Godspell: Original Soundtrack of My Faith--Luke 19:10
Day 2
As I revisit these songs from Godspell, one by one, I realize now how confusing my church upbringing really was for the 10 year old me.
On the one hand was the solemnity, hushed tones, and the liturgical lock-step of Catholic Mass that as a child I was able to anticipate–even though I didn’t really understand any of it.
Oh, look, the priest is blessing the eucharist! We are on the home slide now! Freedom soon!
But then there was all of the early 1970s hippie stuff that was fun and chaotic–the ragtag Gospel band that played sometimes, the hodge-podge of Sunday school teachers, and the way there was always, it seemed to me, to be a ferment of weird, exciting stuff going on with these people that was always just a little beyond my comprehension.
I still feel this way.
Comfort from routine and bewilderment at what the Holy Spirit is doing in my life–through the Word and through how others witness the Word.
And how I witness the Word.
That’s where the second song from Godspell comes in.
I always wanted to know, in the tumult that was my burgeoning, faithful mind, why did the people need saving?
I remember as a boy looking up at the cross behind the altar in church with Jesus hanging on it and wondering what the hell happened here?
There’s Jesus. He’s the good guy and look what happened to him.
Who did that and WHY?
The early answers back then, (and probably still are) were always to SAVE us.
Save us? From what? And how is He going to help? He’s hanging dead on a cross!
“Save The People” was Jesus expressing His mission, early on in the album, to save humanity, to save us, meaning to save ME, from sin and self-destruction based on HIs words from Luke 19.
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
I read through the lyrics now and I see the very hippy-like focus on the common people–the concerns about injustices and oppression.
“When wilt thou save the people?
Oh God of mercy, when?
Not kings and lords, but nations,
Not thrones and crowns, but men!
Flowers of thy heart, O God, are they;
Let them not pass, like weeds, away,
Their heritage a sunless day.
God save the people!
Shall crime and wrong forever rule,
O God of love and might?
The weak oppressed, the strong made cruel,
No justice in their sight?
From vice and sin, O set them free,
Give them to know thy liberty,
A hope to rise, a destiny!
God save the people!
When wilt thou save the people?
Oh God of mercy, when?
The people, Lord, the people,
Not thrones and crowns, but men!
God save the people, for thine they are,
Thy children, as thy angels fair;
From chains of hate, from dark despair,
God save the people!
When wilt thou save the people?
Oh God of mercy, when?
The people, Lord, the people,
Not thrones and crowns, but men!
God save the people!”
Am I one of the lost? And do I need saving?
I think that goes without saying– I’ve been writing about that for a long time now.
Interestingly enough, Jesus tells us what He is doing in relation to the conversion of Zaccheus (a reviled, short, rich tax collector guy that was up in a tree and calls down to Jesus) in Luke 19:1-10–which is right before Jesus tells the parable of the 10 talents that confuses most of humanity for about 2,000 years. 🙂
But there does seem to be a note of correcting injustice in Zaccheous’ conversion story. The evil little tax collector gives back the money he stole from the people.
Father Billy Swan writes in The Virtue of Justice:
“For Jesus himself, his ministry of mercy was always linked to justice. His encounters of mercy with sinners always led to the conversion and change in the person. We see this with… Zacchaeus, whose conversion translated into his restoring what he had stolen.”
I sense this in myself.
I have changed.
Because Jesus saved me?
I have to think so.
In Capital Punishment and the Bible, Gardner Hanks characterizes Zaccheus’ conversion (and mine):
“The story is an example of Jesus’ remarkable ability to see beyond the surface sinfulness of an individual to the desire for love and acceptance that exists in every human heart.”
To me, that is why these silly people are dancing and running around, pestering Jesus about when God will save them.
They need something more than themselves.
And Jesus knows this–SAVING US is HIs mission. 🙂
Lord, guide us when we stray and open our eyes to see Your presence in all that we do. Help us to trust in Your promise of salvation.
Lord, fill us with Your Spirit and help us to reflect Your compassion and sharing the hope found in You.
Amen.