The Times They are a Changin'

 

 Acknowledgement:  The following message uses information from Wikipedia, Google, various articles and not error free) and my own memories, for what they’re worth. Additionally, I must also acknowledge that this message was written under the influence of Alka Seltzer Plus – Severe Cold Formula.

 

1964 ------------Still Grieving the assignation of President Kennedy, we witnessed the beginning of a war that was not called a war – not in 1964. 

President Johnson sig
ned the Gulf of Tonkin Act giving him all necessary actions including military force for this Vietnamese non-war in 64.

And there’s much more – including The Civil Rights Act of 1964 – changing political loyalties in the South – forevermore; or so it seemed.

King won the Peace Prize, China tested an Atomic Bomb, the Beatles invaded and brought some new songs.  Freedom Riding students from the North were slaughtered in the South, more rumblings in the streets, times were changin’, there’s no doubt.     Meanwhile, my heart was broken by my first boyfriend, I cried myself to sleep and thought the sorrow would never end.   And there was much more – in 1964 – I had a bad fall from my skateboard, and I still feel sore.     All that and much more – in 1964.

One of the happenings of 1964 was the release of an album by Bob Dylan including the title song = “The Times they are a Changin.”  He never released that song as a single in the US – but it was covered by many, many others including Peter, Paul, and Mary – and the one we heard by Burl Ives.

I thought this song would be a good sacred text for this message on MLK Sunday – our Justice Sunday.  It’s a prophetic text – for it still has much meaning for us today – maybe even more meaning today than in 1964, as we enter a time, like we’ve never faced before with so many in powerful positions who hold sway over future possibilities for us and others.  Does this prophet Dylan (previously known as Robert Zimmerman) have a message for us today. 

And why should we listen to someone like him anyway?  We couldn’t get tickets on Christmas Day – but on Boxing Day, Greg secured seats – separate but equal – in the Mall Theater in the suburbs of Chicago, so that he, his mom and me could see the movie – “A Complete Unknown.”  Of course, Dylan wasn’t unknown for long – especially after he sang this song.  Is Bob Dylan a prophet.  Well, that’s what I contend – or pretend – or portend, and I’ll extend that declaration and defend this proclamation with an exegesis of this text.  No, I did not say “EXIT Jesus!”  Jesus is always welcome here.  Exegesis is simply an examination and interpretation of text – often scripture, but not necessarily, for who is to define what is scripture?

I’ve selected three themes – a trinity if you will accept that construct in this Unitarian gathering – and will attempt to provide some explanation or expectation or revelation for those who hope to thrive or survive in 2025 --- and beyond, when hopefully MAGA (mawga)will be just a sad SAGA we share. 

The first theme of this song is the Inevitability of Change – reflected right there in the title.  As Unitarian Universalists, we lift up and revere change.  What does the T stand for in JETPIG – Transformation.  But we are thinking about positive change.  And even we don’t want everything to change. Unitarian Theodore Parker wrote a famous sermon that was somewhat controversial in his day called,“A Discourse on the Transient and Permanent in Christianity,” arguing that while the outward forms and traditions of Christianity may change over time, the core principles of love, justice and morality remain eternally true and unchanging --- and it’s these permanent aspects of our faith that matter.  A more recent UU ancestor Forest Church wrote about the American Creed outlined by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence about those truths that should be self-evident and unchanging.  This is the creed that Martin Luther King, Jr. lifted up with his dream that this country might someday "rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed." 

We encourage changes that will more fully help us live up to these core values.  But the changes we fear this year may wash those values away if we are not ready to resist in a way. to persist in a way that will work. Those of us living in southeast Georgia have a recent realistic model to guide us.  We have recently had horrible hurricanes and storms come through.  And the sides of our roads still have mounds of trees that have fallen in its path.  But the storm didn’t get them all.  The trees that could bend and swerve and have flexibility made it through.  And that’s what we are going to have to do folks in the coming years.  We need to hold on as best we can to our values yet – find ways to bend and swerve, give and take, go over and under the waves of misinformation and misguided maneuvers till this storm has passed.  And we will do this with help from each other.

