Ok. So don't worry! This is Tuesday! We aren't transitioning to Sunday's Musical Notes...that doesn't even sound right! But Tuesday's Musical Notes every once in a while has to give credit to the other 6 days of the week. Tuesday will always be our favorite day, as we have talked about before. (Yup, that's a shameless archive reference...look to the left to find out why Tuesdays are our favorite day!!! Just type in "best day of the week" into the search bar and find out all the ways that Tuesday is the best!)
So for just today, if you'll humor me for a few minutes, we're going to visit about the first day of the week, Sunday! Historically, Sunday was a day free of occupational work. Ah, the days of "blue laws". These were regulations that prohibited most businesses from being open on Sundays. That's right, before the mid to late 80s, there wasn't very much you could do on Sunday as far as getting out and about. It was the time of the "Sunday Drive" where folks got out and explored the countryside or visited with friends and family who lived further away than we were accustomed to driving. By the time our featured song of the day came out, blue laws were a thing of the past.
So for just today, if you'll humor me for a few minutes, we're going to visit about the first day of the week, Sunday! Historically, Sunday was a day free of occupational work. Ah, the days of "blue laws". These were regulations that prohibited most businesses from being open on Sundays. That's right, before the mid to late 80s, there wasn't very much you could do on Sunday as far as getting out and about. It was the time of the "Sunday Drive" where folks got out and explored the countryside or visited with friends and family who lived further away than we were accustomed to driving. By the time our featured song of the day came out, blue laws were a thing of the past.
I confess, that I kind of miss those days. But hope abounds as more and more businesses are assessing the Chick-Fil-A model and realizing they recoup most, if not all, "lost" revenue through the remainder of the week if they decide to close on Sunday and give their folks a break. Ultimately people adjust their patterns of life around those things which are priorities. In other words, that Chick-Fil-A sandwich tastes the same on any other day of the week.
There is a great deal of nostalgia attached to the days when only a few gas stations were open. Perhaps it is time that we prioritize our activities to where we don't have to do them on a Sunday, Sunday...
"Sunday, Sunday" is the third single from the second album by the British Alternative band Blur. While not a huge hit worldwide, the single would aid in sustaining Blur's performance on the UK singles chart by peaking at #26. The previous singles from Modern Life Is Rubbish, "For Tomorrow" and "Chemical World" both peaked at #28 on the same chart. The album and its subsequent singles went a long way in redeeming a tarnished reputation for the band after harsh media criticism and falling out of favor with the public. "Sunday, Sunday" is a brilliant example of a sound that emotes the classic "British", ala The Kinks, sound that the band needed to redeem themselves to local UK listeners. The music video kind of reminds us of The Monkees...(Tuesday's Musical Notes - "I'm A Believer" (The Monkees))
"Sunday, Sunday" is about a casual day off in England. A nice meal with family, an afternoon nap, perhaps a stroll in the park, and an encounter with an elder who imparts wisdom and then has a nap of his own, all the while invoking a laid-back day of rest that many in the UK of the 90s experienced, at least from Blur's perspective. It was a celebration of the simple.
Blur's description of an easy Sunday, Sunday is much different from a certain celebrated Sunday about 1900 years prior.
For a while now, we have been navigating through the Gospels in our journey through the entirety of the Bible. (Feeling more Biblically literate yet? We hope so, we sure are!!!) Through the Gospels, we get a glimpse of the life and ministry of Jesus. We've covered many topical areas (parables, miracles), and we've seen by Scripture Jesus' compassion as He went about being God in human form. For the next few weeks, we are going to take day by day the last week of Jesus' life. There were days of this week that were more eventful and well-known than others, and days that very little is known about what Jesus did. We'll cover each in our unique Tuesday's Musical Notes way. We think you're gonna like it!!! We'd like to thank our friends at Biblical Foundations for providing the resource for the coming Notes. You can find the information we'll be using as our foundation for this series at: "What Happened During the Final Week of Jesus?" by Andreas Kostenberger biblicalfoundations.org
As we begin with the Sunday of Jesus' last week, we once again come to a moment in Jesus' life where all four of the Gospel writers tell the story. (For more on the harmony of the Gospels, check out Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Old Fashioned Love Song" (Three Dog Night/Paul Williams)) This harmony of the Gospels occurs on the Sunday of Jesus' Triumphal entry, what many refer to as Palm Sunday. Jesus had been telling the disciples, especially the twelve, what was to come to pass as He came into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with them. As they are cresting the Mount of Olives (eastern side of Jerusalem), Jesus sends two of His disciples into town to fetch a donkey that is tied up in a specific place. This is the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV. Jesus rides this animal into Jerusalem to the shouts of "Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" Much like a victorious king after defeating an enemy. The symbolism is rich as Jesus comes through the Eastern gate and the crowds are surrounding Him.
For us, this victorious, triumphal entry also represents Jesus' triumphant entrance into the final battle that He will have against the enemy of God and man. This enemy has been around for a very long time, in fact, the first portions of Genesis record where the enemy was even present in the perfection of Eden with Adam and Eve. Now Jesus, as He enters Jerusalem for the final time in His human form, begins the process of redemption that was also eluded to in Genesis.
The crowds shouting "Hosanna! Hosanna!" were looking for Jesus to throw off the oppression of the Romans, but the reality was that Jesus' mission was to throw off the oppression of sin, evil, and death. This idea was not one the shouting crowd grasped at that moment. Imagine the disappointment the crowds felt as Jesus went through this final week and the Romans were still in control. Maybe that is some of what fueled the hatred we will see over the next couple of weeks, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, especially with something that is complete conjecture on my part.
Not everyone in this particular crowd was excited about Jesus' arrival. The Jewish religious ruling class had several encounters with Jesus that could be described at the very least as tense. And now they were so hypercritical of the excitement surrounding Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem that they went so far as to tell Him to quiet His followers. Jesus' reply? "If they don't express their praise, the very rocks around us will do it for them" (obvious paraphrase)
Jesus spends the remainder of the day in Jerusalem. He eventually comes to the temple as was His practice when in Jerusalem. The scene He found disturbed Him greatly. He was so upset by finding the temple courtyard being a marketplace that He fashioned whips and beat those who were selling. Jesus proceeded to turn over their tables of ill-gotten gain adding to the growing disillusion of the crowd. We've talked about this scene once before (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Disorder In The House" (Warren Zevon) and feel as if we've given you some things to think about it. We must mention that there is a minor debate about whether or not Jesus cleared the temple grounds once or twice. The conversations are instigated by the fact that John doesn't write his Gospel in exact chronological order as some of the other writers of Jesus' life do. We hold to the one-time theory. There are many opinions and we recommend that you find your most trusted sources and see what they have to say about it. Regardless, entering Jerusalem and clearing the temple shows Jesus' Sunday and reinforces the growing animosity towards Him. It also sets up the remainder of the week.
What about you friend? Has there ever been a time in your life when you have allowed Jesus to have a triumphal entry? What did you do with the tension that Holy Spirit's drawing causes? Do you shout Hosanna or tell your spirit to quiet down? Your temple cannot be cleansed of the things that are polluting it unless Jesus comes through your gates to shouts of Hosanna! Please take a few minutes right now and ponder exactly how your next Sunday, Sunday could be spent. A good place to start would be a local church of your choosing. This is a place filled with folks that can more thoroughly unpack some of the things we talk about here at the Notes and answer some of the questions you may be having. As always, we are here as well. Feel free to email us at rawacr@gmail.com or post on any of the socials where you find Tuesday's Musical Notes.
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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