Parenthood: Week 47 – Easter Sermon For New Parents

Can you imagine rushing to a hospital when your wife is in labor and being turned away because they do not have space? Can you imagine fleeing right after your baby is born because the government has decided to start massacring innocent babies in an effort to kill your child? Can you imagine your son being executed in one of the cruelest ways in human history?

Joseph and Mary endured unimaginable challenges to bring Jesus into this world and then Mary had to suffer the incredible pain of watching her son be crucified (which I discussed in this previous “Easter Sermon For Non-Christians).”

Out of all this pain and suffering, Jesus’ message of love and understand changed the world. But what does this story mean to us as parents?

As parents we hope. We hope that our kids will be happy and healthy. We hope that they surpass our expectations is ways we can’t imagine and we hope that they find peace in this world, in their live and beyond.

We do everything in our power to make sure our kid’s lives our perfect but we fail at this over and over. Sometimes natural childbirth isn’t an option. Sometimes accidents happen and kids get injured and sometimes the best we got, the well of patience we draw from just isn’t deep enough.

The story of Jesus’ birth reminds us parents is that great things can come from imperfection. Sometimes things not going as planned end up being okay. Maybe not going with the birth plan, in the same way that I’m sure Mary didn’t plan to give birth in a manger, doesn’t hinder kids reaching their full potential.

The story of Jesus’ death teaches parents that there is no greater pain than seeing your child suffer, but that even in this pain, there is hope. The tears of a baby after a vaccination shot, the sounds of anguish of a daughter going through childbirth, and in death, even the passing of a child, there is hope.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a promise to parents that if we make it through the trials of childbirth and if we are strong enough to hold the hands of our children as they cry, we will give them hope. While we will never forget the tears we will be comforted knowing that through sharing in the suffering of our children, we have brought peace into this world for not only our children but for ourselves.

Christmas Sermon from the Non-Christian

I did not grow up in a Christian household and while I celebrate Christmas with my wife’s family, I don’t embrace Christianity as the center of my spiritual life.
So what does Christmas mean to me?

That’s a difficult question, and not only for us “non-Christians.” Partially, it’s because more than any other religious holiday, Christmas has become an integral part of American culture. People continue to mourn the commercialization of this holiday. Charlie Brown had issues with this in 1965, yet we seem as a culture to not really care to make movements away from the shopping and gift giving.

It’s because there’s nothing really “wrong” or “bad” about giving people gifts. Yes, it can steal our attention from more important things in life but at the same time thoughtful gift giving can really help us focus on the people that we love.

Commercialism can get annoying, but let’s move past that and consider the central story of Christmas:

The Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Let’s strip down this story for a second and take away the spiritual part of the story.

Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Christmas is a celebration of a birth. Yes, there is the layer of Parthenogenesis and what Jesus grew up to become but without those things, it is still a miraculous story.

Two Easters ago, I wrote this “Easter Sermon For the Non-Christian,” focusing on how we relate to Mary’s suffering more than Jesus’ on the cross and how there’s a powerful connection in the story of Easter to our own lives. The connection we have to Christmas is the central experience of the miracle of life.

Childbirth seems so common and unremarkable sometimes. About 350,000 babies are born every day worldwide. So what’s the big deal? People get pregnant and they have babies?  Well, it's not that simple.  

There’s a woman who tried to have a baby for ten years with her husband. They went through numerous fertility treatments, which not only cost a lot of money but also had physical and emotional tolls. They finally met their baby after the wife’s sister carried the baby to full term and delivered their baby.

Even with our modern medical technology people continue to struggle to have babies and woman continue to face childbirth with levels of risks. After talking to my brother about his wife giving birth to my niece, I realized there is nothing commonplace or insignificant about the birth of a child.

One of the things that we think about on Christmas is the impact Jesus Christ had on other people’s lives. Something I see every time I talk to a parent is how much their children change their own lives. President Obama related that the most difficult moment in his life was when his daughter Sasha was in the hospital for meningitis:

"I still shudder when I think of those three days; how my world narrowed to a single point, and how I was not interested in anything or anybody outside the four walls of that hospital room -- not my work, not my schedule, not my future."

In celebrating the birth of Jesus, we are celebrating one of the most significant human experiences. We’re taking a moment to think about this event, the birth of child and honor it not simply as a point of religious salvation, but as the center of our shared humanity.

Easter Sermon For the Non-Christian

Growing up in a non-Christian household, Easter was a little bit more baffling than Christmas. American culture has not as effectively defined Easter as an American cultural holiday with an identity outside of its religious context as it has for Christmas.

While there is the bunny, and the Easter Egg hunt, the baskets and Cadbury Eggs (which rock) you don’t really find as many non-Christian’s celebrating Easter as non-Christians who celebrate Christmas.  Easter is a religious holiday and remains closely tied the traditions of the holiest week in the Christian faith.