The second theme of Dylan’s song is Inclusivity – with Justice and Equity for all.  “Come gather round people wherever you roam and admit that the waters around you have grown.”We are not in a small pond of similar tadpoles anymore.  This is a teaming ocean with all kinds of creatures great and small.  “And you’d better start swimming or sink like a stone – for the times, they are a changin.”  This ain’t no private pool we are in folks.  We have to swim with others and help one another and love one another.  Dylan calls out to “Writers and Prophets who prophesize with their pens” as well as to politicians – great and small, all are called to hear his message.  It’s for everyone.

I’ve heard lots of folks talk about moving and trying to find somewhere that folks were more like us.  It can be hard to live here.  But there are enough of us, and of course, we have neighbors who have a very different view of this world.  Yet - We still have commonalities we can work on together. We just have to find each other and encourage one another. 

AND, and, and -  we have to find ways to be more interactive and work together with family members and neighbors who may not share all our values.  We need to seek them out and be willing to focus on the values we share as we move forward.  You know, we already reach across theological and political divides to feed the hungry.  And more recently, we are reaching out and working closely with our Catholic friends (Hail Mary)– who differ with us on many things but who are as concerned as we are about our immigrant families. 

The third theme – and maybe one that’s especially evident for me at this time in my life is that there is a generational shift that we have to accept and appreciate. 

Come mothers and fathers -
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

Wow.  That’s hard for some of us who have been doing this work for so long. But we need to listen to that prophetic voice.  I’m trying to do just that.  I’m doing a “step down” retirement – first after 19 years as your minister – retiring from the Statesboro church in June of this year and plan to retire from the Brunswick church in June of 2027 (giving them a couple more years since I’m in my 11^th year with them).

We’ve got a lot of wise elders in our UU congregations – but some of us have realized that other folks may find different ways of doing things  - and that’s okay.  All of us need to learn to listen, and to know when to step forward and when it’s time to step back a little.  Now don’t get me wrong, we still greatly need all of our senior volunteers.  You are the ones with great knowledge and some time. But we sure do need to encourage and listen to younger folks and different folks as well. We will have to do that to overcome the difficulties that are ahead. 

Because – The Times they are a Changin’!  You see, me and Joe B. – we heard that melody – And are stepping back.  But that old DJ – scratched on through – shame on you. 

You may have noticed that the title of this message has two parts – the first was the title of this song, “The Times they are a changin’”and the second part was a question –Shall We Overcome? –an obvious reference to  “We shall overcome” that became a theme song for the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s and 70’s.  And my response – of course – must be,  Yes we shall.  We MUST  Overcome.

The civil rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome", was adapted from a gospel song, by Highlander music director Zilphia Horton and Highlander musician Pete Seeger from the singing of striking tobacco factory workers from the 1945–1946 Charleston Cigar Factory strike. Shortly afterward, it was published by folk singer Pete Seeger in the People's Songs bulletin. And Pete himself taught it to many in both the labor movement and the Civil Rights Movement in the 50’s.  Highlander Guy Carawan taught the song to the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee – SNCC at their first convening at Shaw University – and the rest is history.  I thought since Pete Seeger had a primary role – not only in teaching and publishing this song – but also in promoting Bob Dylan and his music since he and Woody Guthrie heard his first songs – I thought we should bring in his voice to lead us in the call and response method that he used when he sang it at many of his concerts.  Now Pete was one of us – a Unitarian Universalist – and I actually heard him lead this song at a General Assembly many years ago.  You don’t need any words.  You just listen to Pete, and he’ll guide you along while we sing. I suggest that we stand to sing this song as we close this message – and since some of us have been sick, we won’t hold hands – but maybe we can lock arms and sway together.  Will you stand, lock arms with your neighbors, and join Pete and me and sing this sacred melody.

