One Voice, One Song, Hosanna

The Biker Blessing last Sunday meant over forty motorcycles were parked just outside our doors near the Activity Center where our 11:15 service is held. Although there were a variety of beautiful bikes out there, the dominant brand was the Harley-Davidson. Now I'll tell you up front that I have never owned a motorcycle, and the closest I ever came to wanting one was when we were traveling through the Black Hills of South Dakota a week before the die-hard motorcyclist's holy pilgrimage to Sturgis. Driving through the incredibile beauty there, I found myself wishing to permanantly park the van and throw my leg over a Harley and chase the freedom of the open road.

Besides, Harleys do bring back memories of growing up in Detroit, where my father was in the motor unit of the police force for most of his years on the job. He not only handed out a good share of tickets on Gratiot Avenue, but he was also a part of the motorcade that led the way for many VIPs who visited to the Motor City. The VIP's included a President and Vice President, but the ones I cared about the most was when the Tigers won the world series in 1968 and he was a part of the parade the city threw for championship team. At one point, slugger Willie Horton was on the back of his Harley during the celebration - a definite moment of pride for a young boy who loved baseball more than presidents and dignitaries. To this day, I remain disappointed that I wasn't actually there to see it and only know it second hand.

A few years after his retirement, I asked him about what it took to be a part of parades of this sort, and he could describe stacks and stacks of memos and directions, meeting upon meeting to cover details, and hours upon hours of preparation on the bikes themselves. It was clear that parades don't just happen. Everyone needed to know exactly what they were doing in that parade at every moment.

And yet on a Sunday a couple thousand years ago, the procession of Palms and pilgrims that filled the road into Jerusalem had a much more spontaneous feel. Yes, there was a prophecy from Zephaniah, and yes there were parades with the policians of the day. But as I approached my first Palm Sunday in Omaha, I spending time going over the details of that day Jesus rode on atop that donkey amid the cries of "Hosanna" and "Blessed be the Name of the Lord!"

What struck me that particular day was the thought: "Outside of Jesus, did any one else really understand the nature of this parade? Even though they cut the palm branches and lined the pathway with them, did they realize the real victory that they would point to? When they took off their outer cloaks and laid them before Jesus as he slowly made his way through the throngs of people, did they realize the true nature of the Kingdom of God and what it means to lay down one's life before this King?"

Such were my pondering as the image, the lyrics and the melody began to form in my mind. Even though there is no indication that anyone had a clue of the kind of king Jesus had come to be, at that moment they were untied - one voice, one song, one prayer, one cry - "Hosanna!" A simple, yet profound prayer: "Lord, Save Us!" What a President named Nixon (or any other president for that matter) couldn't do, Jesus did. What a championship team of players named, Horton, Freehan, Kaline, Lolich and McClain couldn't deliver, Jesus did. No wonder that after almost two thousand years, we still cry out: "Hosanna!"

Recording Notes: I believe this was the first new song I brought to the praise group in Omaha. At the time, I was still new and the players on the team were new to me. But as I brought this song in, it was Steve G who jumped in with his electric and began working on this new song we'd share as special music at the upcoming Palm Sunday service. Right away, I knew his guitar riffs were the perfect compliment to a rather fun acoustic groove I came up with on this song. In my years in Omaha, it became a standard for Palm Sunday and every year the congregation would jump in and sing it out. The one segment we added on the recording was the longer ending. It allowed us to have a little fun with Christopher Walken's famous SNL skit: "it could use more cowbell." In this case Tony G did a good job trying to live up the chops of Will Ferrell and Troy even added some maracas to the mix. With Michelle and Joel providing the background vocals, the live sound was captured for the CD.

Bread of Life

"Look at this, Pastor. Here's my sexy carrot." Now those are not the words you would expect to come out of a beautiful six year old. But instead of being shocked or confused, I immediately busted out laughing because I knew she had been listening to my Easter sermon. (BTW ... her Sunday School teachers were not there for that sermon, so they didn't know what to do with the student with the plastic veggtable which she called her sexy carrot.) Instead of trying to hop from the story of Peter Cottontail to the empty tomb, I chose to use follow down a different bunny tale that day. I used the story of "Don the Rabbit" from Donald Miller's book "Blue Like Jazz" to make a point as we talked about rebuilding life from the ground up through the resurrection of Christ.

Donald Miller had created this cartoon story of Don the Rabbit and his pursuit of "sexy carrot" as a parallel to all the things we chase in life. We believe they will give us life, but in reality, they can lead to our dimize. Now I'm not sure that this kindergartener really understood all the implications of this rabbit chasing this carrot, but it stuck in her young mind (and I know it was a great topic of discussion and lesson for her parents to build on with her).