I’m a solid Chris-easter. My wife is Catholic and I’m happy to go to these important services in the year with her. Often I will attend other services throughout the year especially if my wife is participating as a cantor and singing for the service.

So what do I get out of going to church?

Well, the rituals, the stand up, sit down, kneel, responsorial chants and sitting their awkwardly in the pews when the entire congregation goes up to get communion is frankly, pretty meaningless to me. However in the readings and the homily there’s some potential for me to get something out of the experience.

For me the Bible is literature. I respect that it is a document of faith for many people but it’s not that for me. So when I hear the readings and listen the interpretation of how this book can apply to my life, it’s rather fascinating. Because while it may seem derogatory to think of The Bible as a non-secular sense as piece of literature, to me it's not because I view it as one it’s one finest of literature I've ever read.

Think about it, y’know how revolutionary Kurasawa’s Rashoman was because it showed the same story from multiple perspectives? The New Testament has four Gospels telling of Jesus from different perspectives. Each has different nuances and emotion but work together to tell of one of the most compelling lives in human culture.  How many books have your read that do that?

This whole last week led up to the central event of Christian faith, Jesus being crucified and resurrected. There are so many compelling layers to this story. The way that the same people that called to crucified Jesus embraced him week earlier, the betrayal of Judas, the way that Jesus accepted his fate, and the symbolic and literal meaning of Jesus’ resurrection. But the most powerful and relatable part of this story is the fourth station of the cross after Jesus’ falls for the second time carrying the cross and meets his mother.



Yes, this story is about the son of God but it’s also about the son of Mary. Within the suffering of Mary, I find an almost primitive response. Few of us can every truly relate to what Jesus went through but most of us have seen the tears of mothers forced to watch their children suffer.  Few mothers in literature bore that as much as Mary. If we believe that Jesus died for our sins, it cannot be overlooked that Mary mourned for our sins.

We are all connected. Everything we do has an effect on the people around us. When Jesus died the people who loved him went incredible trauma and pain. And when he was resurrected, the glory they felt was indescribable. I don’t know if Jesus’ actions, the suffering he went through had an effect on humanity but I know that had an effect on his mother.

I love my mom but I don’t think we should live life thinking about how every thing we do effects our mothers. However if we can use that lens in which we view our mothers, and translate that into love of all of people on this earth we will realize the power we have to influence the people in our lives

If we think of every person we effect in our life as the way that Jesus’ life effected Mary, the world would be a very different place.

My Problem WIth "Family Values"

"It has nothing to do with politics, it has everything to do with God, turning our face back to the values and principals that made us great.”
-Glenn Beck at the Restoring Honor rally (8/28/10)

During Glenn Beck’s speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, he reinforced an argument that has been in the political field since the time of Nixon. It’s the idea returning to core Christians values, “family values” as a way to improve our country.

Here's the thing: My parents aren’t Christian and they didn’t raise my brother with an affiliation to any organized religion. However, all of us are good citizens. We pay our taxes, work hard at our jobs, don’t disturb the peace (except for maybe a parking ticket) and we’ve all done the best we can to take care of the people we love and improve the world around us. We did this all without "Christian" values.

You may argue that my family does exhibit Christian values even though we are not Christian, but that’s implying that only in Christianity do you find the values of hard working, love and family. These wonderful ideas are found in almost every book of faith from religions around the world including the Koran, Torah and the teachings of Buddha.

Christian values directly contributed to some of the greatest things in our country including the public schools system and music education. However, these same "values" also were distorted to lead to institutional racism and the ethnic cleansing of the Native Americans (If you think the term "ethnic cleansing" is too rough a term, read up on the Trail Of Tears).

I understand that it seems like there’s a lot people acting wickedly in society. People regularly cheat and steal from each other. Some people are motivated more by money than by good deeds while many of us ignore the plight of others who are most in need of our compassion. If doesn’t take a lot of effort to find examples of people who act sinfully.

Maybe an injection of “values” into all of us will remind us what it means to take care of each other and be a community. However it’s not a return to a Christian God that will get us there. It’s in acknowledging and embracing the best values that we share, religious or not that we can improve our communities.

The main reason I feel so strongly about embracing religious plurality is because it’s been such a positive aspect of my marriage. My wife is Catholic and I’m Buddhist. I’ve watched her cantor in her Catholic Church and she’s done Buddhist chants with me at my grandfather’s funeral. We had a beautiful interfaith wedding ceremony and while I would never claim that we have the greatest marriage ever, I’m proud of our relationship.

One of the reasons we make such great partners is because we share so many values. My parents and my in-laws are similar in the best ways and the instilled in us life-affirming ideas and a perspective in life that Diana and I share across religions.

