Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Pascha and Pop-Culture


Dear Parish Faithful,


Christ is Risen!  
Indeed He is Risen!




At the paschal Vespers on Sunday afternoon, I read aloud Bishop Paul's "Paschal Address" to the parishes of our dioceses.  In his very interesting introduction, he quoted the lyrics from a song by the group Pearl Jam, "A Better Man."  I know the name of Pearl Jam, but not their music. Others present were well aware of this song, however. 

Be that as it may, this use of a pop-culture reference by no less a distinguished figure than our diocesan hierarch served to legitimize my own such pop-culture references from time to time.  (It wasn't all such a waste of time after all!) 

Anyway, somewhat emboldened by his reference, I looked into our website archives and found this meditation from 2011, entitled "Break on Through to the Other Side." The song belongs to one of the more notorious rock groups from the past, The Doors.  Surprisingly enough, the song title lends itself remarkably well - though heavily re-interpreted in the process - to a legitimate paschal meditation on the Resurrection of Christ.

Therefore, if anyone is interested, here is the link to that meditation:

Break On Through (To The Other Side)

It is only Christ who has truly “broken through” to the “other side.” This claim can only be made based upon the fact of the bodily resurrection of Christ.