Welcome to Tuesday, the day of all days! Why may you ask? Let me tell you the ways! Way one is not the best nor is it the least. Alas and alak, it however has ceased! Music and video once came out on this day of the week! It was the day that we longed for, our waiting, it peaked! The newest of the new, available to us. No clutter from the weekend, no need for the fuss. Way two is so easy, we must stop and think. Why, Tuesday's not Monday, the day we all sink. Way three is the best, no contest you'll see. Way three is the blog, that you click on with glee. It's Tuesday, dear friend, welcome you blokes! It's time, for Tuesday's Musical Notes!
Welcome to Tuesday! We hope you enjoy today's installment of Tuesday's Musical Notes! If you do, please tell a friend, or two, or for that matter a dozen or more about your Tuesday journey down the road of timeless tunes and insight from what may be a perspective you have never considered. We're glad that you joined us! Let's get started with The Boss and his tribute song to 9/11...The Rising
Now, let's go live to London (well sort of live...at least it was live 5 years ago) with Mr. Springsteen and the E Street Band
Welcome to a new world. A world where a Bruce Springsteen song becomes a focal point for Tuesday's Musical Notes. I must confess that other than his solo in "We Are the World", (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "We are the World") "Born to Run", "Thunder Road", and "Born in the U.S.A.", I'm not really big into Bruce...until today. Today's song may be what takes me over the edge of casual listener, "He's ok. I can take him or leave him", to having a firm respect for his talent, "I really need to keep up with what Springsteen is doing!".
It only made #52 on the Billboard Hot 100, but its impact continues to be felt as it has seen continual rotation in Springsteen concerts since its debut in 2002. It won the Grammy categories of Best Rock Song, Best Male Performance, and Song of the Year in that same year. Rolling Stone named it the 35th best song of the decade and VH1 (that would be MTV Classic now...yawn) listed it as #81 on its 100 Greatest songs of the '00s list. It also made the cut at Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list coming in at #497.
Ten months after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Star Spangled Banner"), Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band release the album The Rising. Some took it as a rallying cry to avenge the 9/11 attacks, yet Springsteen and crew saw the record more as a reflection and tribute to those who bravely gave their lives by running into burning skyscrapers. They willingly laid down their lives for their neighbors. (The Gospel of Jesus According to John, chapter 15, verses 9-17 New International Version of the Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/English Standard Version of the Bible) Today's feature song is one of 2 from The Rising that pays tribute to those who gave the final full measure of devotion.
The religious overtones are unmistakable throughout the song, even to the point of hinting towards Easter. In his book, The Gospel According to Bruce Springsteen: Rock and Redemption, from Asbury Park to Magic, Jeffrey Symynkywicz comments on the songs intimation as being "an Easterlike anthem arising out of the darkness and despair of September 11, a national Good Friday experience if ever there was one." (Symynkywicz, Jeffery B. (2008). Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-23169-1. pp. 150–151.) In this Easterlike anthemic spirit, we would like to offer this elucidation about THE Rising...
This coming Sunday, folks all around the world will celebrate One who was the ultimate example of laying down His life for His friends, however, He didn't stay entombed in a hillside in Israel. That's the reason for the celebration!!! Please consider the following:
You can read more about Lee Strobel's journey in the fascinating book The Case for Christ or watch the 2017 movie version on your favorite device. (The Case for Christ - trailer)
"I see you Mary in the garden, In the garden of a thousand sighs..."
The point of all of this...Jesus is alive!!! In an ultimate display of THE Rising, Jesus came to life and was seen by many of His followers, Paul's 1st Letter to the Corinthian church, chapter 15 - NIV/The Message/ESV, This very moment He Is Alive!
There are those who want to discount this story as a fable and the Bible as just another religious book. The thought being that the Bible is revered by its adherents as truth in an equal way that Muslims consider the Quran to be truth, or that Hindus consider the four Vedas as founding principles of truth. One big difference in these texts is that only One of the main characters in these respective books claimed to be The Way, The Truth and The Life. (The Gospel of Jesus According to John, chapter 14, verses 1-6 NIV/The Message/ESV
However, the historicity of the Bible has been seen time and again to be correct. Historians acknowledge the Bible as a historically accurate document. ("Is the Bible Historically Accurate?" - by Tony Mariot, Freelance Research Writer Biblical Antiquity at University of Oxford (2009-present), quora.com, October 24, 2017) Archeological digs continue to find evidence validating historical passages of the Bible. ("Did Archaeologists Just Prove the Existence of Isaiah?" - Candida Moss, The Daily Beast, February 22, 2018) The evidence continues to grow that would support the accuracy of the Bible as a historical document.
For me, the Bible is much more than that. "Come on up for The Rising..." It is not only a history book but the testimony of Jesus. Everything in the Bible points to Him. "Come on up, lay your hands in mine..." Jesus is the plan from the beginning..."Let there be light". Jesus is The final sacrifice. "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53: 5 (Isaiah 53 - NIV/The Message/ESV) "Come on up for The Rising..." He was tortured and then placed through the worst form of capital punishment ever contrived. He was dead but is now alive!!! He sits next to God, asking the Creator of all things to grant forgiveness to those who ask. "Come on up for the Rising tonight!!!"
Dear friends, this Sunday, many things will be celebrated. Many will dress colorfully and have time with friends and relatives. Believers will go to sunrise services and celebrate their freedom in Jesus with church family. They will celebrate the fact that He is not inhabiting a tomb in a hill outside of Jerusalem. They celebrate their eventual eternity with Jesus in heaven.
Ultimately, this Sunday, those who are forever forgiven will celebrate The Rising. This Sunday, or even today, is that something you can do? Can you celebrate your eternity?
What do you celebrate at Easter?
"Come on up for THE rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for THE rising
Come on up for THE rising tonight
Li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li, li"
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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