That’s the question you could ask Ben Rector if you were to meet him. In his 2016 hit song, Brand New, Rector sings of new found love and its effect on him. He is so joy-filled, he believes he can do anything. The lyrics evoke a sense of newness tied to experiences like flying, dancing, and laughing.
It's a bit of stumble, though, when he sings: “I feel like a young John Cusack!”
Today, John Cusack is quite recognizable as an actor, producer, and filmmaker. In the mid-1980s, though ... well, sure he was young, but he wasn’t much of anybody in the film world. He had been in a few films, some memorable (like Better Off Dead, still one of my favorite quirky and hilarious movies). But mostly, he had very small roles in pretty forgettable films.
Then, in 1989, he headlined a dark horse film called Say Anything.
In case you don't recall, Cusack played Lloyd Dobler, an average guy in every way. Lloyd decides that he will make a play for Diane, the most beautiful girl in his high school and, not incidentally, the class Valedictorian. Everyone, not least her father, is shocked when Diane agrees to date Lloyd. In the face of no real reason to be optimistic, optimism triumphs over skepticism.
There are no magical solutions to the challenges faced by the unlikely duo. There’s no convenient plot twist that makes everything work out perfectly. The only "super power" on display is Lloyd's youthful optimism.
And, that brings us to the question: why did Ben Rector put John Cusack in those lyrics; why include John Cusack in a song about the empowerment of love? Answer: Ben was thinking of Lloyd's optimism. Being in love made Ben feel that he, too, could risk it all.
Ben had faith.
In this week's passage from Genesis, things had been rocking along pretty well for Abraham. Life was good. Having a son meant he had an heir, a huge thing for Abraham. After many, many decades of thinking his servants would inherit, life had made a very positive turn. It felt brand new. And his love for his son was the centerpiece of that.
Then, he is commanded by God to sacrifice his son. That had to be a shock.
And yet ... Abraham obeyed God's command. Clinging to a thin optimism that, somehow —in the face of all evidence to the contrary— God would make it all be OK.
Abraham had faith.
Read the passage to find out what happened and learn why one of God's names is Jehovah-Jireh ... "God Provides."
And prepare to feel brand new.
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PHOTO: https://www.amazon.com/Brand-New-Ben-Rector/dp/B012T93AWY
A different version of this reflection appeared in summer 2017 as Say Anything.
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More about John Cusack and Lloyd Dobler here: https://g.co/kgs/mv9uTk
And here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-say-anything-1989
More about Ben Rector and Brand New here: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7476878/ben-rector-talks-first-hot-100-hit-brand-new
And here: http://roughstock.com/news/2016/06/40507-album-review-ben-rector-brand-new
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 8 (11) (June 28, 2020)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=148
Genesis 22:1-14
Psalm 13
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42
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We continue on in the world of social distancing, and so there’s still no in-person meeting of DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Please keep reading the scriptures and praying for us all. Let me know if you want to discuss.
Blessings,
Steve
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