(Congregation sings)

May it be so.

 

 

 

 

Bohemian Rhapsody: An Exploration of Relationships, Life, and Death

Bohemian Rhapsody was written by Queen’s lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury.  It’s a strange yet wonderful song that is mysterious in its meaning.  When Freddie was asked to explain the meaning – he simply responded that it was about relationships, with a bunch of nonsense in the middle of it.  He also shared that it was originally being created as three separate songs –but he couldn’t really find a way to move forward on any of them and decided to put them all together.  And as you listen, you can sort of hear where one ends and another begins, yet they are all tied together marvelously.  In fact, it’s really his masterpiece, though he wrote a lot of other good music.

 

In trying to draw meaning from this music, I felt I first had to have a better understanding of the man, Freddie Mercury.  So, I read what I could and watched documentaries and the movie entitled Bohemian Rhapsody.  I know a whole lot now – and I thought I should begin by sharing a short summary of the life of this poet, musician, flamboyant performer, the great pretender – Freddie Mercury.

Freddie was born in 1946 in Zanzibar (off the coast of African) to Parsi-Indian parents.  They had fled there from India where the Parsi – Zoroastrians were persecuted.  Freddie, whose birth name was Farrokh Bulsara, attended English boarding schools in India from the age of eight. It was here that his friends nicknamed him Freddie and he adopted that name. At the age of 12, he formed a school rock-and-roll band. He returned to Zanzibar for secondary school. 

In 1964, his family fled the Zanzibar Revolution, moving to Middlesex, England.  Freddie studied art in college but continued an interest in music and singing.  He held several different kinds of jobs and played in some bands before presenting himself as an alternate for lead singer in the band called – The Smile – after their original lead singer left.  They changed their name to Queen at Freddie’s suggestion – and he legally changed his to Freddie Mercury.

Whether Mercury was for the element that goes up and down in the thermometer, the smallest planet, or the god – I’ll let you decide.

And the rest is the musical history that many of us know and love. Freddie fell in love with Mary Austin, but she knew before he did that he was not a straight man.  They remained very close all his life.  He had many lovers before settling down with Jim Hutton about 1985. He referred to Jim as his husband and they wore wedding bands.  On November 24, 1991, Mercury died of pneumonia resulting from AIDS at the age of 45.

Now - When you listen to Bohemian Rhapsody, you feel the message.  You may not be able to articulate it, but if you are like me, you feel the connection.  Many – including his lover Jim Hutton – believed it was a message of his coming out – before he felt he could really come out.  Listen again to these lyrics:

Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow

Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters

Many say that the man he was killing was his old self – not his authentic self.  And he’s crying out for and with his Mama.  Because his Mama would surely be disappointed.  Mercury’s family was a very tradition Zoroastrian family – and the life he wished to live authentically did not match their hopes and dreams for him.

 I do not know if that is the message that Mercury wanted to share.  But it’s a message that I deeply identify with – and I know some of you do as well. Like Freddie Mercury, I LOVE my Mama.  But I cannot be the person that she would have wanted me to be.  I think I embarrass her.  I’ve lost her trust, and maybe – I’m not sure – her love. But, like many of you, I have to be me. Much of this song is a struggle between staying and going.  He wants to go – but feels pulled to stay. Many of us can identify with that emotion.

The second part of the song is the part that he said was “a bunch of nonsense in the middle.”  I imagine he chose the words carefully, though.  Why has he chosen to lift up the words Scaramouch, Galileo and Bismillah? Is it nonsense?  I can feel something powerful in these words as well. Scaramouch is a term used in Italian opera – and Mercury was a great fan of the opera. This character was basically a cowardly buffoon. Is that how Mercury saw himself for not being able to be honest and truthful.  Of course, Galileo tried to tell the truth using science and a refracting telescope to determine what the universe was like, but the truth he advocated for did not match the teachings of the Catholic Church, so he was imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition for life.  What would be the results of Mercury sharing his truth?  And finally, the repeated phrase, “Bismillah” – which is Arabic for “in the name of God.” Is this song also a Psalm or a prayer? 