By preaching a return to a Christian ideas and values it divides us alienating non-Christians.  Instead let's unite under the values we all share.  This requires us to have some tough discussion, to be more accepting and to put aside our instinctual to fear of what is different.  But if we can do this it will bring us together which is the only way that we can make a better America for generations to come.

Let It Be by The Beatles

“It will be all right, just let it be.”

These words told to Paul McCartney from his late mother in a dream inspired “Let It Be,” the title track from The Beatles final studio album.



In the ten short years that The Beatles were together they recorded songs that included every single pop genre of the time and predicted many to come in the future. From songs from musicals:



to hard rock:



The Beatles did it all. So it should come as no surprise that they would eventually do a gospel song. The Beatles had a lot to say about life but most of the time it was centered on around idealized teenage love. As the ban, matured deeper subjects broached like in “Hey Jude,” which was originally written in an attempt to reconcile Julian, John Lennon’s son when John and his first wife were getting a divorce.



“Let It Be” examines the way we live, the way we react and who we are. With a deliberate tempo and a simple but carefully crafted melody, McCartney sings a song of calm. He asks us not to ignore our problems but to take a moment and reflect. Sometimes we are so quick to want to fix something, to help the people around us sometimes we miss the truth, the reality that some problems don’t need to be fixed, sometimes our friends need to help themselves. Sometimes we need to let go..

Maybe this was a message from Paul to all the Beatles fans who would soon be dealing with the breakup of the most influential group in popular music or maybe this was a simple contemplation that helped McCartney deal with the inner turmoil in his own life.

Regardless “Let It Be” stands as a reminder sometimes the hardest thing to do in life is absolutely nothing. Often in life the most difficult situations that we face are completely out of our control. Whether it’s losing a job, breaking up with a boyfriend or dealing with the loss of a loved one there is some part of these situations, which are beyond our control.

While our head tells us that these changes are “for the best,” our heart yearns to change the situation, to take some action, to do something about it. And if we truly believe that things happen for a reason then all we need to do is to let it be.

Easter Sermon from the Non-Christian

Okay, Jesus died on the cross. He rose from the dead a couple days later. He hung around for a little bit and went to heaven. Because of all of this we have Cadbury Eggs. Glory Hallelujah!!

As a dedicated Christeaster, I make sure to make it to my wife’s families’ Catholic Church twice a year, sometimes more (especially if my wife is being a Cantor). This year as I stood in the back of a crowded church, I started to wonder why there was only one woman in the entire congregation wearing an Easter bonnet and if there really was anything me as a non-Christian could get out of this holy day.

I didn’t really come up with much.

Then today at work one of my co-workers was telling me how she went to a funeral and watched a mother bury her son who died of cancer. The death had not been quick but rather long and painful. This was one of the instances were mercy came in death, not life.

The mother was inconsolable. As the people went outside into the cold and the wind she turned away from the casket. On this day when she buried her son, it was simply too much for her to watch her child be placed into the earth. This made me think.

The life of Christ is a story to me. I don’t believe that everything in the Bible is factually true. I agree that Jesus Christ is a real historic figure but as to his miracles and the circumstances of his death, resurrection and ascension . . . eh . . . I don’t personally believe that stuff. Regardless of your belief in Christ, the story of his life is amazing and is one of the most revealing and important reflections in our culture of the human condition.

Look death is scary. It is the ultimate unknown and the resurrection of Christ provides answers about the afterlife, proof that there is something beyond. It’s a story that I would love to believe. How wonderful would it be to known that if we do good we will get a reward, that there is some universal logic that balances our actions and our consequences?

One thing that I took exception to at the sermon I heard on Sunday was the idea that non-Christians are constantly looking for answers about the afterlife. I mean, I do wonder about it, but most of the time I just focus on being the best me that I can be when I am alive.

No one should have to bury his or her child. It’s a horrible, unimaginable prospect. Maybe there is comfort in the story of Easter that can help us get through these tough times, maybe not.

When my co-worker told me about the funeral something hit me deep down inside. Maybe it has to do with my age, or maybe it’s something deeper. Or maybe there is something in our own humanity that we all share.

Easter is one answer, one way to deal with the inevitable in our lives to make sense of it all. For those who believe the story, it’s the reality of humanity and for the rest of us it’s a reminder of the fears that tears us apart and the hope that binds us together.

Hallelujah by Justin Timberlake/Leonard Cohen/Jeff Buckley/Rufus Wainwright

On January 22nd, the entertainment world came together to raise money for Haiti. Movie stars made pleas for donations and answered phones while pop musicians supplied the music.

Some artists like Madonna performed songs from their past.



Other artists like Jay-Z and Bono composed music specifically for this event.



Some artists like Justin Timberlake covered songs by other artists and it was Timberlake’s performance of “Hallelujah” which is the top selling single from the Hope For Haiti Now album on itunes and is currently the top selling single as well.



