THE GOOD
I would like for you to watch this video. Listen to the lyrics and pay close attention to the little bits of strain on each band member.
What did you think? Kind of nice isn’t it? It’s a welcome message he offers. There’s some solace in this kind of song for most. I felt that when I listened, as do many.
THE BAD
The drummer, Bruce Weitz, lost his wife and son to a car accident in 2004. I don’t know the details, but apparently they were transported to a hospital and perished. The band was called “Simplfy” originally. This song was written in memory of the loss. Bruce’s son was named, Vayden Zoe Weitz, and soon after the band resumed work, they changed the band’s name to “Vayden” in memory of the little boy. They wrote this song, “Zoe’s Song” shortly afterward.
Here’s the lyrics…
Go to sleep little one don’t be scared of the dark
Remember what mommy’s taught to you from the very start
And even in the worst of times
I need you to keep this in your mind
There’s an angel in your life
There’s an angel in your room
There’s an angel by your side
Helping to see you through
Just have a little faith
It’ll all fall into place
And you’ll make it through the day..
Saturday morning the phone rings with the worst of news
I fall to my to my knees for the mountains of pain you’re going through
I make my way over to show my love, and painfully ask How’re you holding up
He said…
There’s an Angel in my life
There’s an Angel in my room
There’s an Angel by my side
Helping to see me through
And I’m lucky enough to say
That I’ve seen my angels face
I’m going to make him proud he came
There’s an Angel in my life
There’s an Angel in my room
There’s an Angel by my side
Helping to see me through
And I’m lucky enough to say
That I’ve seen my angels face
I’m going to make him proud he came
If there’s an angel in your life
If there’s an angel next to you
If there’s an angel by your side
Helping to see you through
If you’re lucky enough to know
That you can take your Angel home
If you’re lucky enough to say
That you’ve seen your angels face
Don’t let it go away
It isn’t that I’ve wrestled with the concept of angels. That really doesn’t adequately describe my thoughts. Instead, I need to inject two things into what we commonly think of and/or about this topic… First, I’m not a Theologian. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t know jack… The upshot here? At least I know I don’t know. Which is to say, I’m searching. …And seeking light is a good thing – that we can all agree upon. I might have any or all of this wrong, but I hope not to. Second, we’ve managed to build up over many years and many mediums all kinds of ideas about angels that don’t hold up in a biblical sense.
If you can find a verse where the bible makes note of your late mother turning into your own personal guardian angel, I would love to read it. What about the idea that angels are these cute pudgy little cherubs with tiny white feathered wings like cupid? In my best Dwight Schrute voice, “False.” Just about every contact with an angel in the bible is marked by what? Fear…
THE UGLY
And what are angels recorded as doing when they make themselves visible? One of the first things said is often, “Fear not…”
Daniel 10:12 (KJV)- Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
Daniel trembled in the presence of the angel Gabriel…
Luke 1:11-13 (KJV) – And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Zechariah was downright scared.
Luke 2:10 (KJV) – And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
The shepherds were absolutely terrified when the angel appeared outside Bethlehem.
Matthew 28:4 (KJV) – And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
Nobody knows if the angels even said anything to the guards when they came and rolled back the stone from Jesus’ tomb. Why? The guards were so scared, they fainted! They did tell the women who had come to prepare the body, “Fear not…”
Are you picturing some cute little chubby baby now? I found the image below on the Kampus Libertatis site depicting the archangel Michael…
THE REALITY
Daniel described the angel he saw in detail. A body like topaz, face like lightning, eyes like flaming torches, arms and legs like polished bronze, and a voice like ‘multitude’… The guards at Jesus’ tomb? “His appearance was like lightning…” Doesn’t sound like any fat cupid with a tiny bow and quiver full of love arrows does it?
For me this boils down to a bit of a duality. Do I understand that it’s pretty unlikely that my grandmother is now sitting atop my right shoulder with a pair of wings? Yes. Do I grasp that if I see an angel there probably won’t be any shame associated with wetting myself? Yes. Additionally though, the idea of angels looking over us is comforting to me, because they do. So if I import the idea that my young son, should he die, is an inspiration to embrace the idea of angels that’s good. If of course I understand what is biblical and intended from of our Lord.
Yeah… I can dig that.
When I go back to the beginning and I see a song and a group of musicians motivated to make this kind of music, I sense motivation over the death of a fine little boy, and then I think about it in those terms, and I still love the song even in it’s imperfection. It’s really beautiful. Even though it isn’t text book Gospel, the splendor of music in many cases is that as often as there is context there is also present choice – the choice to take away from the music and glean what you wish. That’s pretty rare. I approach music from a standpoint of positivity considering I enjoy it so much. What do I get in turn? …More positives. Much like the artist who asks you what you see in his abstract painting, the musician is often the same. “When you listened to my song, what did it make you feel?” That’s the good stuff… That’s the positive stuff even if we don’t immediately recognize it.
We can rightly apply the same positivity to our walk by the way. Do you? Be salt and seek light my friends…
