TIS: Easter Special
“Easter time; Mistletoe and wine!”, as Cliff Richard probably jokes to his close friends every year about this time (they’re getting tired of it, frankly. I mean, it’s the same joke every year. And it doesn’t even make sense. And it’s not like that’s still a relevant song anyway; what is this, the eighties? No, we’ll not be coming to his house next year, Margaret).
Which is better – Easter or Christmas? Ah, the eternal battle. Weightier minds would consider the fact that each necessitates the other. Simpler folk would say the songs are better at Christmas.
So, to even the score, I present to you a (multi-songed) Easter themed Truth in Sound.
1. Dear God – The Roots
At the heart of this (awesome) doubt-plagued song is the question “Where is God in a world so terrible?”. Black Thought lists some of the tragedy he sees:
Technology turning the planet into zombies / Everybody all in everybody’s dirty laundry / Acid rain, earthquakes, hurricane, tsunamis / Terrorist, crime sprees, assaults, and robberies / Cops yellin’ stop, freeze / Shoot him before he try to leave / Air quality so foul, I gotta try to breath / Endangered species / And we runnin’ out of trees
He then goes on to posit that were he in control, he would surely end these atrocities, begging the question of God’s seeming inaction:
If I could hold the world in the palm of these hands, I would probably do away with these anomalies
At Easter, we see God’s answer. He is not passive. He is not ambivalent toward sin and the destruction it wreaks on this Earth. He hates it. His plan is to destroy it. At the cross, we see God’s anger against sin poured out on his Son. Don’t think that God doesn’t care about the horror of the world, Paul urges us in Romans 3:23-25, but rather see that all sin will be dealt with – either in Jesus or in us.
2. Hey Brother – Avicii
It may highlight my old-man-ness when I say this, but I would love this song so much more if it didn’t have the displeasing trumpety chorus bit. Just keep that wizened out-west voice and I’d be fine.
When I first heard this song, I thought it would be good to point to the function of the Church, brothers and sisters together, and all. However, as we celebrate Easter, it’s impossible to not have my attention drawn by talk of blood:
“Hey sister, I know the water’s sweet, but blood is thicker. Oh! If the sky comes falling down for you, there’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.”
Family matters, and Easter is about family. As Jesus pours out his blood, he invites us to be called brothers and sisters in the ultimate act of love that goes beyond anything ever seen in this world; the God-man dies for those that hate him – to turn enemies into children of God.
3. The Monster – Eminem ft. Rihanna
Regardless of how you may feel about Eminem, it’s hard to deny that he’s passionate in his speech. Angst is what he does best, and here in a moment of clarity, he hits upon the human condition – there’s something wrong, and we don’t know how to fix it:
Cause I need an interventionist / To intervene between me and this monster / And save me from myself and all this conflict / ‘Cause the very thing that I love’s killing me and I can’t conquer it
‘I need someone else to end this cycle’, is Eminem’s cry. It is surely one you are familiar with. We hate the things we do, and yet we do them. Something in us loves them, and we hate that fact. I want to live in world where people don’t treat each other terribly, and yet at the next moment I find my selfishness ruling over my actions.
How can we end this struggle if what we are are fighting is who we are, and worse, what we at some level have sympathy and even love for?
Easter is the answer. Jesus is the ‘interventionist’ that Eminem calls for – the One who can end the battle. Through his death and resurrection, new life is offered; We’re freed from slavery to that in us that we hate (but secretly love) most.
4. Happy – Pharrell Williams
Okay, I just included this because despite being played a trillion times, both the song and video cannot fail to bring a smile to my face.
God loves you. He died for you. He rose again for you. He invites you to take part in life. True life. The life you were created for.
It’s Easter. Be happy. Celebrate.
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(You can catch the previous Truth in Sound here).