For some reason I have had the John Prine song "Angel From Montgomery" stuck in my head for several months now. I have the cd, and this summer I've heard Sunny Taylor sing it, and Jason Ringenberg did it for the sound check at our place. Here is the chorus:Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery.
Make me a poster of an old rodeo.
Just give me one thing that I can hold on to.
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go.
You can see/hear John sing it HERE; and on this clip he tells how he wrote the song about a 47-year-old woman whose husband doesn't talk to her much, he just goes off to work every morning, comes home, eats supper, watches a little tv, and goes to bed. Towards the end John asks, "How the hell can a person go to work in the mornin' and come home in the evenin' and have nothin' to say?" Hmm.
During my devotions this morning Warren Wiersbe used this Thomas Merton quote for the second time in this book: "To consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their effect upon myself is to live on the doorstep of hell."
Wow. Read that again. Today he was using it in the context of older people who feel they have outlived their usefulness (particularly in the church). He says, "...don't resign from serving the Lord. And please don't go underground, mobilize the old-timers, and create problems for your pastor by opposing everything new..." I would certainly agree with that, but it's not just old-timers who need this quote. "I" need this quote. Too many people think the world revolves around them, or, worse yet, they feel no responsibility to contribute to anyone or anything other than what effects them.
I wonder what would happen if we all began to see the world a little more as something to contribute to, rather than as owing us something? If we looked more for what we could offer others than what they could do for us? If we realized that we don't live in a vacuum, and if we didn't insulate and isolate ourselves from others - especially even those who are different from us - but reached out and tried to understand and shared and said hello and laughed and whatnot??? Imagine that.
As Jesus said, "For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others..." (Mark 10:45).
Make me an angel, Lord. I don't want to live on the doorstep of hell... but in the center of Your will. And I don't know where Montgomery is, but I desire for Your kingdom to come, Your will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. And, God, bless John Prine.
10 comments:
Amen...
Good post. Good song. Lotsa people cover it - my fave is probably Bonnie Raitt's version. There's multiple versions of her doing it on YouTube, including one with her and John Prine together.
Joe Bob sez check it out.
And thanks again for the post.
Tara doesn't have blogger but she sent me a message and thinks you really nailed it with this one.
i agree.
This reminds me of something that almost got posted on my blog. Everyone was saying what a hero Michael J. Fox was for doing so much for Parkinson's disease. Well, I read his autobiography and he's actually not such a great guy--in my humble opinion. He writes the book from the standpoint that we all think he's wonderful and we'll be shocked at his behavior, and in doing so, never gets around to an act of contricion or any remorse. This was disturbing to me, as I was a fan growing up watching Family Ties and Back to the Future. But the truth is, he'd be a hero if he was representing Parkinson's BEFORE he was himself afflicted. Talk about being beat over the head with reality. The title of his book is "Lucky Man", so titled because he considers himself "lucky" his affliction saved him from a shallow, hollow, selfish life. IMPLYING he's different now; I guess because he's out raising money to cure his disease... oh, and if there's anyone else who has Parkinson's, I guess they'll benefit, too.
Hell...anybody can get hit by a truck. I think the idea is to have empathy for OTHERS without personal gain (Mother Theresa comes to mind). When I was done with the book, I didn't get the impression that he had changed so dramatically.
Oh, and Back to the Future 2 and 3 sucked.
MR,
Good comment, but I would say we all need a little bit of experience in various areas to elicit our charitable responses, if no more than a "There but for the grace of God go I" perspective. For ex., I spent a (thankfully very) brief period of my teenaged life homeless and jobless. At another point in my young adult days I was laid off and had to go on food stamps to pay for groceries for myself and my wife and newborn. Both of those experiences are certainly factors in my volunteering at two food pantries now, some 25-30 years later.
Sure, it would be great if we all had the nature, insight and time to jump in and do what's needed for every cause that's out there. But perhaps God doesn't work that way. I mean, maybe God gives us certain experiences because He wants us to then use those to be tools for Him in specific areas. Given hunger, homelessness, rape, child abuse, AIDS, famine, natural disasters, the environment and so on and so forth, how can any one of us contribute to all of those things and more that need attention? We can't. So how do we decide? Perhaps by getting "nudged" (or "kicked") by the Spirit into action in one area because of our own life circumstances and history.
So, not to argue with Merton and all, but in some sense God gives each of us our lives and our experiences so we can respond to events, hopefully as He wants us to, and with Him helping us. I dunno if that makes sense or not.
Michael J. Fox wasn't actively involved in any charity that I know of before his illness(he may have authorized his accountant to give something to charity, maybe).
Now Bob Barker took a look at the condition of all the homeless pets being euthanized and said "I'm not a dog or a cat and I sure don't want to be neutered, but I'm going to DO something about this." If he contracted a disease and wanted to change charities to match it wouldn't affect his image at all, as we already know him as a charitable person.
I'm sure you were quite capable of empathy before your hardships. MJF may have been born incapable of empathy, and if it took an act of God to show it to him, I'm not going to call him a hero for that.
but I'm a hard-ass.
MR & Jim, you both make good points. Could be that you're both right to some degree. But we all know that I am the only one totally right around here (hey, it's my blog).
Thanks for helping to shed some light.
I guess we'd better drop it, I cut and pasted Dan's message into the Pastor to Schmoe online translator and it came back "shut up." :D
No, no, not at all. Just didn't want you to think I wasn't paying attention. I enjoy other people conversing here.
Carrie & Tara,
I kinda forgot... I'm glad you found this helpful. Thanks for the input!
peace.
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