Musical Monday: Back to basics

As technology evolves, we often find that the promise of a simpler life is contingent on increasing complexity in other areas. Sometimes, it's easy to forget that perhaps the most amazing musical instrument ever created is, quite simply, the human voice. We realize this most often with famous opera singers, but there was a little-known British band who introduced the concept of a cappella performance to the pop music scene. Here are The Flying Pickets with Only You.

Finding God in everyday places

Occasionally, I read a post on a blog that I visit regularly, and it cries out to me. More often than not, that's as far as I get. This time, however, I decided to post a link here. It's an inspiring reminder of how central God should be in our lives. I should caution you, however, that it may require a view of God and spirit that does not come easily to many Christians.

My Kitchen, on Mumbai Magic.

An ocean on Titan?

I was reading an article in a recent issue of Science describing a new theory about the composition of Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons. (The article is summarized in Scientific American.) The key point is that there may be an ocean of water beneath Titan's crust. This makes Titan the fourth body in the solar system believed to have a water ocean.

The interesting thing about Titan's ocean is that there are many of the other building blocks of life already present. If the theory pans out, and some future probe finds a water ocean, maybe Titan will one day see the emergence of life, just as Earth did 4.5 billion years ago.

The gradual evolution of life from a primordial soup of simple molecules is perhaps the theory most strongly criticized by creationists. They argue that something as complex as life (even a simple amoeba) could hardly have formed by random chance. Admittedly, there's a lot we don't know about the early stages of life on our planet. But there are many unusual organisms still being discovered that show us how amazingly resilient life forms can be, on our own planet. It's tempting to speculate how they might evolve in a totally different environment, like Titan's ocean.

Random chance? Or could the primordial soup simply be just one of the recipes in the kitchen of the Master Chef?

He is risen

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' " Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
(Mk 16: 6-8)

I chose to use the resurrection story from Mark's gospel partly because, like several famous novels, it has two endings. The early manuscripts end with the scene at the empty tomb, while later versions add on verses 9-20, describing encounters between Jesus and the disciples. In addition, some manuscripts include a "shorter ending" that is added on after verse 8. Considering that Mark's gospel was most likely the source for those of Matthew and Luke, some critics have used this discrepancy to question the resurrection itself.

It's hard to imagine what Christianity would look like today (or even if it would exist at all) without the resurrection. Without it, Jesus would be just another teacher, and there would be no hope in the world today. The darkness that fell with his death would never be banished by the light of eternal life. On this day, may you and your loved ones share in the joy and hope that is so freely given by the one who conquered death forever.

To close this series, here's an a cappella version of my favorite Keith Green song (I couldn't find the original on YouTube):

A belated tribute

I meant to post this earlier in the week, but didn't get to it. The last of the "big three" science fiction writers, Arthur C Clarke, died this Wednesday at the age of 90.

All three authors were responsible for my love of the genre, but Clarke helped me truly appreciate the science-fiction novel as an art form. Now that he's joined his colleagues, I can't help wondering what new plots are being hatched by the three of them, somewhere in another dimension...

Friday Five: "Good" Friday

RevHRod writes, at the RevGalBlog Pals:

As a child the designation "good" for today confused me. How could we call such a somber day, good? Holy, yes. Blessed, yes. But, good?

As an adult I understand the meaning of good for this day. It is a solemn day of remembrance but it is also a time for us to stop and recall the great gift of love that we received this day. And that is most certainly good.

Our worship today will differ from place to place. Some services will focus on the great litany of prayers. Others will use the seven last words of Jesus. Some of us will walk the stations of the cross. Others will participate in a Tennebrae service of shadows and light.

I hope that this Friday Five will be a meaningful part of your Good Friday. God's blessings to you on your journey.

Here are the questions, with my responses:

1. Our prayer concerns are as varied as we are this day. For whom would you like us to pray?
I'd like to pray for those close to us (even family) for whom this day has little or no meaning. I pray that a spark may be lit in their lives today, and that it may slowly grow into the light that banishes darkness forever.

2. Are there things you have done or will do today to help the young ones understand this important day in our lives?
Our church had their Tenebrae service last night, and M actually wanted to go. She spent most of the time quietly drawing and coloring at a table where we sat, but I'm hoping that some of what she heard and saw made an impact. Today, we may watch a video of the Easter story (one that doesn't have bunnies, eggs, or even the Easter beagle) and see where the discussion leads.

3. Music plays an important part in sharing the story of this day. Is there a hymn or piece of music that you have found particularly meaningful to your celebrations of Good Friday?
As you can tell from my past few posts, music plays a big part in Holy Week for me. I can't think of anything specific to add for Good Friday, though.

4. As you hear the passion narrative, is there a character that you particularly resonate with?
Not so much resonate with, but I've always wondered what the "real" Judas Iscariot was like. We see him as someone condemned by fate to play the role of the betrayer, but I think there's much more to the story than that. It's probably one of the reasons I enjoy Jesus Christ Superstar.

5. Where have you seen the gracious God of love at work lately?
There's a couple at church who recently gave an account of their last mission trip. This is an ongoing part of their lives, and I find their quiet determination to serve God by serving others very powerful.

On being human

On this day, I usually reflect on Jesus' humanity. The sequence of events before his arrest is perhaps the most powerful part of the gospels for me. I recently found a thought-provoking description of why it was so important for Jesus to be fully human, and here's an excerpt:

Fear is a natural reaction to something frightening. Looking at Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane, we can say that Jesus overcame the fear in this way

1 He admitted the fear
2 He put the matter in God’s hands
3 He replaced the fear with courage

Heroes are not people without fear but people who learn to manage their fear by identifying the cause of it and confronting it. Shakespeare said a coward dies a thousand times while a brave person dies but once. By this he meant that people who allow fear to run their lives die a death every day. See Matthew 26:36-46. There is no agony in Gethsemane in John, but John 12:27-28 is very similar, Jesus feared, prayed and overcame his fear. Notice that when Jesus prayed he was uplifted. If we meet God in prayer we too should be uplifted.

And, for a secular but no less powerful interpretation:

Rituals, and the other side

Although what turned me away from church earlier in my life was the preponderance of ritual, we all have our rituals. The past few years, one of mine has been watching Jesus Christ Superstar (the original 1973 production) during Holy Week. For reasons that go back to my early teen years, this work of art will always have a powerful influence on me.

And since I'll probably have several posts based on clips from the movie, I felt it was only fair to present the other side of the coin. Make of it what you will...

Hosanna

I had planned to start a Holy Week series of posts today, but it's been a long weekend. So instead, I'll refer you to a post from last year, along with the music that inspired me over thirty years ago and still does to this day:

Belated Musical Monday: In memoriam

Through reading the blog of a new RevGal member, I was shocked and saddened to hear of Jeff Healey's death. Although I only own one of his albums, it made a powerful impact on me when I first heard it (and many of the songs still move me today). This is my favorite, because it brought together two very talented artists: Mark Knopfler and Jeff: