Monday, April 11, 2011

Love, the Blues, & Forgiveness (Music for Mondays)

We are called to love one another. A cursory look at the New Testament will show this time after time. But guess what? Love hurts too, and we all know it. Betrayal, denial, loss. These are the pathogens  of our brokenness.

The songs in today's MfM set list move through the stages of Love that we all encounter. But we'll be skipping the puppy love sweetness and head straight to the hard stuff.

Because love and forgiveness go together like peas and carrots, wrapped up in the to-go box called the blues.

Soft Cell, Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go. Whatever happened to these guys? Search me. But this hit was epic among the denizens of One Hit Wonderland. Their original song melding into the hit by the Supremes struck cords with many regarding a truth about the "double-edged" nature of love.



The Smithereens, Blues Before and After. OK...you've never felt like this after being run through by Love, the double-edged sword? Come on now, be truthful with yourself. Confession time: I love this band, the groove of this song, and this is just a WAY COOL video too. It's silent for the first few seconds and then...!!!



Red Hot Chili Peppers, Scar Tissue. What happens when the double-edged sword of love wounds us? Scar tissue develops as part of the healing process.




David Bowie, Changes. Do you know what happens if scar tissue is allowed to form naturally, with no further intervention? Rigidity, stiffness, inflexibility of the underlying intersitial tissues. I know a thing or two about this from experience. To regain suppleness, deep massaging of the affected area is needed. Changes...



Wham!, Freedom. We move on to the forgiveness portion of our program now. Betcha didn't see this one coming. Listen to the words though and I think you'll see that it fits into this particular set nicely.



The Corrs Forgiven, Not Forgotten. And you thought the Jackson 5 were talented? Get a load of the Corrs. They're from Ireland, and make a point with this tune that we need to remember. Wounded? Yep. Got scars? Yep. Forgiven? Absolutely. Forgotten? Never!



Don Henley, The Heart of the Matter I have no idea if Don Henley is a Christian or a Catholic. But he isn't wrong when he notes that forgiveness is the heart of the matter. For as Our Lord said after he taught us how to pray, "But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences.(Matt 6:15)."



Pearl Jam, Just Breathe. Because, when all is said and done, "did I say I need you?" Eddie Vetter and the gang at Pearl Jam remind us here...



Have a good day folks. See you here next week