We had driven all the way from Midland to Lubbock, a considerable distance at any time. We left Midland right after work and were going to have to drive all the way back when the concert was over. Tomorrow was another workday. All of this just to attend a performance by an artist whose name I had not seen or heard in over a dozen years. Honestly, I was surprised to learn he was alive, much less still performing.
Those thoughts were blown away when the band took the stage and blasted out their first song.
“I don’t want to work! I just want to bang on the drum all day!”
In the space of a couple minutes, I was hooked. Take a break, here, and listen to it; you may find you agree with me (copy and paste): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO17hN-YvBc
With its blatant disrespect for all the “must do’s” in this life, Bang on the Drum All Day was the perfect song for me that night. Familial responsibilities were constant and growing. My job was hard and getting harder. Church and community involvements were significant. All of it was demanding. I often felt like I just couldn’t catch my breath.
There was a lot of great music that night. I especially enjoyed Hodja and Mighty Love, two other upbeat toe-tappers. But, that night, Bang on the Drum became my new anthem. From then on, whenever I felt weighed down by the requirements of my life, I replayed it my head. And that few minutes was often all I needed to get myself back to the grindstone.
This time of year I recall that night and the wonderful lifelong takeaway of Todd Rundgren’s music. And that’s because of the Twelfth Day of Christmas. January 5th is always the date for the last lyric of that famous Christmas tune. Do you remember what the singer’s true love sent on the twelfth day? Yep. Twelve drummers drumming.
For many Christian churches, this Sunday will be the celebration of Epiphany: recognizing when the Magi brought gifts to Jesus. Scholars differ on when that actually took place; some say it was as much as two years after the birth of Jesus. But there’s a long tradition that the Magi came twelve days after Christmas ... January 6th.
This year, the Twelfth Day of Christmas falls on Sunday, January 5th. It’s going to share it with Epiphany. Can you imagine it? Twelve drummers marching down the center aisle drumming away at their drums?
Probably not.
But the excitement such a demonstration would bring: that we need to pour into our Epiphany Sunday. Christmas celebrates the day Jesus came to the people of Israel. Epiphany celebrates when the rest of the world got to join in. I know we can’t “bang on the drum all day” this Sunday, but let’s make sure Heaven knows how deeply we appreciate being included.
Make some noise!
________________________
Link here (or copy and paste) to listen to Hodja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_zUWPXQb3k
Link here (or copy and paste) to hear Mighty Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K_j9lN1Bes
________________________
Epiphany of the Lord
January 6, 2020
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=12
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
No comments:
Post a Comment