“Hallelujah” originally composed and performed Leonard Cohen in 1984 is unique song in popular music. It’s never been a number one hit but it’s a widely covered and loved song that has inspired generations of musicians and songwriters. Known for spending inordinate amount of time writing his songs, Cohen is an artists’ artist, a true craftsmen of music who has written some of the most memorable music of our time. If your life hasn’t been influenced by his music, I guarantee you that an artist that you love has been.



I can’t begin to explicate the lyrics of this song. The allusions in this song are as thick and interwoven as a T.S. Elliot poem. Images personal, historical, religious are spoken through words that are angry, regretful, bitter, depressed and joyful all at the same time.

The fact that I can’t really effectively articulate what this song is about in words is credit to the power of this song. Music can express different levels of emotion all at the same time. This song is a beautiful tragedy, it's a mournful celebrations, and “it’s a cold and broken hallelujah.”

“Hallelujah” has become a tradition, a test, a way for artist to really show if they have “it.” Because of the ambiguity in the lyrics and the colors of emotions that Cohen painted, artists can bring forward different shades through their interpretations. This is something that few artist have effectively done and Jeff Buckley’s interpretations is one of the most successful.



Stripped down and bare, Buckley’s recording features his light tenor that contrasts Cohen’s powerful baritone. Where Cohen sounds like an old man looking back on life, Buckley’s version is a young man making a revelation about the nature of the rest of his life.

Probably the most famous cover of this song is by Rufus Wainwright who’s cover was featured on the soundtrack of Shrek.



Wainwright’s faster and almost detached interpretation adds a sense of wonder to the darkness of this song. when Wainwright sings it almost seems like he’s being uncaring but it’s not so much that as viewing from a distance what it means to be human.

Knowing all of the performances that came before and the responsibility to treat “Hallelujah” with reverence, Justin Timberlake took an enormous chance. If he failed, if his interpretation faltered, and was disingenuous at all it would have come across flat and uninspiring. Instead, Timberlake proved that they were true artists performing “Hallelujah” with great care and artistry.

Is “Hallelujah” the most appropriate song to reflect on all the lives that have been lost and the unthinkable living situations of the survivors? Yes.

When we listen to great music, we associate emotions in the art to experiences in our lives. We relive these moments and reflect on what they mean in our lives. “Hallelujah” somehow encapsulates what it means to struggle, to need, and to celebrate to be alive. It forces us to consider what we value, what we need and what we believe in.

Hallelujah.

Merry Xmas . . . sorry , I mean Happy Holidays . . I mean . . . SIGH . . . nevermind

For the past couple week when people have been exchanging holiday greetings, I’ve heard a mixture of “Merry Christmas” and “ Happy Holidays.” I work at a public school that teaches grades 3-5, so I’ve been conscientious to say “Happy Holidays” to student knowing full well that many of my student do not celebrate Christmas.

The weird thing is , that even thought I’m not Christian, my instinct is to say “Merry Christmas” and I’ve been noticing that I have to catch myself almost saying that instead of “Happy Holidays.” It makes perfect sense to say happy holidays as, it does encompass events like Chanukah, but the word “holiday” means “holy day” so if you’re not celebrating anything at all, it implies that you should be celebrating some kind of religious event in the month of September which seems just as offensive.

Some argue the Political Correctness has gone to far. I don’t necessarily think so. A lot of it is correcting terms that are just plain wrong. “Native Americans,” makes a lot more sense than “Indian” seeing how the only reason that Columbus named them Indians is because he actually thought he was in India. Then there’s oriental term for Asians which means from the east, which doesn’t make sense for half of America in which Asia is actually west of America. However I do agree there are time that political correctness can be a little silly.

Brad Paisely examines this issue and the overboard ridiculousness of political correctness in “Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday.” In his albums, Paisley features older country stars in comedic “Kung Pao” skits, including such legendary country musicians as Bill Anderson, George Jones and Little Jimmy Dickens and in his Christmas album, this group of musicians went off on political correctness.



While I agree it’s probably good practice to say “Happy Holidays” the idea of changing the word “Christmas” to “Holiday” in Christmas songs is ridiculous. In this song Paisley and his friend try this out and find the results idiotic. Other changes have to be made, “white Christmas,” becomes “Caucasian holiday” and they worry that “Silent Night,” will offend people who are deaf and others who are afraid of the dark. Paisley and his friend gently poke fun at the “Christmas” or “Holiday” issue and help us reflect on the ridiculousness that often ensues in trying to ensure that we are sensitive and that no one is being offended.

Now I love Christmas music. I’m not Christian, and it doesn’t really offend me to hear or sing songs about the birth of Christ. I do get tired of this stuff after a while, but the bottom line is many Christmas songs like “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” have so little to do with the religious meaning of Christmas that it seems harmless for people of any belief to sing.

