Theology Tuesday

But there is, there is not enough time, And there is no, no song I could sing And there is no combination of words I could say But I will still tell you one thing We're better together I really thought it was going to be Banana Pancakes. Close, but according to Spotify users, the Jack Johnson song we want to listen to the most is Better Together. And who can argue?  Like Jack sings- it is always better when we are together.  That’s why it’s getting tough right now. The last seven weeks or so saw us all, coast to coast and around the world, in this pandemic together. I know that each area had its own unique challenges (Nova Scotia, New York City, Chattanooga had a tougher road), and staying at home at the beach in North Carolina is not the same as staying at home in Blantyre, Malawi. Yet all were struggling with the unknown, the uncertain, and it seemed we were all holding the line.  Today is different. You can get a haircut in Georgia, USA, and New Zealand h...

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast Let your mountains dark and dreary be And when I am far away on the briny oceans tossed Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me? Any Maritimer worth their salt is humming along right now to this song, the de facto anthem for Nova Scotia (sorry Barrett’s Privateers fans, but it’s not even close). Like all good songs, Farewell to Nova Scotia has existed in several forms over the centuries, originating in Scotland, though you could be forgiven for thinking Stan Rogers, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot or the Celtic-sodden Irish Rovers wrote the tune, they all sing it with such a familiarity and authenticity. But for this wayward Haligonian boy, I only ever hear the song through Big Jim’s baritone over a strummed guitar on the banks of the Northumberland strait. Around the campfire at Camp Geddie, even adolescent silliness would quiet if our counsellor Big Jim sang this song. The first time my parents drove me home from camp, I sang...

I ain't got nothing but love, babe eight days a week. Lennon gets some of the song writing credit, but the mood of the song feels all McCartney. It was, of course, another number one hit for the Beatles, their seventh, says Wikipedia, and it later became the title of Ron Howard’s 2016 documentary of the band’s early years. The originator might have been Ringo or a chauffeur, that’s lost in the mists of lore now, but the phrase invokes the feeling of always working, or for the Liverpool lads, always loving. There is just so much to do that it either feels like we are going eight days a week or we need an eighth day to get it all done. We have all said it of course-wouldn’t it be great to have an extra day? That’s not true so much anymore though. March had about 250 extra days, and April’s feeling about the same. What’s not credited in the Beatles’ song is that the idea of an eighth day comes from our theological traditions. In its exuberance and joy in celebrating ou...

 I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead… Wow!  Thirty shares and counting on my Facebook post last night of an amazing global rendition of The Band song “The Weight”. How about the six million views of Rolling Stone’s post of this incredible video? If I had known how popular it was, I would have attached a quick blog to my video post- after all it’s getting way more traffic than any blog or sermon I have written (thanks btw to a friend who pointed THAT out).   Hard days here still as we are all sheltering in place. Many are bored, too many are suffering and how many are bone-tired from work or worrying or both? Feeling half-dead indeed. Our prayers are continual for those in the thick of it and for those at the edges of it and wondering what is next. Prayers abound. Part of the gift of this song is that it looks like a prayer answered. All of these musicians, each in their own place, are given a way to participate and contribute t...