I have written previously about my struggles with fleshly desire, and the dichotomies in being a rock drummer and spiritually inclined at the same time. I ran into an especially beautiful description of this in a book about Robert Johnson.
That name may or may not be familiar. He is considered the originator of blues as we now understand the term. Since blues morphed into rock, his work can be considered the foundation of all modern rock music today. He was an innovator in the use of a slide- a piece of steel, glass or other material to produce swooping, gliding sounds out of the guitar.
Only 29 recordings of his work exist. He died when he was 27 years old, murdered by the jealous husband of one of his lovers. He had a strong attraction for and to women, and had many lovers. He is associated with the town of Clarksdale, MS, even though he is buried in the yard of a small church in Morgan City, MS, the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
The longstanding rumor was that Johnson had made a pact with Satan, giving away his soul for the ability to seduce women and play guitar like no one else. It is still said that if you walk into Clarksdale on the night of the new moon at midnight, guitar in hand, then Satan himself will greet you, and grant what was granted to Johnson. This is the basis of the album name 'Walking into Clarksdale'.
And so there is irony in a man rumored to have sold out to Satan being buried in a church yard. In 1991, a group of people wanted to have a ceremony to honor Johnson's life, and to remark and spruce up his gravesite. The minister agreed, and a few people from across the country showed up, not incidentally bringing with them money to refurbish the church as well as the grave of Johnson.
The minister delivered a sermon that day. In it he acknowledged that he had never even heard of Johnson until a few months before. He could, however, appreciate the miracle of people from other states coming to honor Johnson, and in the process giving him money sufficient to renovate his small church. He further acknowledged that not everyone in the congregation was enthusiastic about accepting money for refurbishment in the name of man thought to have made a satanic pact. here is his comment on that-
"God works in mysterious ways. Legend says this man sold his soul to the Devil. I don't know about that. All I can say is, when he died, the members of this church had love in their hearts, and gave him a resting place, and God wrote that down. Now, I don't know what Robert Johnson told the Lord. YOU don't know what Robert Johnson told the Lord. We ALL have come short of the glory of God. On the new tombstone was a quotation from one of Johnson's songs- 'you may bury my body down by the highway side'.
There are so many important things in those few sentences. The members of that church showed mercy to a very, shall we say, worldly man. They went outside what was likely their moral comfort zone to do right by a man who was not of their own, reminding me of the story of the Good Samaritan.
The power of the spiritual runs through the few sentences quoted and the story. The minister did not ask for money, he did not send out ads. Money came to that church not for its righteousness or its radio program or its choir. Money came because years ago they had shown mercy to a poor, single man who died young. Even as we do to the least, we do it to God, before His face.
None of this was done for Johnson- he was dead. Johnson's music suggests he didn't care where he was buried, and had no expectation it would be beautiful or distinguished in any way. That church buried him because it was the right thing to do, to help a person who died young and destitute.
Most powerfully, the minister passes no judgment on Johnson. Rather, he tells the congregation they don't know what Johnson did or why, and reminds them we are all failed and fallen before the majesty of God. It is this that is so characteristic of Jesus' teachings. Again and again, he forgives people, heals them through faith, dines and talks with them when they are despised by the society around them.
It is not for us to judge others. God alone judges, looking into the soul. It is for us to show compassion and mercy (I desire mercy, not sacrifice), keeping in mind our own failings.
It is both sad and off-putting to me that so much of the organized church has forgotten all this. People are preached to about how they should behave. They are condemned and shunned for behavior half the congregation has done. The poor and the lonely are given lip service, perhaps organized programs for their aid, similar to governmental programs. But they are not truly cared for like fellow people. They are given charity in the wrong, not the right, sense of the word. They are given things, instead of love.
In our false invocation as well as blaming of God, we fail to see His presence among us. He looks like a lonely neighbor. His face is that of a poor, black musician. We say it was Satan that touched his guitar that night. But Christianity is longstandingly and notoriously uncomfortable with music and sexuality. Perhaps it was the hand of God that touched Robert Johnson that night in Clarksdale. Not only do we not see God in anything except ourselves, we fail to see God when he touches the world, bestowing what we think is wrong and a sin.
