Welcome to Tuesday and "Blinded" the first ever Tuesday's Musical Notes Trilogy!!! Hi there! I'm Randy and you are in for a treat as today we launch "Blinded Episode 4 - Another Runner in the Night"!!! (Oh yeah, totally stole that from Star Wars!!!)
Ready Steve? Andy? Mick? Alright fellas, let's go!!!
Hi there! It's Tuesday! Let's see if you've got what it takes! You've hit the blog where tunes hit the truth and rhythm hits reason, all wrapped up in a funky break! What will you find, as we go by in a curly-wurly? You may find a few things that will make you feel safe outside. You are sure to find a few things that will turn you sonny into something strong. And I guarantee no calliopes will crash to the ground...at least none that we are on...
As they embarked on listening to the album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., executives at Columbia records suggested to the artist that there should be at least 2 more songs added that could be made into singles. That artist was Bruce Springsteen.
As this was his debut album, Springsteen needed the support of the label so he wrote: "Spirit in the Night" and today's feature song "Blinded by the Light" as a result of that request by then label owner Clive Davis. Neither of the singles amounted to much on the charts upon release.
But as happens so often in Rock-N-Roll, those same songs were covered by another band. 3 years after their initial release, the English Rock Band that was fronted by South African Manfred Mann would cover the 2 singles, one of which would become their trademark song and provide Bruce Springsteen his only #1 Billboard hit to date. The cover of that song tripped the merry-go-round.
Part of "Blinded by the Light's" popularity comes from the fact that the Manfred Mann version of the lyrics has for years been misunderstood. Some have intimated that there are overtones of the song that support LSD usage. But the most egregious misunderstanding of the lyrical content had nothing at all to do with drugs.
What was a lyric highlighting the fascination with hot rods, "revved up like a deuce..." (a 1964 Ford deuce coupe) (originally "cut loose like a deuce") became quite controversial when heard through the vocals of Manfred Man. His pronunciation on the record has prompted many to think the lyric is promoting a certain feminine hygiene product. The question of the lyric only propels the song to continual success as each time it is heard the conversation about the lyric continues. Springsteen has also intimated that the song wouldn't have become so famous if it weren't for this misrepresentation. ( "Bruce Springsteen". VH1 Storytellers. Episode 62. April 23, 2005. VH1.)
One thing that is not a misrepresentation is the use in the Bible of blindness as an illustration, a punishment, a reason for miracles, and ultimately salvation. There were even times in the Gospels (Good News of Jesus redemption/restoration of man to God (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)), where folks were born blind or made blind for the sole purpose of healing by Jesus. One such time is found in The Gospel of Jesus according to the disciple John, Chapter 9 New International Version of the Bible/The Message Paraphrase of the Bible/English Standard Version of the Bible parallel Jesus uses the blind man's healing as an illustration of the world's blindness towards Him.
Our focus today, however, is how Saul, a Pharisee (religious rulers at the time of Jesus) was made blind and for what purpose.
But first... the rest of the story.
Paul's story comes during the period shortly after Jesus' time on earth. Jesus' disciples had seen Him ascend into heaven. They were filled with Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised and had begun preaching the Gospel to everyone who would listen. This angered the religious leaders of the day as it threatened their ability to rule over the Jews and their political standing with Rome.
Just like the church of today, the early church had its share of "conversations" which resulted in hurt feelings and disruption in the preaching of the Gospel. (The lesson in this is that if you get really involved in a church, there will be times when it is difficult. But persevere. Keep focused on Jesus and His message. Stay with that church family. Love them as we are commanded to love each other. And now, back to our story, already in progress...) The disciples had to make some decisions pretty quickly to quiet the distractions that were keeping them from their primary goal of preaching and teaching about Jesus. They determined they needed some help. They appointed trusted men of the community to dissolve any of the complaints. One of these trustworthy individuals was a man named Stephen.
Stephen was having such an impact for the kingdom that jealousy arose from other individuals. They devised a trap against Stephen that would set him at odds with the Pharisees. (Remember these guys? That's right! The religious rulers of the day.) The High Council, which consisted of the High Priests, former High Priests, Elders, and Scribes, ruled that Stephen had committed blasphemy, an act of cursing or reviling the One True God. They sentenced Stephen to be stoned to death.
The process of stoning Stephen required full mobility for the greatest effect. To accomplish this those who carried out this act of capital punishment had to remove their outer clothing called cloaks. They asked a young Pharisee named Saul to watch their cloaks as they carried out the sentence on Stephen.
This event apparently made quite the impact on Saul as the next time we hear of him in the Bible, he has become fully indoctrinated in the way of the Pharisees and has made it his life mission to rid the countryside of Christians. Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 6 & 7 NIV/The Message/ESV
Interestingly, the more Saul persecuted the Christians the more the Gospel of Jesus spread as those who fled the persecution went into the rest of the world. At the time, Saul didn't realize that in his effort to supplant Christians, he was actually promoting Christianity to the world.
At his zenith of persecution, Saul had a change of heart. (Well actually it started with his eyes and then went to his heart) As Saul was on his way to Damascus where there was a high concentration of those who believed in The Way, he was intercepted by their Leader. Jesus met Saul on the way to Damascus. The result, Saul was literally blinded by The Light. Saul found himself looking directly into the eyes of the Son. He immediately had no idea where to go. He was more directionless than he had ever been. At the height of his career, God used Saul's ability to physically see to redirect the attention of this persecutor of the Gospel and the early church. Saul, however, recognized that what was happening to him was not happenstance. God had immediately gained Saul's attention. Higher Power's were at play here to the point the Saul recognized the Voice that he heard as being The Master. Saul's calliope had crashed to the ground... Acts 9:1-9 NIV/The Message/ESV
Saul's recognition of Jesus' voice was the beginning of his ability to really be able to see. The folks that were accompanying Saul also heard The Voice and were astonished at the goings-on. When they realized that Saul had lost all vision, they assisted him in getting to his destination of Damascus. For three days Saul was incapacitated as he awaited what was next. (hmmm... that number seems magically familiar! Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Three is a Magic Number")
Right now, God is trying to get your attention. Right now, He is drawing you to Himself. Right now, you have a decision to make, pay attention to His call or deny Him once again. What will it take for God to finally get you to the point you truly see how much He loves you? Will you need to be blinded by the light?
What happened to Saul? Did his vision get restored? How did his encounter with Jesus change him? For the answer to these and many other light sensitive questions tune in next week where we explore the continuing saga of "Blinded", a Tuesday's Musical Notes Trilogy! Tune in next week for - Episode 5 - "A Stranger in the Night"!!! (cue incredible fanfare...)
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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