Welcome to Tuesday and Tuesday's Musical Notes!!! It's the first Tuesday of February and the day after groundhog day!!!
Wait...didn't I just say ...uh oh...
Yesterday
was a day that is celebrated every year, at least in Puxatwney,
Pennsylvania, with much pomp, circumstance, and grandeur. A very
spoiled groundhog is used in place of meteorological science to predict
what the weather will be like for the next 6 weeks. Accuracy of the
forecasts vary depending on the source and range from 39% - 90%. Phil
did see his shadow and the legend has it that we are in for at least 6
more weeks of winter. The Notes defers to local meteorologists and
their expertise...on second thought...maybe we should stick to the groundhog?....png)
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It's the first Tuesday in February so The Notes today is a reprint/reimagining of a Tuesday's Musical Notes, the email. Originally sent in March 1, 2011. Enjoy!!!
Upon
reading today's title for Tuesday's Musical Notes, you probably began
feeling a tingling in your ears...no that is not a medical condition,
it's a psychological trauma called an ear worm. Yep, you are more than
likely going to hear Peter Gabriel's haunting refrain over and over...
if the condition lasts for more than 2 or 3 days, you should probably
consult your local DJ, but be prepared...those guys have been known
to... say anything...
Because of its prominent featuring in the 1989 movie Say Anything..., "In Your Eyes" would make a return to Billboard's Hot 100 in '89 going as high as #41. The single, from the 1986 album So,
originally peaked at #26 for Peter Gabriel. "In Your Eyes" would be
Peter Gabriel's first gold record as it became certified by selling its
500,000th unit in 2005. While it has become iconic because of Say
Anything, "In Your Eyes" has had a large of amount of exposure. It has
been parodied and used in everything from the television show Glee to Comedy Central's The Daily Show.
Most of the time with the comic use of a boombox. For those of you
born post 2000, a boombox was the mechanism by which music was
transmitted to music listeners beginning around 1980. Shown Here:
While
boomboxes are still in use, their popularity faded with the advent of
digital music and the cd. You can still find them at beaches or other
large outdoor parties or as the musical soundtrack provider to the
occasional outside-the-lost-love's-
Tuesday's
Musical Notes is firmly convicted that God created music. Not sacred
music, nor
secular music, but music. Man has taken this perfect creation, as he
has so many of God's perfect creations, and turned it into something
much less than what it was originally intended. Regardless of its
fallen state, music has the ability to evoke strong emotions in each of
us. Our memories are stirred and the nostalgia of a moment is recalled
when just the right tune is played.
As we
listen to a broad variety of music we soon find a genre that we migrate
towards and develop a sense of likes/dislikes. We do something similar
with our eyes as we encounter people. As we see other folks, our
minds gravitate towards the physical attributes and personality nuances
that allow us to judge our like/dislike of that individual. When tend
to incline ourselves towards those in which we have much in common.
Conversely, we gravitate away from those in which there is little ground for agreement with us. This movement towards/away from others is what happens when we view others through the lens of our own understanding.
However, as followers of Jesus, we attempt daily to put away the manner in which the world views things and put on the mind of Jesus. As we do this, God gives us the ability to see others as he does. Unfortunately, this is much more difficult for us than it may appear. Yet it wasn't for Jesus. In fact, the very first person Jesus revealed his deity to was a prostitute. Just think of the stigma that we attach to that particular sin. It was equally disgusting to people in the first century. in fact, Jewish law dictated that a woman and man caught in an adulterous act should be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10 Holman Christian Standard Bible) Jesus saw the Samaritan woman at the well for who she was in God's eyes, not through the eyes of the world and the sin that plagued her. You can read the entire story here: John 4:1-42 The Message/New International Version parallel
As we encounter folks this week, let's ponder "Who has God placed in my path so I might see the person and not their plague?" As we put on the mind of Jesus, the blinders come down and our judgement of people becomes our joining with people by serving them. Can that be scary? Absolutely. Could it be dangerous? On occasion. Is it worthwhile? According to John's account, many in the Samaritan village were changed forever, because of the woman's testimony of how Jesus viewed her.
The
Notes confesses to a paradigm shift in our way of thinking about
ourselves and others based on today's passages of scripture. From time
to time, we have heard a message or lesson from a well intentioned
follower of Jesus who referred to themselves and maybe even to others as
"worthless" or other derogatory language to prove their point.
However, we see in today's passage, Jesus' appraisal of the Samaritan
woman as one of great worth. In fact, we would say that this woman was
considered "priceless" in Jesus eyes. Jesus died for her. Jesus died
for you. Jesus died for me. Please note that there is a HUGE
difference between being "unworthy" and being "worthless". While we are
"unworthy" because of our sin to be the recipients of His incredible
mercy and grace, we are "priceless" in God's eyes and become worthy
because of what Jesus has done for us and will continue to do in us as
we mature in our walk with Him. Shortly before his death, with his physical faculties fading, John Newton author of the classic hymn "Amazing Grace" was credited with saying:
“My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Saviour!”
Every day, as we put on the mind of Jesus (Phillipians 2:5), we must remember how to view people through God's eyes. All around us are those in dire need of deliverance. Look through the lens of love this week as God puts people who have a myriad of sin in their lives, into your pathway. Perhaps you even need to look in the member and recall the God thinks of you as "priceless" because of His love for you. Remember not to judge anyone, including those who profess belief in Jesus, for their sin, but be an encourager for change, and edifier for redemption, a example of forgiveness, and whatever else you need to be so you can say to God someday.....I saw what they could be "In Your Eyes"...
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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