American was founded by Christians, is mostly populated by Christians, which will probably be the case for some time. Part of being a minority is learning to accept things that the majority are into. Should people who are Christian be sensitive to the fact that there are people who do not share their beliefs, of course so, but there’s also a line between being sensitive and just being stupid.

I’m an Asian American and I’ve only really been offended by an Asian portrayal once in my memory. It was those cats in Lady And A Tramp. So wrong.



My theory is that most people don’t get offended as much as people think. A lot of political correctness come from offended for someone else’s sake. This makes groups feel like they should be offended about something that really doesn’t make them upset. So before you get offended for a friend, check in with them to see if they really care, you may be surprised.

So I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas has a merry one, if you got some other Holiday going on, I hope that goes well too. And have a happy new year! (at least I can say that without worrying about offended anyone. . . oh Lord, I forgot, the Chinese don’t celebrate their New Year until Febuary. . . argh!).

Northwestern University Hymn (Alma Mater)

As Homecoming weekend at Northwestern University approaches, memories of my time on campus have been rushing back. There was that time we decided that we should move a couch into our fraternity bathroom, the lecture in my music history class that made me fall in love with opera and the time in the cafeteria when we decided to use a chocolate doughnut to make a breakfast sandwich resulting in the "Bacon McDoughnut."

Then there's the music. The fight song, “Go U, Northwestern” which I analyzed in this earlier post and of course the “Northwestern University Hymn” more commonly reffered to as the "Alma Mater." I love "Go U, Northwestern." I've performed that song more than any other song in my life, but there's something different about the "Northwestern University Hymn," something more profound.

As a member of the Northwestern University Marching Band (NUMB), I had the honor of performing this song for the university community however it was the times after games when NUMB would sing this song a cappella in a circle, arms around that this song represented what it meant to be at Northwestern.


It was a feeling of being at home, having a family, and being connected to something bigger than me. Often when we would sing the “Alma Mater” people in NUMB would be crying. I can’t explain why it meant so much, but it did. Every time I hear this melody it brings me back to this feeling and every time I think of Northwestern, the "Alma Mater" is echoing in the background.

The first version of Northwestern’s hymn was arranged by the first dean of the school of music Peter Christian Lutkin in 1907. J. Scott Clark, an English professor, arranged the lyrics in Latin which were based on the University’s motto from Philippians 4:8.

Whatsoever things are true,
Whatsoever things are honest,
Whatsoever things are just,
Whatsoever things are pure,
Whatsoever things are lovely,
Whatsoever things are of good report,
If there be any virtue and if there be any praise,
Think on these things

This motto is used to this day in university ceremonies and the first line in Latin "Quacumque Sunt Vera,” adorns the university seal. The music that Lutkin chose for these lyrics was “St. Anthony’s Chorale” which is attributed to Frank Joseph Haydn. This tune was relatively obscures until Brahms arranged a set of variation on this melody.



There is debate whether Haydn actually wrote this melody, however it is indisputable that Brahms arrangement cemented this melody as one of the most recognizable melodies in classical music.

The “University Chant,” as Lutkin titled it, was performed by university choirs and the students body. The combination of the Latin, which was part of every student’s academic studies at the time and this beautiful classical tune embodied the academic standards and values of the university.

Peter Christian Lutkin & his original arrangement of the "University Chant."

As Northwestern University changed, so did the student body and by the 1950s the respect and enthusiasm for the “University Chant” diminished and it fell into obscurity. In 1954, in an effort to revive the song, Thomas Tyra, a School of Music Alumni wrote English lyrics. He moved away from the university motto and instead wrote English lyrics expressing devotion to Northwestern.

Hail to Alma Mater
We will sing thy praise forever
All thy sons and daughters
Pledge thee victory and honor
Alma Mater Praise be thine
May thy name forever shine
Hail to purple
Hail to white
Hail to thee Northwestern

While many argued that the English lyrics would take away from the song's original meaning, these new less esoteric lyrics connected with the student body. Four years later, John Paynter, Northwestern's legendary band director, arranged the “University Chant” for band. Along with the English lyrics, the "chant" was retitled “University Hymn.”

Paynter’s arrangement starts off like most hymns with the last four measures of the melody used as an introduction. The band plays through the first two phrase in a straight-forward but artfully arranged four-part harmony. Like many devotion hymns, the arrangement is simple to focus not on performers but the university.

In a stunning musical development, the whole band instead of accompanying the audience sings the last half of the melody. Starting in unison, as one voice, the harmony slowly unfolds into four parts representing the singularity of values at Northwestern that expands into countless possibilities.

Paynter provides a moment of reflection for the audience as the band repeats the last half of the melody, starting with a single trumpet, which is joined by a euphonium. The rest of the band enters softly, rising to a climax, glorious but reverent and majestic while humble.