I love that cartoon because it hits home for others, and of course, in my own driveway. I find myself using the words "I need" when I should really be saying: "I want." I don't "need" another guitar, a new Camaro, a nicer home, or even to find the best Mexican restaurant in every city I visit, but I want all of them and more. In reality, any of these things can easily become my personal sexy carrots to pursue even if they mean I throw myself in their direction with more passion than I do when it comes to God.

And it's that very truth that led me to write "Bread of Life" back in 2003. I honestly don't remember the exact date I began writing this song. I know this title of Jesus was coming up in a sermon series and I was spending time in John 6 far in advance to let my thoughts and impressions form in my heart long before I would begin writing the sermon. I reflected on the connection of this phrase used by Jesus with the story of God feeding His people "manna" from the sky in the wilderness in the book of Exodus. Instead of daily receiving God's gift of bread and life, the people began to try to hord it and store it away "just in case" the free food supply stopped as inexplicably as it began (despite Moses' warning not to do so). I laughed - recalling how it spoiled on the second day.

Jesus then speaks of himself being the "Bread of Life" come down from heaven. And yet, once again the self-centered nature of people bubbled to the surface. They wanted their bread king - their personal shopper from the sky would could miraculously provide them with what they needed, or should I say, what they wanted.

And right there in that moment, I knew I had that same spirit of entitlement dwelling deep in my own soul. The world of the Kingdom of God came crashing into the world of my selfishness, and the chokehold of sin needed to be ripped away from my heart. The invitation of Christ to come and eat this bread of life - surely a foreshadowing of the holy meal we share as Christians - is what this famished man needed and still needs today. Throw away your plastic sexy carrots. Our heavenly Father is drawing you in for a real feast of wine and bread.

Production Notes: When I first presented this song to the musicians at Divine Shepherd, Aaron Bressman was on drums that weekend. As usual, Aaron had a great feel for what I was looking for as we flesh out the song musically. So when we recorded this song, I knew I wanted him behind the drum kit. But it wasn't until the recording sessions that Steve came up with the electric guitar riffs that makes the song soar even higher musically. Add in the high harmonies of Aaron and it captures the passionate cry to the One who is the Bread of Life who is truly "manna for my soul."

Wholly Yours (Even in a Flood)

Even as I write this installment of my blog, parts of our past sit underwater and the damage assessments continue to rise faster than LeBron's stock in the free agent market. A friend sent me pictures of the Opryland Hotel on the east side of Nashville. The giant hotel (known for his delta area - complete with lazy river running through the ground floor) now looks like something from the Titanic.

This is a place where we have so many fond memories. It was one of our go to places whenever friends or family came to visit us during our nine year stay in Nashville. There were many strolls through the botanical gardens it housed insside. There was a wonderful night of romance as we celebrated a wedding anniversary there in southern style. There was even one incredible stay at the hotel (thanks to a church member with connections) when we lived like rock stars in one of the presidential rooms - complete with two floors and a beautiful view of that very same delta area of the hotel.

In such a time as this, we quickly discover how quickly the "stuff" we work so hard to accumulate can vanish. It's not the grand ballrooms that will withstand the swollen waters that rise from the rivers around us. Plain and simple, it is the relationships of our lives that ultimately matter. All those memories I have of the Opryland Hotel wouldn't mean all that much, if they weren't connected to someone I love more than words can really say.

That's what I was trying to get at with a simple chorus I wrote a number of years ago - Wholly Yours. I freely admit that I didn't spend months crafting every last word. Early one morning, I was playing guitar and singing thorugh a number of choruses in prayer as I often do, and then the thought of "wholly" belonging to Christ kept running through my mind. I was thinking about the verse that says "we love Him because He first loved us," (I John 4:19) and that led me to the book of Romans where Paul makes the same point as he states: "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Compared to such a demonstration of love in the cross, my own "on again" and "off again" kind of love for God can be seen in its true perspective. The line at the end of the chorus that says: thoroughly, perfectly, entirely, wholly yours" isn't suggesting that I have that kind of love, but that God has totally initiated this relatationship and brought me into it by His grace.

Recording Notes: The song is kept simple on the CD. We have often done this during communion and when we do, we sing it a bit slower. But in this recording, Steve suggested that we pick up the tempo a bit and that made for the addition of the mandolin (which he played) and some nice fills by Ken on the electric. Joel's harmony really complimented my lead vocal and helped keep it a clean and simple prayer of thanksgiving.