Thanks, Neil, for pointing the way in Play Me

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'Play Me', analogies, analogies that are multiplies / bundled / priortized, beautiful music, God the Creator, music pointing the way, Neil Diamond, pointers, saving grace, thorny and narrow road

Is the Biblical list of analogies for how God relates to us, and how we relate to Him, an exhaustive list?  It certainly is very large. We see a shepherd and his sheep. A healer and the sick person, the slave / servant and the master, the king and his subjects, the lost and the seeking / finding one, the one in danger and the rescuer, the one on a journey and the guide, the one in the dark and the one with the light.  We are called to be God the Father’s children, to be the bride of Jesus the groom, to be ambassadors of the King.  Are there more?  I assume you could come up with more Biblical analogies that point to particular facets of our relationship with God.

It appears inescapable that God is too much, and so are we humans, to be completely encompassed by one term, one metaphor, one analogy, or one descriptor.  They have to be multiplied, bundled, and prioritized.  Such is the Creator God and such is His creation.

Those thoughts were working through my mind this morning during my physically and spiritually beneficial jog.  The song, and the analogy, that nailed it for me was “Play Me”, sung by Neil Diamond.  Take a few minutes to listen to this musical gem at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLfj76DhX-Y&feature=fvsr

Here are the lyrics:

She was morning and I was night time
I one day woke up to find her lying
Beside my bed; I softly said
“Come take me”
For I’ve been lonely in need of someone
As though I’d done someone wrong somewhere
I don’t know where come lately

You are the sun, I am the moon
You are the words, I am the tune
Play me.

Song she sang to me
Song she brang to me
Words that rang in me
Rhyme that sprang from me
Warmed the night
And what was right
Became me

You are the sun, I am the moon
You are the words, I am the tune
Play me.

And so it was that I came to travel
Upon a road that was thorned and narrow.
Another place. another grace
Would save me

You are the sun, I am the moon
You are the words, I am the tune
Play me.

Note two items.  The first is that in the analogy both the tune and the words are needed, but the words carry the message on the means of the music.  What a beautiful analogy of the relationship between God and humans.  God the Word, spoke the human tune into being, and He described us as good.  And, in Diamond’s lyrics his desire is the humble one of being a beautiful tune carrying the words.  He doesn’t seek to replace the words, but to be played for the sake of the words.

Secondly, note the last stanza, where the man/woman scene gives way to a new one.  The “pointing” feature of music again comes to our attention.  As the girl was the word and the fellow was the tune to be played, now the fellow is on a thorny and narrow road (he can’t get much more into Jesus imagery than that, can he?)  But, he can!  The road is in another place, with another grace, a grace that would save him.

So, we have the gem of a beautiful piece of music (the tune and words of “Play Me”), that in turn raises the analogy of another set of tune and words (the girl and the fellow), that finally points to an even further state of affairs – a grace that saves in midst of a thorny and narrow road.

Thanks, Neil, for giving to us beautiful music, a fascinating three step progression of thought, and a fruitful pointer to our gracious God and Savior.  And, to interiorize it, we say to God, “Play me.”

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Jesus, Lewis, analogies and checking your expectations at the door

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"CS Lewis", analogies, check your expectations at the door, kicking my mind into overdrive, mixed audience, the 'I got it' moment

When teaching a college course or a Sunday School class, I like to use metaphors and analogies.  Some of that probably links to my appreciation of CS Lewis’ communication skills; his masterfully used figurative language, especially metaphors and analogies, kicks my mind into overdrive.

When using analogical communication, I easily observe that the image that strikes one person forcefully will make little impression on another person who may be sitting in the next chair, but who in turn will catch my meaning with a different figure of speech.  For different folk, a different stroke, I guess.  If I am limited to only one analogy to make a point, some of my audience will not get it any better than if I had not used an analogy at all; in fact the analogy they don’t capture may leave them even more confused than they were before hearing my analogy!

All of this brings me to remember that Jesus also spoke and taught to mixed audiences.  Some had different appreciations of the value of their contemporary Judaism than did their neighbors. Some had conceptualizing abilities that others didn’t have.

And, then there were background differences – some were abused and others abused, some were wealthy and others begged for bread; some were perpetually ill while others were fit and strong; some were impetuous youth, others were veterans of the seasoning of life; some loved and were loved but others hated and were hated; some were authority figures, others were the dominated ones. Some had solid marriages while others had been married five times before meeting Jesus.

We should not expect them to all appreciate any one particular analogy, or even maybe the same set of analogies.  Communicating to a mixed audience forces the speaker to reduce the conceptual content and augment the communication devices.  The communicator has to aim for a happy medium, knowing that the “I got it” moment will vary across the audience.  It is probably safe to say that Jesus knew a lot more content than His audiences’ limitations permitted Him to teach.  Did Jesus also have to check His expectations at the door?

Christmas candles – what would the season be without them???

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"6 billion people", "candles and stadium lights", "Christmas candles", "decorating the house for Christmas", "losing perspective", "when good is not best", analogies

Christmas candles!  Can you imagine a Christmas season without candles?

A week ago, along with the help of the two of my daughters that live nearby, we did the Christmas decorations here at my house.  Confession time — I admit that I cheat, not only by having their help, but also because I take about 15-20 pictures each year of how the decorations are laid out.  Why not?  If it is good enough for last year, it is also good enough for this year, at least as a start, right?

Well, I just counted the candles sitting in various places of the house – 32.  You read it correctly.  And, by the time Christmas festivities are a memory, most of them will have been lit.  Joyce loved candles and she got me to feel the same.

Candles are very practical, in some circumstances, of course.  Of course they have their limits, such as requiring an already existing fire to light them!!  In addition to that small downside, other things like flashlights, electric lights, car head lights, TV screens, street lights, cell phones, computer screens, are just several items that also provide light in our time.  But, candles have a something none of the just mentioned substitutes can claim – history!!

Candles are also great analogies.

The analogy in my mind at the moment is built off of the prime purpose of a candle – to provide light.   True, it is very dim compared to the spot light on the police car, or the stadium lights that allow 100,000 people to watch a night football game.  Nonetheless, if a candle isn’t giving light, its principal function is not being realized.  Oh yes, we can do other things with a candle than light it.  If you have enough of them, you could fill a box and use it as a weight.  You could use them as rollers if the object wasn’t so heavy it would smash the candles and come to a screeching halt.  You could trim off all the wax if you needed badly enough a piece of cord or string.  You could wax the bottom of some skis, or a zipper on a jacket.  You could use them for decoration because they have been so exquisitely and/or colorfully made.  You get the idea – a candle could be useful for some things even if those things were not the principal reason for the generic candle’s existence.

People, created by God, also have a prime purpose – to glorify God by being spiritually at one  with Him.  And, like candles, people can do other things than satisfy their prime purpose.  The list could go on forever, so I won’t even begin the list.  You could probably come up with ideas that wouldn’t even occur to me anyway.  With over six billion people currently on the planet, would we ever get to the end of the list?  Not likely.

But, what a tragedy if for all the profitable things people could, or can, do they would miss the prime purpose of being human – to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  To not realize that purpose would be sort of like lighting a candle and covering it with a bushel basket.  Oh, someone already used that analogy.  What was his name?  Oh, yeah, I think his name was Jesus!!!.  And, He should know a thing or two about why humans exist.

So, this Christmas, don’t forget to learn from the candles, OK?