"Creep," Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart (Radiohead)
I chose to put here the cover from Postmodern Jukebox because for one thing, it's great. For another, I know a few people who would never willingly listen to Radiohead. This one seems a little more dignified for the occasion, right? If however, you much prefer the uncensored original, here is a great lyric video. If you don't think what I chose is dignified enough, click here, though it is also uncensored. [This song has been covered lots of times, including Karen Souza, (real jazzy) Macy Gray, (real Macy Gray-ish) Jinkx Monsoon, (fascinating and uncomfortable) Diego Luna, (for a kids' movie!) Amanda Palmer, (worth it for the ukulele) Clint Mansell & Coco Sumner, (smooth and pretty) and Prince. (Yes, Prince! live at Coachella) So, pick your favorite musical style to listen to while you read. The song also has its own Wikipedia page.]
"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love what is its own. Because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I have spoken to you: No servant is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:18-20)
This is the reading for the third Station of the Cross, Jesus falls the first time, in the Barton-Cotton Stations of the Cross: A Scriptural Version. We are using this version at our church for Stations at noon today. I was still debating if "Creep" would be my Good Friday song this year until I was practicing with the students who are going to do the readings for the Stations yesterday and we got to this one. These verses from John connect so perfectly, I had a lovely "everything clicks" moment.
This song is about feeling alienated. Thom Yorke said he wrote it about a man who follows a woman around all night and never gets the courage to talk to her. Obviously, "Creep" has meant so much more to so many people or it would not have so many iterations. We have all had times when we have felt less than, put upon, oppressed, ashamed, outside. Some of us live with those feelings all the time due to gender, skin color, documentation, disability, age, acne, illness, poverty, hand-me-downs, expectations, mental illness, unpopular interests, and on and on. There does not seem to be an end to the list of things that can make us feel alienated, or the justifications people give to do the alienating.
Jesus chose to come incarnate to this world as one of God's chosen people. It is essential to understanding the story of Jesus to recognize his status as an oppressed, occupied person. While the Roman empire could sometimes be just fine for an imperialistic, militarized state, they held their power with veracity. Jesus carried not a cross but a crossbeam through the streets of Jerusalem because the pole was already there. It was always there, waiting for the next "criminal" to be sentenced to crucifixion by the governor. Pontius Pilate was particularly liberal with cruel death sentences; his reluctance to send Jesus to Golgotha had more to do with the Roman empire ordering him to stop killing so many people.
Jesus chose not only to live as a politically powerless person, but to push the buttons of every group trying to comply and trying to revolt. He didn't fall into any of those categories, the Jewish leadership trying to protect their people or the Zealots ready to stage the revolution. He was ready to condemn the methods of any organization that devalued the individual. He constantly chose to look with compassion into the faces of the lepers, widows, prostitutes, and tax collectors he met. This made him dangerous and unpredictable. Many people tried and failed to discover his angle, so they killed him. He chose to die as an alienated person. (Jesus Christ Superstar does a great job of portraying this; "We are occupied, have you forgotten how put down we are?")
It's hard to explain the concept of solidarity, but maybe it looks like this:
Or this:
The USCCB describes solidarity as: "We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers and sisters keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that if you want peace, work for justice. The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict."
Jesus was surrounded by violence and conflict, much like we are today. You need only think of today and the image above to know what he decided to do; die to rise and save us all. Are we fasting today because it is a rule? Or are we fasting in solidarity with our hungry sisters and brothers in the world? Are we solemn today because of the death of our Savior? Or do we also mourn the countless senseless deaths both on our news and the ones that never make the story? When we hear the following lines of "Creep," do we recognize that in ourselves? What does that make you do: focus on yourself or see that we all share the same pain?
But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo,
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here.
No comments:
Post a Comment