11.05.2012

Music Monday: Lazarus Style

Music Monday

Good day, my friends!  Sorry for the delay in getting this posted.
I'm at the Southeastern Minnesota Synod Fall Theological Conference.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as I prepared to preach this morning. Everything went great.  My dear pal, Dan, was the assistant minister, and he was FANTASTIC.  I was initially quite nervous, but once the worship service started, it was like the Holy Spirit gave me a big dose of calm and joy.  From there on out, it was smooth sailing.  It helped that it was a room full of smiling pastors.  


A few nights ago I had an idea, "I should turn the gospel text into a song!"  In college, I played guitar and wrote songs all the time, but it hasn't been a big part of my life since then.

Inspiration hit Saturday night, and an hour later, the musical version of John, chapter 11 was ready to go.  The Holy Spirit actually deserves total credit for that, too.  This morning during worship, we sang the gospel together.  I sang the verses, and all the people in attendance sang the chorus.  And they really did it! It was so wonderful and heart-warming.

Here's the gospel text and the song lyrics, too.

A brief gospel intro: Mary and Martha are sisters of Lazarus.  They sent for Jesus to come and help when Lazarus was first sick, but Jesus didn't come.  Then Lazarus died. And finally, after 4 days, Jesus showed up.  Mary was really sad and mad.  Martha, too.  Everyone in the community was with them, crying and weeping.  Here's John 11:32-44 (It's a little long but WELL worth reading.  Such a great gospel lesson.):



When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus began to weep. 

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” 

Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”


Here's the song.  It's titled, "Unbound."
 
The weight of their sadness was so great,
Two grieving sisters ready to plead their case.
When they sent for him – He never came. 
He never came.  He never came.

Lord if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
Now I’m weeping, and we’re weeping, and you’re disturbed inside.
Lord if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
Lord, come and see.  Come and see.  Come and see.
And then he cried.

So he went to the tomb that day,
It was a cave with a stone in the way.
“Take that stone away!” he yelled.
“Have you lost your mind?” she cried.  She knew the smell.  She knew it well.

Lord if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
Now I’m weeping, and we’re weeping, and you’re disturbed inside.
Lord if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
Lord, come and see.  Come and see.  Come and see.
And then he cried.

Then they took the stone away.
While he looked up to heaven, he prayed.
“Come out, Lazarus” he cried.
Come out, Lazarus – it’s time.

The dead man came out,
His hands and feet still bound.
The dead man came out,
His hands and feet still bound.
Unbind him and let him go.
Unbind him and let him go.

Unbind us – and let us go.

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