Here we are. It's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. No, we don't play Christmas music in Notesland until we can start eating leftover turkey and dressing. No, we don't have our tree or any other lights up until the last of the pecan pie has been eaten as a before-bedtime snack. No, we aren't being Scrooge-ish or Grinch-ish. We just like to celebrate Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
You see in Notesland we cherish the opportunity to pause and reflect. This moment of consideration provides for memories of the past year to overflow and sometimes overwhelm us. We attempt to express our gratitude by finding small yet significant kindnesses which show our affection to as many folks as we can.
Gratitude, along with hospitality, have seemingly become lost expressions. Sure we say a pleasant, "Thank You" in haste, but does that go far enough? Does that truly express how we are feeling about the service rendered or the potential sacrifice of time, talent, and treasure that has been given to our account?
Today, Tuesday's Musical Notes wishes to provide you with an example of thankfulness as told by one who had many reasons to express his gratitude. He is one of the surviving members of the Mayflower colony, Edward Winslow. "Meet the American who gave the nation our Thanksgiving origin story: Pilgrim Edward Winslow" - by Kerry J. Byrne, foxnews.com, November 18, 2022
Edward Winslow's perspective on the early settling of the United States provides a history of the victories as well as struggles the pilgrims endured to get to that first meal with their native friends. It should also provide a reasonable reminder to us that we have many reasons to give thanks. As many settle around a table with healthy family members, preparing to eat a meal that has likely been grown with the highest of health standards observed, we all have reason in which not only to be thankful but to express that thankfulness with observable gratitude.
Otherwise, thanksgiving becomes just...
The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album sets the standard by which musical experimentation is defined. Even today, the album resonates with the Avante Garde in artists who wish to be seen as pushing the boundaries. The album came in at #1 in the 2003 edition of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and soared to #1 on all of the record charts at the time of its release. For more on one of the 20th Century's most influential pop music albums, check out this article: "11 Facts About 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by Roger Cormier, mentalfloss.com, June 1, 2017.
As you find yourself coming to the end of Sgt. Pepper's, you encounter one last song that puts the exclamation point to the album's recalcitrant ode to pop music, "A Day In The Life". It serves as a completion, a bookend if you will, to the experiment as John Lennon, with a little help from his friend, Paul McCartney, pens and opines about the latest headlines of their time and how they choose to react to those headlines through a haze that has as its influence marijuana and LSD.
As we proceed, we feel it necessary to provide this disclaimer: Tuesday's Musical Notes does not advocate the usage of these or any other loss of bodily control substances under any circumstances. We recommend that artists of our time tap into their unaltered creativity to produce the beauty and even the experimental art of our time.
"A Day In The Life" in many minds is the dominating track from the Sgt. Pepper's album. It takes the musical norm of its day and puts it in a blender, inspiring those who come after to not hold tightly to the musical boundaries of Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart...or anyone else for that matter. It inspires a no holds barred approach to creativity that easily be seen in the works of many artists and musicians, anyone listen to Bjork lately?
The song served as the inspiration for James A. Moorer's "Deep Note" or as you might know it better... THX INTRO. It is also easily recognized by its final E-major chord played on 3 different pianos (stuck by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Mal Evans (personal assistant and road manager for the band) which remains constant for 40 seconds due to the manipulation of the volume level as the sound decrescendos.
Lyrically, it tells the story of a car crash that resulted in the death of Tara Browne, the heir to the Guinness Brewery legacy, as well as another report of the road conditions in England, especially London where 4000 holes littered the streets. Its most well-known line,"...I'd like to turn you on..." has a variety of interpretations from its obvious drug references to a nod to the hippie demonstrations of the day led by Timothy Leary. For the Lennon/McCartney collaboration, the song is emblematic of the conversations they would have about the day's events, which is very reminiscent of another storyteller, who was less concerned about being popular, than getting His message out in a way that everyone could understand...
Last week were exposed to the miracles of Jesus. These events were unexplainable to the folks of the day as they probably would be to folks in our times. They served the purpose of showing Jesus' compassion, grace, and mercy as Jesus met the physical needs and provided some of those He encountered with the promise of better days. Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Better Days' (Goo Goo Dolls)
Today we look at another aspect of Jesus' ministry. His teachings, or parables as the Bible calls them.
The word parable is not used a lot in my circles, so let's unpack its meaning before we dive into Jesus' use of them. A parable is defined by dictionary.com as a noun that means:
1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.
We find the parables of Jesus located in all of the Gospel accounts of His life. The Gospel of John never calls Jesus' illustration stories by the label "parable" but the nuances are similar enough that a comparison can be drawn. Here's an article from christianity.com that includes a list of all (John's Gospel is excluded) the parables: "What Were the Parables of Jesus?" by April Motl, christianity.com - January 22, 2020
The Gospel with the most parables is that of Luke. Luke includes 24 of Jesus' story examples, 18 of which are unique to the physician's account of Jesus. (Matthew includes 23, 11 unique, and Mark has 8 parables with 2 being unique) The parables used everyday items, a lost coin, sheep, seeds, etc, to illustrate the principles of Jesus' mission and show some of the aspects of His upside-down kingdom.
The parables of Jesus serve to teach truths about life in general, but more specifically about Jesus' mission. His intended audiences didn't always perceive the instructive precepts. There were also times Jesus used the parable to stimulate questions from His disciples. He patiently explains the parable and its meaning to them in teachable moments which in turn assists believers today to see how the ancient example illustrates an eternal concept and understand it as well.
Tuesday's Musical Notes confesses to having a favorite of Jesus' parables. It is included as a part of a grouping of parables that tell of things that have been lost and the joy experienced upon either their discovery or return. Our treasured parable is the Parable of the Lost Son as recorded in Luke 15 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV. This story is so impactful that we included it in one of the first Tuesday's Musical Notes: Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Carry On Wayward Son" (Kansas)
As you can see, the Parables of Jesus include stories of redemption (The Prodigal Son), how to love and treat others (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Old Days" (Chicago)), and parables regarding the kingdom of heaven (The parable of the seed, leaven, and treasure, (The Gospel of Jesus according to Matthew, a tax collector, chapter 13 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV)
Jesus' disciples didn't always understand as He told them the stories. There is a chance that you may not either at this point. But let me encourage you to continue to read them. Read them as the stories they are intended to be. Read them as the examples of daily living they are intended to be. Read them as the pathways and precepts to restoring your relationship with God that they are intended to be. As you persevere in reading Jesus' parables, God as Holy Spirit will draw you to Himself through their example, or show you what you need to understand from each one. As your insight grows about the parables, let also your application grow from the parables. Then as you mature in your belief, you can boldly go to people and say, "I heard THE news today oh boy..."
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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