But Johnson's music has lighted the world, expressing pain, sadness, longing, loss, in ways that are beautiful and meaningful. How is that not the hand of God?
Ted
That name may or may not be familiar. He is considered the originator of blues as we now understand the term. Since blues morphed into rock, his work can be considered the foundation of all modern rock music today. He was an innovator in the use of a slide- a piece of steel, glass or other material to produce swooping, gliding sounds out of the guitar.
Only 29 recordings of his work exist. He died when he was 27 years old, murdered by the jealous husband of one of his lovers. He had a strong attraction for and to women, and had many lovers. He is associated with the town of Clarksdale, MS, even though he is buried in the yard of a small church in Morgan City, MS, the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
The longstanding rumor was that Johnson had made a pact with Satan, giving away his soul for the ability to seduce women and play guitar like no one else. It is still said that if you walk into Clarksdale on the night of the new moon at midnight, guitar in hand, then Satan himself will greet you, and grant what was granted to Johnson. This is the basis of the album name 'Walking into Clarksdale'.
And so there is irony in a man rumored to have sold out to Satan being buried in a church yard. In 1991, a group of people wanted to have a ceremony to honor Johnson's life, and to remark and spruce up his gravesite. The minister agreed, and a few people from across the country showed up, not incidentally bringing with them money to refurbish the church as well as the grave of Johnson.
The minister delivered a sermon that day. In it he acknowledged that he had never even heard of Johnson until a few months before. He could, however, appreciate the miracle of people from other states coming to honor Johnson, and in the process giving him money sufficient to renovate his small church. He further acknowledged that not everyone in the congregation was enthusiastic about accepting money for refurbishment in the name of man thought to have made a satanic pact. here is his comment on that-
"God works in mysterious ways. Legend says this man sold his soul to the Devil. I don't know about that. All I can say is, when he died, the members of this church had love in their hearts, and gave him a resting place, and God wrote that down. Now, I don't know what Robert Johnson told the Lord. YOU don't know what Robert Johnson told the Lord. We ALL have come short of the glory of God. On the new tombstone was a quotation from one of Johnson's songs- 'you may bury my body down by the highway side'.
There are so many important things in those few sentences. The members of that church showed mercy to a very, shall we say, worldly man. They went outside what was likely their moral comfort zone to do right by a man who was not of their own, reminding me of the story of the Good Samaritan.
The power of the spiritual runs through the few sentences quoted and the story. The minister did not ask for money, he did not send out ads. Money came to that church not for its righteousness or its radio program or its choir. Money came because years ago they had shown mercy to a poor, single man who died young. Even as we do to the least, we do it to God, before His face.
None of this was done for Johnson- he was dead. Johnson's music suggests he didn't care where he was buried, and had no expectation it would be beautiful or distinguished in any way. That church buried him because it was the right thing to do, to help a person who died young and destitute.
Most powerfully, the minister passes no judgment on Johnson. Rather, he tells the congregation they don't know what Johnson did or why, and reminds them we are all failed and fallen before the majesty of God. It is this that is so characteristic of Jesus' teachings. Again and again, he forgives people, heals them through faith, dines and talks with them when they are despised by the society around them.
It is not for us to judge others. God alone judges, looking into the soul. It is for us to show compassion and mercy (I desire mercy, not sacrifice), keeping in mind our own failings.
It is both sad and off-putting to me that so much of the organized church has forgotten all this. People are preached to about how they should behave. They are condemned and shunned for behavior half the congregation has done. The poor and the lonely are given lip service, perhaps organized programs for their aid, similar to governmental programs. But they are not truly cared for like fellow people. They are given charity in the wrong, not the right, sense of the word. They are given things, instead of love.
In our false invocation as well as blaming of God, we fail to see His presence among us. He looks like a lonely neighbor. His face is that of a poor, black musician. We say it was Satan that touched his guitar that night. But Christianity is longstandingly and notoriously uncomfortable with music and sexuality. Perhaps it was the hand of God that touched Robert Johnson that night in Clarksdale. Not only do we not see God in anything except ourselves, we fail to see God when he touches the world, bestowing what we think is wrong and a sin.
But Johnson's music has lighted the world, expressing pain, sadness, longing, loss, in ways that are beautiful and meaningful. How is that not the hand of God?
Ted
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