Welcome
to Tuesday! Today is Halloween! Time for masks, makeup, merriment,
and munchies!!! It is also time for the Halloween edition of Tuesday's
Musical Notes! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!
Today
is a day unlike any other in most Western cultures. It is celebrated
in a variety of ways. Some very bright and festive, others, well, let's
face it, there can really be a lot of darkness in this world. For the
most part, Halloween represents a fun day for children to
costumize themselves and get enough candy to last for the entire year!
(I think with the price of candy, however, homemade treats may become
vogue again, very soon.) So trick or treaters, be grateful! Even if all
you get is a rock. Many folks in the 60's paid good money for pet
rocks...including the ones who lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane...
Did you know The Munsters' Theme had words??!!!!
The television show The Munsters began on September 24, 1964. Universal Studios produced The Munsters.
Universal had produced the classic monster movies of the 30's and
40's and owned the rights to the look of Frankenstein and other popular
monster protagonists. Thus lending to the authenticity of costuming for its principal characters and adding to the popularity of the show. The Munsters was produced by the creators of another classic tv series, Leave It To Beaver and quickly became a top 10 hit for CBS. The
30-minute program mixed macabre with comedy and garnered the attention
of children and adults alike. Featuring previously paired actors Fred
Gywnne and Al Lewis (Car 54, Where Are You?) and motion picture actress Yvonne DeCarlo (The Ten Commandments),
The Munsters quickly went to syndication and has rarely been off of the
airwaves since. It competed directly with ABC's The Addams Family and
for the most part managed better Neilsen ratings than Gomez and his
clan. The Munsters ran for only two years and was canceled as its ratings ironically fell to another tv show featuring a bat, the technicolor Batman.
Part
of the charm of The Munsters was their ability to look past the
differences of other folks and function in society. While people on
their street weren't happy they were there, Herman, Lily, Granpa,
Marilyn, and Eddy all were excited to visit with the people in their
neighborhood and engage with folks who were very much unlike
themselves. Many comparisons to the family sitcoms of the day elevated
the allure of The Munsters to families around the world. It
really was a family oriented, monster themed, comedy that worked
beautifully based on the obvious good relationship that the cast members
shared.
Have
you ever had THAT neighbor? Perhaps they have a dog that won't start
barking. Maybe they have car parts strewn all over the front yard. You
know, the family you suspect are cooking meth in the backyard?
Perchance they happen to be an unmarried couple living together or
homosexual. Without even trying hard, it wouldn't take too long for you
to find fault with the people who live down your street. Or maybe,
just maybe, you are THAT neighbor!
I
am by no means suggesting that you should ever allow yourself to be
taken advantage of, or harmed by your neighbor. I do think at times,
even those who claim Jesus as their Savior, are very quick to judge
folks that are not like us. Without even trying we find our comparables
to be something with which we can take issue. Many times this
manifests itself into a superiority complex that at the very least is
disingenuous, and at the most is off-putting and hateful. We've touched
base on the necessary attitude adjustments needed to overcome these
preconceived notions before in Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Try A Little Kindness"
For
many years, church attendees in the Western hemisphere have not done a
very good job of being great neighbors. I can testify to this as this
indictment applies to me.
For
many years I worked in retail sales. As such, we relocated quite
often. I personally have had the opportunity to have at the least 9
different sets of neighbors in the places we have moved. This just
accounts for those on either side of my home. I hope that I have been a
good neighbor. I sometimes wonder, however, if I was a GREAT neighbor
in the fact that either ostensibly or directly, I exemplified the Christ
that I serve to these folks.
Sometimes our neighbors are identified differently than what we may expect. In The
Gospel of Jesus according to Luke chapter 10 verses 25-37 The Message
paraphrase of the Bible/ English Standard Version of the Bible/King
James Version of the Bible parallel Jesus defines who is one's
neighbor. Take a moment and ponder how merciful you have been to those
you encounter. Mercy can come in many forms, but sharing the Gospel of
Jesus is the most merciful thing you could possibly do for anyone!
Your
address is probably not 1313 Mockingbird Lane. And chances are your
neighbor doesn't have pale grey-green skin. But there are other things
that make you just ever so slightly nervous about them coming to your
door this Halloween. Show mercy by not judging by any other standard
other than the standard Jesus' uses when He proclaims in The Gospel of Jesus according to the disciple Matthew chapter 22 verses 34-40 The Message/ESV/KJV for
us to love our neighbors as ourselves...and maybe you should make them
some cookies instead of purchasing candy this year...
Who knows, your neighbors may even look something like this:
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
