The Music of the Spheres

A while ago I rewatched the movie Philadelphia.  It stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.  It is an engaging story in which Tom Hanks' character is an up-and-coming lawyer in a big legal firm who has AIDS and is let go because of it.  He sues the law firm for wrongful dismissal and wins in the end – fortunately before he dies from the disease.  The story takes place in the early days of AIDS, set  in the early 1990’s, when getting AIDS was a death sentence and accurately reflects the homophobia and fear surrounding the AIDS epidemic. 

The movie is a poignant, sad and surprisingly joyful depiction of the times and the cruelty, ignorance and discrimination that surrounded the plague.  That said, what I want to explore is the music in the movie, specifically the theme music.  There are actually two theme songs in the movie – the Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen and Philadelphia by Neil Young.  Both are wonderful songs however, in my mind and ear and soul, the Neil Young song is a wonderful encapsulation of all that the movie expresses so well – the poignancy, the wistfulness for things to be different, the heartache, the pain, and joy that is shared by the characters.  Here are the lyrics which I hope will give you an idea of what is expressed so well in the song:

Sometimes I think that I know
What love's all about
And when I see the light
I know I'll be all right.

I've got my friends in the world,
I had my friends
When we were boys and girls
And the secrets came unfurled.

City of brotherly love
Place I call home
Don't turn your back on me
I don't want to be alone
Love lasts forever.

Someone is talking to me,
Calling my name
Tell me I'm not to blame
I won't be ashamed of love.

The lyrics are wonderfully enhanced and completed by the music which has a poignancy and energy and wistfulness that captures the feeling and message in the story.  The performance of the song from the movie can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHpQFF_Et4s. 

A warning – the song and specifically the performance by Neil Young - never fails to bring tears to my eyes and as someone said in a comment online – it could be put on a loop, and you would never get tired of hearing it.  I have not tried that myself, but it certainly rings true to me. 

It is an example of the power of song to move and inspire and express so much is a few words and musical notes.  May you be blessed with such music on your journey. 

 

Mephistopheles Today

I recently saw the movie Elvis which is the wonderful depiction of the life of Elvis Presley as envisioned by Baz Luhrmann.  There are many things which are commendable about this movie including the performances by Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker and Austin Butler as Elvis (no second name required in the title or the cultural). A few days after seeing the movie it came to me that what is portrayed is the legend of Dr. Faustus.

The story of Dr. Faustus originated in 15^th century Germany, purportedly based on an historical person,  Johann Georg Faust .  The story has been the basis for many versions over the centuries, in art, literature and plays.  In modern times, versions of the story have been told such notables as Goethe, Thomas Mann, and Christopher Marlow.  Intentionally or not, the story influenced the movie, Elvis.

The story of Faust, in outline, tells of the misadventures of a successful German scholar who is dissatisfied with achievements even thought he is distinguished in many areas of academic life including medicine, law and religion.   He determines that he wants to succeed in the practice of the black arts i.e., magic.  Faustus calls upon the Lord of Darkness and in doing so summons up Mephistopheles, one of the Devil’s servants.  He bargains with Mephistopheles and strikes a bargain that if Mephistopheles will serve him, the Devil will claim his soul after a set number of years - twenty-four in some versions.  Faustus has all that he desires for the time allocated, even summoning up the figure of Helen of Troy and generally causing mischief and mayhem.  As the end of the allotted time draws near Faustus believes that he is irreparably lost and his soul is claimed by the Devil.  It is interesting that in Goethe’s version he is forgiven through the intercessions of one of his victims. 

Turning to the movie, Elvis, there are some details that do not fit the legend.  Elvis was not a successful person when the tempter arrives in his life.  However, the story is told through the eyes of Colonel Parker who is portrayed as an evil genius who guarantees Elvis the success and fame that he desires and which he delivers.  Elvis has opportunities to redeem his life (and soul) but Mephistopheles aka Col. Parker manages to ensure that Elvis is successful beyond his dreams at the ultimate cost of his soul.  Col. Parker ensures that the Devil claims his due gaining everything that he seeks i.e., the means to engage in the endless ‘games’ of chance that are the foundation of the Las Vegas enterprise.  Elvis spends his final days, captive in the hell on earth of the venue of the eternal Las Vegas Concerts, being denied his dream of seeing and engaging the larger musical world.   

The legend and the movie present the archetypal story of the person who sells his soul to the Devil for the material things of this world.  This was one of the temptations of Jesus in his time in the wilderness when Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow down and worship him.  What does it profit someone to gain the world but lose his soul?

The world seems to abound in many incarnations of Mephistopheles in many manifestations today.  Perhaps no more than in previous times, but that we are only more aware of it.  Is there a Mephistopheles in your life who is offering you the world only demanding your soul - something that many people do not believe they possess?  As Bob Dylan said, “you gotta serve somebody.  It may be the devil or it may be the Lord but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

If you face your Mephistopheles on our journey, may you be blessed to choose life.

True Hospitality; True Compassion

Last night Lorna and I watched Saving Private Ryan—with interruptions to watch the lunar eclipse which was fascinating.  It was one of our VHS tape finds at Value Village in Charlottetown this year.    The movie was just as engaging as the first time we saw it.  This morning Lorna made a very interesting and insightful comment.  It would have been an even more interesting movie if Spielberg had given it a dark twist and it turned out that Private Ryan had lived and completely unredeemable life after being saved by the group of heroic U.S. soldiers who all gave their lives in the effort.  The ending has the Private Ryan character—played by Matt Damon—visiting the military cemetery in France in the present day and tearfully asking this wife to affirm that he had lived a good life i.e. one worthy of the sacrifice that had been made by those soldiers who died ‘Saving’ him.  They were sent to bring Ryan to safety and to be discharged as he was the sole surviving son in a family—his three brothers having been killed in action. 

As I reflected on that insight I thought about it in the context of my sermon yesterday.  The subject of the sermon was the miracle performed by Jesus curing the man with dropsy at the home of the Chief Pharisee (Luke 14: 1-11).  This act of compassion was done by Jesus on the Sabbath and had been a set up by the religious authorities to catch Jesus in the sin of doing work on the Sabbath i.e. healing the man.  Jesus teaches them a lesson in true hospitality which, of course, the religious leaders did not show Jesus inviting him to dinner for nefarious purposes.

The connection between the Gospel lesson and the movie is related, I believe, to true hospitality.  Jesus did not determine if the man with dropsy deserved to be healed.  He acted out of compassion for the man.  The act of compassion by the military to save Private Ryan and spare his mother further tragedy would not have been lessened if Ryan had turned out to live a completely selfish or even evil life.  In the same way we do not know what kind of a life was lived by the man with dropsy.  He may have been moved to give his life to the glory of God like the one healed leper who returned to thank Jesus; however, he may not have.  That doesn’t change the nature of the act. 

There was one element of the movie that dealt with this quandary.  The band of brothers who were rescuing Ryan set a German soldier they had captured free.  He later reappears as a central character fighting against the U.S. soldiers who are defending a bridge.  He ends killing a number of the soldiers who rescue Ryan including the commanding officer played by Tom Hanks.  Lorna’s imagined ending to the movie would have truly made the viewer reflect more deeply on the nature of compassion and hospitality rather than having a Hollywood ending.  But then it was truly a Hollywood movie; a good one none-the-less.

In closing I can pose this question for all of us.  How do we show true hospitality and compassion to others?  I believe we do not do that by sitting back and turning our backs on the refugee crisis.  That is the issue facing us today.  There are, of course, ongoing ones we have to wrestle with every day.  Peace.