Lately I’ve been hearing Queen songs in advertisements. I heard parts of “I Want to Break Free” behind a commercial for a cruise line. I also heard “Don’t Stop Me Now” in an ad touting the joys of a California vacation. (“Having a good time!”) I feel certain there are others. That kind of thing happens a lot with well known rock anthems. Hearing them reminded me of the fact that, while some songs remain popular for so long they end up in advertisements, many a song never makes it out of the recording studio.
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” arguably the greatest achievement of rock group Queen, was almost killed before the public ever even heard of it.
Record producers just could not wrap their heads around it. The song seemed to whirl about like one of its lyrics: “any way the wind blows.” Some sections seemed to be going somewhere, but never actually arrived. Some seemed to spring up completely out of context to what was happening around them. Plus, there were several interjections that didn't seem to relate to anything.
And most unforgivable of all: It was six minutes long!
No one can tell you the meaning of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Many have tried. But we’re missing an essential piece: the author’s explanation. As far as we know, Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, never gave anyone a good explanation of its meaning—or even if it meant anything at all.
What we do know: It was a piece of rock music intended to evoke a sense of opera—You try to condense an opera down to six minutes and see what you come up with. Despite going on to be recognized as one of the greatest pieces of rock music ever recorded, people are still confused by it to this day.
Listen to it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=jFKBR1ggTMY
It is only through the lens of time that some coherent theme has emerged. When it was released in Iran in 2000, long after Freddie Mercury's death, the band told that audience the song was about a young man who accidentally killed someone, sold his soul to the Devil in a Faustian bargain, cried out to God for help, and was finally redeemed by way of intercession.
So, “Bohemian Rhapsody” might—might—be a redemption story.
That same kind of confusion crops up in this week’s scripture from the Gospel of John. Nicodemus, a leader in Israel, sneaks out to meet with Jesus under the cover of darkness. He’s looking for some straight answers. And he gets them—sort of. They are straight answers. They’re just not answers Nicodemus understands.
He wasn’t alone in his confusion. People were often confused by the words of Jesus, including those closest to Him. Some messages seemed to go in one direction, but never actually ended up where expected. Some of the things He said seemed to spring up completely out of context to what was happening around them. Sometimes, He said things that didn't seem to relate to anything.
And all, likely, for the same reason.
It would be easy to scoff at their confusion, now, two millennia after Jesus walked the Earth. But how might it go if we tried to condense into a few words all the hope of heaven, the long-laid plans for human redemption, and the wisdom of using self-sacrifice to defeat an evil enemy?
See what I mean? Unenlightened people would likely be confused by what we said.
So, what brings us that enlightenment?
Jesus told Nicodemus how he (and we) would come to understand: the Holy Spirit. Like the wind, the Holy Spirit has no human restrictions, its beginnings and endings cannot be discerned. While, like the wind, we can’t control it, the Holy Spirit is essential to our understanding of Jesus, His message, and His actions. Without the Holy Spirit, the whole thing looks and sounds like foolishness.
Without the Holy Spirit to guide us, our spiritual journey would take us—any way the wind blows.
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PHOTO
(Steve Orr, “Pacific, Mid-Ocean Moon”)
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Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom.** We start at 8:00 and enjoy an hour of scripture, discussion, prayer, and whatever we order off the menu. Clarity is always sought (if not always achieved).
Blessings,
Steve
**Contact me for the Zoom link
NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Find them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=25
Print them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_SecondSundayinLent.pdf
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17 or Matthew 17:1-9
Second Sunday in Lent (March 5, 2023)
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