SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T MAKE IT ON YOUR OWN
I mentioned late in December that one of my goals for 2005 was to spend some time listening to and reflecting upon U2's "How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb." It's a great CD that brings the band back to their musical roots and the lyrics provide plenty to chew on.
Did you catch U2 at the Grammy's - no pun intended, but it was the bomb. Set against a simple, unadorned white backdrop, the band performed "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," a song that has actually been around for a couple of years (Bono first performed it at his father's funeral). The song speaks of a son's frustration with his father's unwillingness or inability to let his son into his world of suffering in order that he might share the burden of a terrible disease and sickness. Bono sings:
"Tough, you think you’ve got the stuff
You’re telling me and anyone you’re hard enough.
You don’t have to put up a fight,
You don’t have to always be right,
Let me take some of the punches for you tonight.
Listen to me now I need to let you know
You don’t have to go it alone.
And it’s you when I look in the mirror
And it’s you when I don’t pick up the phone
Sometimes you can’t make it on your own."
I mentioned late in December that one of my goals for 2005 was to spend some time listening to and reflecting upon U2's "How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb." It's a great CD that brings the band back to their musical roots and the lyrics provide plenty to chew on.
Did you catch U2 at the Grammy's - no pun intended, but it was the bomb. Set against a simple, unadorned white backdrop, the band performed "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," a song that has actually been around for a couple of years (Bono first performed it at his father's funeral). The song speaks of a son's frustration with his father's unwillingness or inability to let his son into his world of suffering in order that he might share the burden of a terrible disease and sickness. Bono sings:
"Tough, you think you’ve got the stuff
You’re telling me and anyone you’re hard enough.
You don’t have to put up a fight,
You don’t have to always be right,
Let me take some of the punches for you tonight.
Listen to me now I need to let you know
You don’t have to go it alone.
And it’s you when I look in the mirror
And it’s you when I don’t pick up the phone
Sometimes you can’t make it on your own."
(Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own, U2)
This morning I spoke at our worship gathering from Acts 2:41-47 on the topic of community. One of the things I noticed in the text is that the earliest Christian community was described as a needs-meeting community. The Scriptures make it clear that no one had any needs. Now, that's an amazing statement. How could that possibly be?
Maybe a key was that people in the first century were quicker to acknowledge their needs with one another. It seems to be that there has been an “evolution” in our culture (maybe better said, a de-evolution) that the more mature you are, the less needs you should have. And God forbid, we might actually be needy!
One of the things I learned from Dr. Gilbert Bilizekian is that community is a place where we can know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served. One of the beautiful aspects of that definition is that community is a two way street: we not only know others, they know us, we not only love others, we are loved in return, we not only serve others, we are served.
I can’t make it make on my own and my guess is that you aren't much different. U2’ s song concludes with these words:
Sometimes you can't make it,
Best you can do is to fake it,
Sometimes you can't make it on your own.
This morning I spoke at our worship gathering from Acts 2:41-47 on the topic of community. One of the things I noticed in the text is that the earliest Christian community was described as a needs-meeting community. The Scriptures make it clear that no one had any needs. Now, that's an amazing statement. How could that possibly be?
Maybe a key was that people in the first century were quicker to acknowledge their needs with one another. It seems to be that there has been an “evolution” in our culture (maybe better said, a de-evolution) that the more mature you are, the less needs you should have. And God forbid, we might actually be needy!
One of the things I learned from Dr. Gilbert Bilizekian is that community is a place where we can know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served. One of the beautiful aspects of that definition is that community is a two way street: we not only know others, they know us, we not only love others, we are loved in return, we not only serve others, we are served.
I can’t make it make on my own and my guess is that you aren't much different. U2’ s song concludes with these words:
Sometimes you can't make it,
Best you can do is to fake it,
Sometimes you can't make it on your own.
1 comment:
Thanks for the blog. I have beeen feeling incredibly needy these days (months, years...). The biggest problem is the world's view that neediness equates with a character flaw of some sort. The fact is that every single person on this planet is in need of at least one thing - a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. No one can make it on their own. God help us who try to do so. I also believe that many who do have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ believe that any additional neediness they show is somehow characteristic of a sign of weakness in their faith. Worse yet, they fear that their fellow believers will think less of them because of their neediness. This is something all of us at CCC have to prayerfully consider.
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