Welcome to Tuesday to old friends and new. We've been waiting to start, that's right! Waiting for you. It's not been a problem 'cause you're well worth the wait. To do something else, well, just doesn't seem great. You're here because music is the thing that you love, and maybe, just maybe this fits like a glove. 
A blog about music and pondering life. We promise no harm, we promise no strife. So tis the moment it's made itself clear. It's the soundtrack of life and you'll find it all here! We must get it started it'll be a great fit. With Winwood a leadin' his song "Roll With It"!!!
In the summer of 1988, Steve Winwood was huge. He had just come off the success of his 3 times platinum, #1 album Back In The High Life (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Higher Love" (Steve Winwood)). Then in June, he released Roll With It. The title track went all the way to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and secured Winwood as one of the preeminent solo acts of the 80s.
"Roll With It" was written by Winwood and Will Jennings. BMI, the publishing rights organization, later added the writing credit of Motown songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland as "Roll With It" had a close resemblance to the 1966 hit by Jr. Walker, "(I'm A) Roadrunner". "(I'm A) Roadrunner" - the title track from the 1966 album by Jr. Walker Yup, I think BMI got this one right!
"Roll With It" would be the last #1 hit for Casey Kasem in his original 18-year run on the American Top 40 radio program. Casey would later return, but during his absence, Shadoe Stevens would assume the mic, making "Roll With It" his first #1 hit. "Roll With It" would also be nominated for 2 Grammy Awards in the Record Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance categories and be used in the 1990 movie Nuns On The Run. All of this and a groovy video with a dance sequence that would make Kevin Bacon proud. Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Footloose" (Kenny Loggins)
Roll With It would be the last album to feature a single to go all the way to #1 for Winwood to date. However, anything can happen in the music industry as we continue to see classic artists release new recordings (Winwood's last album would be 2008's Nine Lives). You never know when a single from this new music might hit and be as big a surprise as say a heavenly host in the middle of the night!
Rembrandt's The Angel Appearing To Shepherds - 1634
We continue with Dr. Luke in our retelling of the great stories of the Bible. He is the only one of the Gospel writers to include this episode in the birth narrative of Jesus. As we alluded to last week, Dr. Luke's training would have caused him to be a man of some detail. We see this detail orient come to life as Luke gives us the birth narrative of Jesus. Luke's telling of the story is so illustrative that it is easy to see how Rembrandt used Luke's description as the inspiration for this piece of art.
It is a scene recreated in the most adorable fashion by children all around the world every December. The wonder of the shepherds is sometimes equally captured by these children as they look out on the audience of encouragers. But there are some interesting points that we're not completely confident that our children convey at Christmas.
"...Now there'll be a day
You'll get there, baby
You'll hear the music play
You'll dance, baby
You'll leave bad times way behind
Nothing but good times on your mind..."
You'll get there, baby
You'll hear the music play
You'll dance, baby
You'll leave bad times way behind
Nothing but good times on your mind..."
In the Hebrew social ladders, shepherds were the lowest position one could hold in society. It was an important position as the sacrificial lambs for the temple would be kept in this region. The distance between Bethlehem and Jerusalem is just under 10 miles and that land was perfect for grazing large herds. Luke doesn't tell us how many shepherds and if this is the flock from which the sacrifices were chosen, but it isn't too far-fetched to think that this was a possibility.
Luke tells us that the angelic appearance happened at night. One could imagine that the night sky was lit. The darkness would have provided a more magnificent backdrop to the glory of the Lord as it shone all about them. Also, to keep predators away, more of the shepherds would have been awake at the time, making it doubtful that this could have been a case of sleepy shepherds relaying a dream story.
All of a sudden, life was too much. The Bible says the shepherds were afraid. Ya Think!!! These were more than likely uneducated men, whose only source of Bible Prophecy school would have been the oral tradition that had been handed down to them by their fathers. An angel shows up, night turns to day, and you bet I'd stop and lose my touch. Then the angel says, "Don't be afraid. This isn't about you! I bring you the news that something incredible has happened in Bethlehem. This incredible event is for everyone in the whole world, including shepherds!" Last on the totem pole, first to hear about Jesus' being born. Let's roll with it...
The angel spoke to them using the language of a shepherd. Swaddling clothes and mangers were all tools of the trade for the shepherds. They understood immediately what to be looking for when they came to Bethlehem. Christ would also have been a name/title with which they had some familiarity due to the oral tradition of Messiah and their association with the priests in Jerusalem.
So as if one angel wasn't enough, the entire sky filled with heavenly beings. They bust out into a jam that would have probably been nothing like the shepherds had ever heard, felt, or encountered before. They made sure that the shepherds would not confuse this scene with a dream. The song they heavenly hosts sang?
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”
While the shepherds may have not been allowed in the temple due to being perpetually unclean, they were allowed and encouraged to join in singing with the heavenly hosts and being counted among the ones with whom God was pleased. This was quite the change of pace for them.
What happened to the sheep? After their heavenly choir rehearsal, the shepherds took their flock with them as they excitedly trekked the distance to Bethlehem. Luke doesn't tell us how long they took, but chances are it took them 3-4 hours to get to Jesus' manger. But oh, what they saw when they got there!!! Just like the angel had said, a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. This relatable image was just like the lambs they had taken care of their entire lives and they were witnesses to the first day of life for the Lamb who would take away the sins of the world.
How do you top that? "...People think you're down and out You show them what it's all about..." That's right! Lowly shepherds became the very first evangelists of the Gospel of Jesus as they went about telling everyone with which they came in contact, the events they had experienced. The Bible says that the people they told were "amazed". They were amazed by the story, they were amazed by the excitement of the shepherds, and they were amazed at who was telling them! Shepherds! And the shepherd's reaction to the people's amazement, they rolled with it baby as they kept telling the story over and over and over again.
Mary pondered. Just like a good mother to savor every moment of this special occasion. She wanted to remember the special guests who came to see Jesus. She wanted to remember the nuances of everything around her. She pondered. We've said it before and we'll say it again...I wish I pondered more...
The shepherds? They went back home. Back to tending their sheep. But they were changed. They went back with a song on their hearts. One wonders if it was the song given to them by the heavenly hosts. They were praising God and telling everyone the Good News! That my dear friend is how you Roll With It baby!!!
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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