The third act of the operetta or song seems to come back to a refrain offered early in the song – “It doesn’t matter,” and “Anyway the wind blows.”  Sadly, this is often how our own struggles conclude –with us realizing that we are not in control – and must just follow the wind.  I know that many of us have felt this in recent years with the pandemic and with the storms we’ve suffered through –both weather events as well as personal life storms.  It can be a useful coping mechanism.

I remember an old Bill Murray Comedy called Meatballs. His boys camp team consistently loses to another camp – whose mascot is The Mohawk.  The Mohawk team members have wonderful uniforms and lots of money and talent. And Bill’s campers are about to play again and are discouraged.  It’s up to him as counselor and coach to give them some motivation –

 or at least make them feel better.  So, he shares this speech with the team. 

 

Sure, Mohawk has beaten us twelve years in a row. Sure, they're terrific athletes. They've got the best equipment that money can buy. Hell, every team they're sending over here has their own personal masseuse, not masseur, masseuse. But it doesn't matter. Do you know that every Mohawk competitor has an electrocardiogram, blood and urine tests every 48 hours to see if there's any change in his physical condition? Do you know that they use the most sophisticated training methods from the Soviet Union, East and West Germany, and the newest Olympic power Trinidad and Tobago? But it doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER. I tell you; IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER! IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER! IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER!

And the team – (that’s you folks) join in – “It just doesn’t matter, it just doesn’t matter, it just doesn’t matter.” 

During my 40’s, I would recall that movie and that refrain when I felt my life was out of control – which was often. I had teenage sons and a husband who was continuously cheating on me and lying about it while hypocritically shaming our sons for not being perfect and constantly arguing with me for not agreeing with him on things like interracial and same-gender relationships.  Sorry – Fred-Ex, but I need to make a point here.  And because I was committed to the marriage and I loved him, I felt there was nothing I could do.  So, I used the Bill Murray method – and would march around the kitchen late at night while he was out with his lovers chanting, “It just doesn’t matter, It just doesn’t matter, It just doesn’t matter.” 

But Beloveds – it DID matter.  I do so regret that I did not end my marriage 10 years earlier.  It would have made a difference in my life and that of my sons.  I’m so sorry that I was blind to the power that I had to make that difference in all of our lives.  In fact, Fred-Ex would have been better off as well. 

We can’t change the past though.  What we can do is realize that – though there is much in life that we have no control over, we can make a difference.  Quantum Physics reveals that everything we do does make a difference.  It does matter - very much.

Freddie Mercury finally began to take some control of his life in the mid-80’s when he left his frenzied life in Munich and came back to England – rejoining Queen – and performing with excellence at Live Aid in Wimberly stadium. They stole the show. 

In the next few years, he did live more lovingly and authentically –perhaps because he knew that time was running out.  Now Freddie had a fatal diagnosis that made that really evident to him, but folks, time is running out for all of us.  And we need to not only live authentically – but try to make a positive difference in this world while we are in it. 

Those of us living in Georgia have a special responsibility to do that right now.  Our Vote MATTERS – every one of them.  And getting others who perhaps don’t usually vote – out and voting matters as well.  I don’t have to tell this congregation how important this election is. 

And this congregation matters – so this stewardship campaign – is an especially important one.  Do we want to be here for folks in the future in this community who need us?  Do we want to continue to have some form of professional ministry when I’m no longer here for the congregation and community?   For that to happen, we must be more supportive.   

YES!  Your votes matter!  Your support for this congregation matters!  Our children and grandchildren matter.  Their future matters.  You MATTER – every single one of you!

Folks - The wind does blow – but we don’t have to go “anywhere the wind blows” as the song says. We need to lift our sails and set our rudders to navigate toward a better world for all of us.  As Michelle Obama said –let’s “Do Something.”

May it be so!!