…..And no hard feelings
Lord knows, they haven't done much good for anyone….
Kept me afraid and cold
With so much to have and hold
Under the curving sky
I'm finally learning why
It matters for me and you
To say it and mean it too
For life and its loveliness
And all of its ugliness
Good as it's been to me
I have no enemies….
We’re so lucky to have such a great music program at GUC, the Avett Brothers song from a few weeks ago was a highlight of the season for me.
I got a chance to attend The Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee this week. The Opry is a live radio show that has been produced in Nashville for the last 98 years. As it’s been said about other locations……they have both kinds of music…..Country and Western.
Maybe not as solemn of a Holy Week experience as you were expecting….
…but sitting in the audience, seeing the cast of characters (on and off stage) and listening to the music, I was reminded of the worldly and spiritual imperfections that we see in every character in the stories of Holy Week.
At The Opry song subjects very wildly:
-Offering up your troubles to God.
-Getting revenge on your no good cheating ex.
-Asking for forgiveness after falling short.
-Horses, liquor, pickup trucks, etc.
-Understanding that this life is only part of God’s plan.
The lyrics are real. It’s the opposite of our “fine, everything is fine” culture. The lyrics remind me of the realness of the characters we encounter in the walk through Holy Week. Their struggles with the worldly and the spiritual:
-The followers who are committed in the good times but run in fear when things get hard.
-The mob turning from adoration to riotous hatred in a few days.
-The bystanders who get swept up in a great situation without meaning to: “this man is too weak….you carry his cross for him”…What!…but I was just on my way to the store.
-The powerful who will do or say anything to stay in power.
-The man who betrays a friend, regrets it, and is broken when he finds he can’t repair the situation.
-The leader who tries to talk reason into an unreasonable mob and then washes his hands of the situation in frustration and exhaustion.
The story and the characters are recorded to show their imperfections that mirror our imperfections. We’re all invited on the walk with Christ despite them and to grow through him in understanding, anticipation and forgiveness.
-Joel Staffilino