One of my greatest honors was to be the conductor of the “Alma Mater” as the music director of Phi Mu Alpha. Our fraternity hosted parties and at midnight we would gather in the living room of our house to sing fraternity songs. We would end every performance with the “Alma Mater.” Everyone in the audience would join in a circle and we would sing about how much we loved our university.



Standing in the center surrounded by friends, molding the music with my hands is one of the most magical feelings in my life. Singing this song in NUMB was different, we were in uniform, part of the ritual of the football game. However, in my fraternity house we were in the middle of a party. People would stop whatever games they were playing, put down whatever they were drinking and join us to share a moment together.

For my friends, pride in Northwestern wasn’t just about winning football games, it was something different and real. It wasn’t dorky, or forced, it was simply how we felt.

Hail to thee Northwestern
May thy name forever shine

Welcome home.

Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of by U2

Love is painful.
Love is impatient.
Love is frustrating.

Sometimes love requires us to be insistent, forceful and painfully honest. When we care about people, sometimes love can’t afford to be patient. In Bono’s case, his love may came too late. In reaction to the suicide of his friend, Michael Hutchence, Bono, wrote “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” describing the fight that he was never able to have with his friend.

"It's a row between mates. You're kinda trying to wake them up out of an idea. In my case it's a row I didn't have while he was alive. I feel the biggest respect I could pay to him was not to write some stupid soppy fucking song, so I wrote a really tough, nasty little number, slapping him around the head. And I'm sorry, but that's how it came out of me."

Bono may had felt that “Stuck in a Moment. . .” may have come out as “tough” but to this song sounds like pure love.

When U2 released, All That You Can’t Leave Behind in 2000, most people including myself weren’t really thinking about U2. I had a copy of The Joshua Tree and their greatest hits album and I figured I was set.

U2’s albums in the 1990s didn’t reach the heights of their masterpieces Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree considered by critics and fans of two of the best albums recorded in popular music history. Though exploratory with a number of stand out songs, the albums of the 1990s did not resonate in popular culture like their previous albums which was reflected in their album sales.

When “Elevation” the first single from All That You Can’t Leave behind was released it was a refreshing reminder of not only how glorious pop music could be but how awesome it should be. In the midst of a resurgence in boy band-style pop music, the return of U2 reminded the world why many in the 1980s considered them the greatest rock band of all time.



As awesome as “Elevation” was, it didn’t convince me to dive into U2’s new album, and neither did the album reviews which called this album a masterpiece. What did it for me was hearing the last minute of “Stuck in a Moment. . .” on the radio.

What first caught my attention was The Edge’s light falsetto, soaring above the landscape of sound that was instantly recognizable as U2, but with a modern freshness. As The Edge lists of bad things that may happen, Bono’s masterful improvisatory vocal lines call out like preacher to a church, accenting the lines that The Edge was singing. At the end of the song, Bono, responds to these worries simply stating that they will all pass. Never in my life has a simple statement felt so powerful. After hearing the end of "Stuck in a Moment. . ." I felt like I needed to experience this whole song. There was something important in this song, I didn't know what, but I knew, I couldn't live without it.

Musically “Stuck in a Moment. . .” is the one of the best examples of U2's artistry and musical technique. Through this song, U2 saying to the pop music world: “I see all of you are really interested in ‘pop’ music right now, well let me show you how it’s done. We’re not going to play with the form at all, like we did in 'With Or Without You.’ The Edge is going to simplify his guitar sounds and play licks any of you could reproduce. We’re not going to do anything funny with our chord progressions. We don’t need any of that to prove that we are one of the greatest rock bands of all time.”

While many of the musical factors above are conventional, what is not is the lyrics and emotional complexity in this song. Sometimes the words are boastful, “I’m not afraid of anything in this world,” sometimes they are harsh “You are such fool” and other times they are insistent “you’ve got to get yourself together.” There is a sense of frustrating, but there’s also understanding, “I know it’s tough but you can never get enough of what you don’t really need.” Through all of these dark emotions, Bono reassures that the darkness will pass in end when we realize that at the center of all of these emotions is love.

When I first heard this song, I needed to be reassured that things would be okay and "Stuck in a Moment. . ." said it in a way that made the sun shine just a little bit brighter. Now that I’m older, I relate more to the person giving advice, the need to sometimes be tough with the ones you love.

It scares me to think I could lose someone the way Bono did and when I hear "Stuck in a Moment. . ." sometimes it feels like a warning to not take my friends for granted. More often, this song sounds like a celebration of the power of friendship, the glory of love and how great it feels to be alive.

Bogoróditse Dévo by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Freedom to worship, freedoms of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble.

As American these are the freedoms promised by the Constitution of the United States. When we think of our right as individuals, these freedoms come to mind. There are many other freedoms we enjoy including the freedom to experience art. We can choose what television shows we want to watch and what music we want to experience. There are many societies in which, what we call “basic” freedoms are but a dream. And in Communist U.S.S.R. many freedoms were taken away including not only the freedom to create art but also the freedom to experience it.

