentice Timothy about this power in 2 Timothy1:6-11. 

     As we read about how the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob desired a relationship with these great patriarchs of the Old Testament, this passage for today's believer should be the confirmation of  "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."  Phillipians 4:13 NIV and the soundtrack that continues to play at "Our house, in the middle of our street....."


'Til Tuesday,


Loving HIM by loving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Simple Man" (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Welcome to Tuesday!!!  The best day of the week!  Why you may ask?  Why not?  God made it so it must be good....why not the best.  Let's get started!

     Once upon a time, there were three brothers.  They were raised in Jacksonville, Florida during the 1960s.  All three of the brothers achieved success in the music industry.  Ronnie, Donnie, and Johnny VanZant would share an intense love of the south and the music that was grown there.  They would incorporate the spirit of the south in many of their songs.  Mixing the blues with multiple guitar driven rock and roll would become the trademark for each of the brothers as they launched their individual enterprises.  In 1964, Ronnie would form a band with friends Allen Collins and Gary Rossington called the "Noble Five".  Ten years later, Donnie would join his friend Don Barnes in the band 38 Special.  Johnny would follow in his brother's footsteps in more ways than one.  In 1980, he would form the Johnny VanZant band and later take his brother Ronnie's place in a reformed band that continues to sell out concerts and inspire zippo lighters everywhere. 

     The band would take the name of a gym teacher who hated long hair.  Leonard Skinner was the original name of the band that would provide the rock greats "Freebird" and "Sweet Home Alabama".  The band would modify their name before the release of their first album, 1973s (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), establishing Lynyrd Skynyrd as Southern Rock royalty and providing the storyline for one of the most overwhelming tragedies to be found in the annals of popular music history. 

    Pronounced would eventually go double platinum and reach as high as #27 on Billboard's Hot 100 Album chart.  It would also be the vehicle to release the singles "Tuesday's Gone" (The Notes favorite Skynyrd song), "Gimme Three Steps", "Freebird"(the song that would gain Lynyrd Skynyrd national attention), and a song about the life that Marion VanZant had wanted for all of her boys......

"Simple Man" Lynyrd Skynyrd

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.


     This well known passage from Isaiah 53 has become one of the most well known of the prophecies of Jesus.  While it speaks to the complexities that surround the Biblical account of the life of Jesus, it also purports the idea that he would have been a "Simple Man".  Specifically the phrase from Isaiah, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him",.. is supported by a fascinating 2002 article from Popular Mechanics.  "The Real Face of Jesus" as proposed by forensic scientists can be seen here:  

"The Real Face Of Jesus" Popular Mechanics December 2002

This article supports the notion that Jesus would have been considered quite ordinary for the residents of Nazareth.  In fact, the trade of carpentry that he learned from his earthly father Joseph was seen in the Hebrew social ladder as 1 step above being a shepherd, the lowest rung on that ladder.  The city of Nazareth was considered to be a lowly town in social circles as well. (John 1:46) From the time Jesus was 12 until He was about 30, the Bible is silent about the events that occured in His life.  Most scholars agree that Joseph died during this time and according to the Hebrew tradition Jesus would have been about the life of an eldest son providing for His earthly family with His carpentry skills.  It seems by Isaiah's prophecy and the Biblical narrative that we do have regarding the life of Hebrew sons that Jesus would have lived a simple life and been a simple man. 

Praise God Jesus' life would change!  In the coming weeks, the world will be looking at Christians and how they celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and King.  What will the see as they look at our church?  What will they see as they look at us?  Will they see Jesus?  Will they see the simplicity of the Gospel working in our daily lives as individuals and collectively as the church?  Will they see joyous people waiting for the coming of their King?  Easter is a special time in the life of any church.  It is also a special time for families to come together and share their lives with each other.  Both of those pale in comparison to the glory that will be our future when Jesus returns.  As we celebrate this Easter, let us all keep the ENTIRE Easter story in mind.  It doesn't end with the empty tomb of a ........"Simple Man".

