Happy
April....no foolin'!!! Welcome to Tuesday and The Musical Notes!!
This is your resource for trivial tidbits about musical memories and how
they can inspire thoughts of a Scriptural Savior. Its the first day of
April...yikes!!! Be on the lookout for the extraordinary today. This
is the day of the year more pranks, punks, and downright deceptions are
pulled than any other. No it's not a national holiday...it's April
Fool's day. Today there will be a myriad of jokes played on the
unsuspecting by those who have way too much time on their hands (sounds
like a Musical Note in the making). So be on your guard today...
There
is a lengthy history of April Fool's day. Some have traced the annual
celebration of pranks that occur at this time of the year back many
centuries. One would imagine that as each generation has learned
traditions from the previous, that the best pranking and practical jokes
have been fostered by heritage. Let's face it, the hot foot will
always be a vehicle to make 'em laugh...
Our
song 'O the day is taken from a classic film starring Gene Kelly,
Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor. This 1952, Gene Kelly and Stanley
Donen directed musical comedy is a movie that depicts what might have
occurred in Hollywood during the transition from silent movies to
"talkies". The American Film Institute names it at the top of its list
of 100 Years of Musicals and as of 2007 named Singing In The Rain its fifth greatest American Motion Picture of all time (For a complete list just click here: American Film Institute - 100 years, 100 movies.
O'Connor would be awarded a Golden Globe for Best Performance by and
Actor in a Comedy or Musical as Cosmo Brown, the sidekick to Gene
Kelly's Don Lockwood character. O'Connor's career would be mostly
defined by this musical and a talking mule (Francis, 6 films in
the Francis the Talking Mule series). His physical and comedic
abilities were showcased by "Make 'Em Laugh", one of Singin' In The Rain's
most memorable sequences. O'Connor would be hospitalized after the
shooting of "Make 'Em Laugh" due to his 4 pack a day smoking habit,
which The Notes cannot imagine made him laugh...
For many years, the magazine Reader's Digest
featured a section called "Laughter, The Best Medicine". Perhaps you
have joined countless folks in going to that section first when given
the opportunity to glance through this magazine. It included funny
stories and jokes similar to this...."Who was the worst sinner in the
Bible?......Moses, he broke all of The 10 Commandments" (Thanks Mike
Paslay for your contribution....writing credit achieved). In reality,
the health benefits behind laughing make for more than just a good
magazine section title:
Surprisingly,
there are only 7 occasions where the word "laughter" is used in the
King James Version of the Bible. Of those 7 times, 6 are in a
relatively negative context.
(Scriptural references to the word "laughter" in the King James Version of the Bible)
How could it be that the "Good News" of the Bible reflects so little
about an expression that is associated with happiness and joy and in
most circles is considered much more infectious than any disease? In
contrast, the King James Bible utilizes the word "joy" 187 times. Could
it be that the Bible is more concerned with the condition of one's
heart than any outward manifestation or appearance? Laughter can be a very external and contagious expression of joy. Our
external expressions tend to always reflect our inward conditions.
Regardless of what those expressions may look like, our circle of
influence is impacted by how the internal reflects the eternal.
The
Gospel of Matthew reveals a time of great emotion. In chapter 28,
we are told of the extraordinary events that took place for disciples of
Jesus. Jesus had been buried for 3 days after suffering the worst form
of execution known to mankind. After 3 days the story changes
dramatically. Earthquakes, angels, and an empty grave begin to dominate the story. Picking up in verse 5 we see an gambit of external expression:
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And
go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and,
behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I
have told you.
8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9 And
as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All
hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
You
may have noticed in verse 6 a multitude of feelings that were exhibited
by the women. It says they left their time with the angel "with fear
and great joy". Can you imagine the scene? They had come to the tomb
to continue the mourning ritual that was common for the culture and they
were met with guards who were like dead men, the stone rolled away from
the opening of the tomb and an angel who would proclaim Jesus
resurrection. To say these women were astonished would be an
understatement. It isn't too hard to envision uproarious laughter as the transition from grief to joy overwhelmed them. Then to cap it all off...they
see Him!!! Jesus, alive and waiting to tell them to not be afraid. One would imagine that this joy is the same emotion believers will experience when they see Jesus return to take them to heaven.
The
Resurrection celebration is just around the corner. As we observe many
events leading up to this time, let's not forget that with fear and
trembling the disciples had a joy in their heart because the things that
Jesus had been telling them were coming true right before their eyes.
He is risen!!! He is risen indeed!!!
The
joy of the women at the tomb can be experienced by believers today. A
friend of mine has recently said "what seems to be missing among
churches and God's people today is that sense of joy and hope that we
have in Jesus"
Through the power of Holy Spirit, we can let the joy and hope show
in our lives so much in this world of darkness that those seeking the
light will want to know from where it comes. This contagious energy,
this enthusiastic peace, this unwavering devotion can be a springboard
for us to let the whole world know where our joy originates and why we
have hope. And maybe, just maybe in the process of sharing this joy..we
can make 'em laugh!!!
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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