Rachmaninoff composed “Bogoroditse Devo” as part of his setting of the Russian Orthodox All-Night Vigil ceremony for a capella choir. He composed this work in 1915 partly to benefit the Russian war effort. The Moscow Synodal Choir premiered this piece and it was performed five more times within a month because of its popularity with critics and audiences. With the rise of the Soviet Union, a ban was put on all religious music from the Marxist idea of religion being “the opiate of the masses.” The Synodal Choir was replaced by the nonreligious “People’s Choir Academy” marking the end of an era of Russian music.

With the fall of communism in Russia, people were finally allowed to worship in the open and embrace the culture that had been taken away. When “Bogoroditse Devo” was finally performed again, it was received as a long lost relative forcefully taken away. People in the audience wept as they were finally free to not only experience this music but to connect to their inner spirituality reminding them of all that was lost.

“Bogorodiste Devo” has almost medieval quality to it that captures the mysticism of the Russian Orthodox religion. It combines modern harmonic progressions with a variety of different textures. In the beginning, all the parts are singing the same rhythm (known in musical terms as “homophony”). This musical technique makes the voices feel as one unit with the deliberate and careful motion of a monastic chant.

The middle section of the piece that builds into the climax features the different choral parts singing different melodies (polyphony). Rachmaninoff creates a sense of motion as the alto lines meander while the other voices sing slowly rising sustained notes. The polyphony builds to a euphoric climax gently relaxes down until all the voices come back together in the last couple measures moving with homophony into quiet reflection.

One of the many pieces of advice Diana and I got when planning our wedding was to make sure we take a moment in the ceremony to take it all in. There is so much going on during the day it’s easy to forget to just stop and enjoy the day. So we decided to plan this moment during the ceremony and the unity candle lighting seemed like the perfect time for us to reflect on the service.

Well, things didn’t go exactly as planned. We didn’t bring a candle to the ceremony so we “borrowed” one from the church (or another ceremony that was going on, I’m not sure). The ceremony starts, we get to the candle lighting, the choir starts singing “Bogoroditse Devo,” and then we can’t get the candle lit. I think what you’re suppose to do for a wedding ceremony is have a smaller candle lit on the side and light the bigger candle.

We didn’t think of that so all we had a lighter, one of those 8 inches long deals that is suppose to light when you squeeze the trigger. Yeah it didn’t light after the first 5 tries. I was about to enlist the help of the groomsmen when the lighter decided to work. It was one of those things that you just got to laugh at and regardless it was beautiful moment.

Music has a way of taking us to different places, making the world dissolve away. Even though “Bogoroditse Devo” is less then three minutes it takes us on an incredible journey, from the smallest feeling of wonder to the incredible glory of spirituality.

Like A Prayer by Madonna

"Like A Prayer" Music video
"Like A Prayer" Live performance

My family has belongs to a Buddhist temple in Taiwan. In the main room of the temple, there are little shrines, maybe an inch tall and half an inch wide, which like tiles, cover the walls and the pillars. Inside each of these little shrines in someone’s name and in one of the shrines on a pillar is my name and every day the nuns in this temple pray for the people whose names make up the interior of the temple.

Last time, I visited the temple I walked into the temple and my mother introduced me, they went straight to the spot where I was in the wall, which they knew by heart since regularly prayed for me. Every day, when I wake up in the morning and slide on a necklace, a red string with a pendant that depicts Guan Yin, a central female Buddhist figure and I think of the nuns across the world in Taiwan who pray for me.

I’m not a religious man, in the “organized religion” sense. My parents do not belong to any church and I didn’t go to church regularly as a kid. However, I do feel that I am religious. I have delved deep into Buddhism, which acts as my spiritual center and I’ve made a strong effort to understand and know Christianity.

It is through this lens, that I hear “Like A Prayer” by Madonna. Released in 1989 on the album of the same title, “Like A Prayer” was widely criticized. The music video for “Like A Prayer” featured a field burning crosses, an attempted rape scene, police racial discrimination, religious miracles (crying statues, stigmata), a statue of a saint coming to life (which Madonna proceeds to make-out with), and murder. People criticized Madonna for the use of religious imagery (some of which including the fields burning crosses, a symbol used by the Ku Klux Klan, were understandably disturbing). Pepsi who had an endorsement deal with Madonna dropped her and the use of “Like A Prayer” from there ad campaign after Pepsi executives viewed the video. What is surprising is that the song itself did not seem to offend, which in some ways had more potential to be offensive than the music video.

“When you call my name its like a little prayer, I’m down on my knees, I want to take you there.”

This is the central line in “Like A Prayer” that Madonna repeats throughout the song. Literally, the line says that when you call my name it sounds like you are praying. This affects me in such a way that I get on my knees and want to take you “there.”