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The Voice" (The Moody Blues)

MUSICAL

Rules Of Civility #8:  "At play and at fire it's good manners to give place to the last comer, and affect not to speak louder than ordinary."

In other words....make room for everyone and use your inside voice...

"The Voice" The Moody Blues

     The origins of so many great musical acts can be traced back to the time range of the mid to late 1960's.  Many of your favorites bands possibly just popped into your memory.  Acts like The Beatles, The Mamas and The Papas, The Byrds, Sonny and Cher, et al no longer exist except on "oldies" radio  due to  internal strife, musical differences, lack of chart success, or the death of a band member.  In contrast some acts from this period [Genesis, The Rolling Stones, The "Bobs" (Both Dylan and Seger), The Beach Boys and Chicago] have achieved popular success by continuing to release records and tour in support of that music.  When you think about it, in the next decade many of these "durable" acts will have been in existence making music for over 50 years.  That is staggering when you consider the stress of world wide tours and the continued pressure to make music that is popular to a new generation of music aficionados every 2-3 years. 

     One band may not come to your mind immediately.  They have "flown under the radar" so to speak in the music industry and have never had a released single go to #1 on the charts.  They continue to tour with 1 member of the original 1964 lineup and 3 from the band make up of 1966.  Their highest rated single was 1968's "Nights In White Satin" which went to #2 in 1972, four years after its initial release.  The re-issue of their 1968 Nights In White Satin album caused the sales of the single of the same name to sky rocket thus providing The Moody Blues their first and only top 5 hit.  The Moody Blues have had 2 albums, 1972's Seventh Sojourn and 1981's Long Distance Voyager, attain the Billboard #1 spot for album sales.  This combined with relentless touring during the 70s and 80s have provided these "Singers In A Rock and Roll Band" with "The Voice" to continue speaking to the next generation of appreciative fans. 

     What kind of voices do we read about in Scripture?  How is God's voice depicted?  What happens to those who do not heed "The Voice"?  The Bible is replete with passages regarding communication between God and man.  In Numbers 22:30 a voice was given to a donkey to provide a warning to Baalam, one of the Bible's really bad guys.  The poetic books of the Bible, especially Job and Psalms, refer to the power of God's voice as these passages compare The Voice to thunder.   (Job 40:9; Psalm 29:3; 77:18; 104:7).  Elijah experienced God's voice in a much different, but no less powerful way.   (1 Kings 19)

     You may be thinking, "I believe the Bible's depiction of how God spoke to His people, but I am not sure how or if it happens in our times".  Rest assured that you are not alone in wondering how God speaks to Christians today.  We hear speakers on television and leaders in churches say that "God told them" to do specific things.  This raises another question:  "Why does God speak to them and not to me"?   The first thing we have to realize is comparing ourselves to other Christians only proves to be a frustrating exercise and has the potential to illicit pride.  Secondly,  we must also be in a position to listen for God when He speaks.  Do you have a consistent method of reading the Bible?  It is, after all, God's Word.  He is using His own Word to communicate truths to us every day if we will read the words and the listen closely to what His Spirit communicates to us.   Third, we are made in the image of God.  Our ability to discern right from wrong, our conscience if you will, is one aspect of how we are made in God's image.  This "spiritual" aspect enables God to communicate with us, especially as the Redeemed, through impressions, events, and thoughts.  "Understand the voice within, and feel the changes already beginning."   Finally, if you examine how God communicated in the Bible you will see that an audible voice, while present at times, was utilized with less frequency than what many perceive.  For a good perspective of how God speaks to us today, please read Rebecca Barlow Jordan's article:   8 Ways God Speaks To Us Today


     So what do we do when we hear God speak?  There is a hymn chorus that addresses the answer to this question:  "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus.......but to trust and obey."  Don't allow the cynicism of our world to keep you from having the child like faith to listen to the Father as He guides and directs us.  Then utilize that faith to put into action what we've been told to do by...."The Voice".

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy