Welcome to Tuesday and Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!
Have you ever had those times where you were able to unplug? I'm not talking about going acoustic with your musical choices, while that is kinda cool every once in a while. That to which I refer is the opportunity to get away from any electronic resource for information. This kind of experience is getting more difficult with each passing day as digital devices are becoming less expensive to use and more powerful with each incarnation. But the chance to "get away from it all" is something that I truly think humans need to be able to do to cope with the external stimuli that is all about us. Let's face it, recent headlines are full of conflict, turmoil, and strife. These things are not just occurring in third world countries, but in the United States, where it seems each news hour includes a "breaking" news story of something that is inherently bad.
I know, I know, that is not our normal "happy, happy, joy, joy" intro, but it is important to note that the world around us is in a decay of much greater proportions that any "Inconvenient Truth" might portend. If we do not take the moment to disconnect, to reduce the aforementioned external stimuli, and just calmly, quietly, serenely, breathe as we were created to do, the weight of all that is happening around us could be crushing. So, The Notes advice? "Take a load off, Fanny...take a load for free..."
Since 1968, popular music has been influenced by a group simply known as The Band. Levon Helm (1940-2012), Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko (1943 - 1999), Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel (1946-1986) formed the musical group whose iconic style and brand of music is still covered by young musicians today. They had the occasion to play at most of the major venues and music festivals of the '60s and 70's, including Woodstock. They toured with Bob Dylan, sans Helm for most of the tour, during 1965-1966 as the act, Bob Dylan and the band. Depending on the member of the group, this touring moniker is where the eventual name of their group came.
Success was all but guaranteed, by the time they released their debut record, Music from the Big Pink. The album title came from the "Big Pink" home in which they lived during the time of the album's recording. Bob Dylan wrote one and co-wrote two other songs from the album, insuring interest from the music buying public. Today's feature song would be the only single from the album to hit Billboard's Hot 100, peaking at 63. "The Weight" was also included in the 1969 film Easy Rider, though due to licensing difficulties it was not included in the films soundtrack album. Add to the exposure from Easy Rider, The Band would perform "The Weight" at Woodstock, which happened 48 years ago this week (August 17, 1969), and our song of the day became an instant classic without achieving top of the chart success.
Levon Helm was among a handful of entertainers from Arkansas (Entertainers associated with the State of Arkansas) I had the chance to meet Levon Helm in the mid 90's. He came by the entertainment superstore that I was managing. My music manager at the time called me out to that area with an interesting request. Levon Helm was in the midst of a royalty/song writing credit lawsuit with Robbie Robertson. He came into our store and asked if we would open all of The Band's music so he could check the liner notes for the writing credits. He was burdened by the fact that so much of The Band's music had been credited to Robertson and felt like the rest of the members weren't getting their due. Fortunately, all was as it was supposed to be with regard to the writing credits. We engaged in conversation about the music industry. Nice guy that reminded me of my dad. Helm was from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, (yes that is a real place, a suburb of Marvell, in the Helena-West Helena portion of the state) and cited his southern, rural raising as much of the resource for his musical style and song writing.
So many times we allow external forces, over which we have very little control, to influence our lives. If we allow this to build up it can become overwhelming and burdensome. We were not created to carry that weight, nor to shoulder the responsibility for the world's problems. Yes, we should bear the responsibility for those times we miss the mark and make mistakes (the Bible calls this sin), but we should not allow circumstances in our world like the North Korean threat or the cultural divide that we see in our own country dictate our lives and devour our every waking minute.
We were created, and much has been sacrificed for us, to live lives of peace, love and joy. The Gospel (Good News) accounts of the life of Jesus detail this very fact. The disciple Matthew knew intimately what the release of the weight of sin felt like. Before following Jesus, he was working as a tax collector. That's right! One of the men that Jesus called to be His disciples, was hated and despised because he collected, and in many cases swindled, taxes from the public. Tax collector's in Jesus' time were disdained even more than the IRS is disliked by those of us in 2017. (Although the argument could be made that both are equally corrupt...but I digress). While Matthew was in the course of doing his business, Jesus called him to follow: biblia.com - "Matthew Is Called" Matthew immediately left his tax booth and followed Jesus. Imagine the release of stress that Matthew felt as he took each step further away from the burdensome life he had been living and took each step toward a rabbi whose words included "I will give you rest". In other words, Jesus was saying, take a load off Matthew, take a load for free. This is not to say that Matthew's life following Jesus was free from stress, trouble, and turmoil. in fact, most theologians suggest that Matthew was martyred in the mission field as he told the good news about Jesus to others. Matthew did however have the reassurance that he was not alone as he faced these times. Jesus had promised Matthew as He does us: The Gospel of Jesus according to the Disciple Matthew chapter 11:25-30 Christian Standard Bible/The Message Paraphrase of the Bible, New King James Version of the Bible parallel
Jesus not only promised that His burden would be light, He demonstrated that He would carry that load. Matthew continues telling the story of Jesus' ministry from the perspective of one who had been reviled by his own nationality and was considered to be in the pocket of the enemy. What an incredible story of redemption Matthew lived after he followed Jesus. His account of Jesus details the miracles and the lives that were changed forever because of the interaction that folks had with the Savior. Most importantly, Matthew told of the sacrifice in which we spoke earlier.
As Jesus hung on the cross at Calvary, He carried the weight of every wrong perpetrated by mankind. From the disobedience of Eden, to last week's shameful display of hatred, to the wrong that will happen until He returns (that includes what you and I will do), all of that was on Him at the crucifixion. He in reality took the load of our sin on his body and soul as He served sacrificially for you and me. He did this so that we could have a way to be reconciled with our Creator when our lives end.
Our reconciliation is not automatic. Jesus died for each of us, but we have to believe that He did this. At first glance, this statement may seem redundant, but millions of people each day die rejecting that particular piece of knowledge. They are exposed to the truth, yet they decide to carry the weight of their "world" with them. When we choose to accept Jesus' sacrifice, we have to lay down those things that weigh us down. This is a voluntary action, but one that each of us needs to do. Unfortunately, we sometimes want to pick that junk back up, but Jesus is waiting there, encouraging us to leave it at His feet. These facts cause one to ponder this question...what do you believe about Jesus?
We started today suggesting that we get unplugged. We finish up with the suggestion that there is no greater way to explore the life of Jesus that being plugged in. This incredible tool called the internet that allows us to share with you each week, can be a powerful conduit to share the love of Jesus and see that everyone gets a chance to experience what it feels like to have guilt, shame, and misery lifted off of you by HIS grace, sanctification, and mercy. Jesus could have easily inspired the lyric...take a load off Fanny, take a load for free, take a load off Fanny, and...and...and... ya put the load right on me...
Curious about who Jesus really was? There is a theatrical movie that comes out today on DVD that is very insightful. It is taken from the best selling book by Lee Strobel: The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
Here's the trailer:
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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