From my understanding people aren’t suppose to pray for frivolous things. Prayer is reserved for things that are beyond our materialistic wants, things that are close to the heart. Being in someone’s prayers is an honor, it means that you are one of the most important things in that persons life so Madonna’s first line “when you call my name, it’s like a little prayer” speaks to how much devotion and love she hears in her love’s voice.

If someone is speaking to you in a way that is so close to the heart that it sounds like praying, it would make you feel extremely honored. Therefore, you would logically make want to reciprocate that feeling get down on your knees as well and pray for them wanting to take that person to the same feeling.

Madonna blurs this literal meaning with the implication of comparing spiritual ecstasy with sexual ecstasy. If you interpret “there” as a state of physical euphoria than the line “when you call my name its like a little prayer, I’m down on my knees, I want to take you there” takes on a different message. Lines later in this song “your voice can take me there” enforce this layer of meaning.

Take away any thought of what this songs means and then listen to this song, because even though Madonna is playing around with religious and sexual implications the songs itself is a simply a fusion of Gospel and Pop celebrating how great someone can make you feel which may be closer to what Madonna’s intention.

The song starts with angry guitar riff, cut off with a bang like the closing of a door. Madonna has a solemn opening like a morning prayer and then the song kicks into high gear. After the first chorus, the verse fixates on the sound of “your voice” and the idea of someone can take Madonna away to a point that its like she is losing control. The second verse compares the subject to a child and a dream. The gospel choir enters which Madonna follows with a journey through darkness before a celebrative iteration of chorus.

At the least offensive, Madonna is comparing the love that she shares with someone to the feeling that she gets from being in church and singing along with a Gospel choir praising God. At it’s most offensives, Madonna is using religious allusions and musical artifacts like Gospel music to sing about sex.

Madonna wasn’t the first person to blur the lines between religion and sex in music. Ray Charles more than twenty years earlier started to take gospel melodies and sing them with sexual lyrics which caused people to be quite upset, like the couple in the trailer for the Ray (1 minute 14 seconds in).

When I listen to “Like A Prayer” it’s not about sex, it’s about the feeling that you get listening to great, joyous music. The song takes the listener from darkness to light combining the frenetic energy of 1980s music with the soul of a gospel choir. I don’t know much about religious ecstasy. I’ve never felt it or really know anyone who has, but the idea that we can find a transcendent level of joy in our lives, in each other not through sexual activities but meaningful and profound human connections is a beautiful idea and I know I’ve been lucky enough to feel these kinds of connections in my life.

“Like A Prayer” triumphant statement that begs to be questioned but cannot be helped but be enjoyed. It reminds me of great times with friends, the euphoric freedom that can only come through dancing with friends and spiritual joy that comes from knowing that somebody other there is praying for me.

Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There is a Season) by The Byrds

"Turn! Turn! Turn!” the Byrds live performance
"Turn! Turn! Turn!” Roger McGuin & Bruce Springsteen live performance

I was named after a trash can.

Well that’s the joke but it’s half-true. People often ask me how my parent’s chose my first name, "Kingsley." The short answer is that my dad saw the name on a office product and named me after a company which now specializes in depositories www.kingsley.com (and well yes, they do make trash cans but mostly they specialize in drops boxes).

The real answer is about the immigrant experience. When people immigrate from Asia, most of the time they chose American first names, use the middle name for their Chinese name (mine is Chin-Jer) and use their original last name. Choosing the American name for immigrants often comes from taking a name that sounds like their Chinese name. For example my dads full Chinese name is “Tang Bing-Yue” (in Chinese the order of names are: last, first then middle). My dad when he came to America took "Bing," (i.e. Bing Crosby) and my dad’s American name is Bing Yue Tang.

Now when my parent were trying to figure out an American names for my me and my borther they didn’t want to use a Christian derived name, since they were not Christian. Most American names have Christian origins except for the British Royal names like "Edward" my brother’s first name and "Kingsley" which is derived the from the Scottish clan name "Kinsella."

My parents played along with the Christian traditions which had made their way into the American culture like Christmas and Easter which we celebrated non-religiously. It seemed to me growing up that Christianity was something for other people that I didn't need to know about.

Growing up listening to the local oldies station with my dad "Turn! Turn! Turn!" was a song that I knew well and even in middle school I fancied myself an expert on popular music. So when one of my friends spoke about his excitement about this song because the lyrics were from the Bible, well, it brought together two worlds: the popular music world that I loved and the Christian world, which I had been ignoring.

Since then I have made an effort to get to know Christianity, not because I wanted to convert or go to church every Sunday, I just didn't want to be left out. I wanted to know about the religion inspired some of the most important and transcendent art in history.

In studying Christianity in American culture, I have seen interpretations of the religion that I strongly disagree with. From Bob Jones universities policy banning interracial marriage on its campus which was in effect until it was taken off the books in 2000, to current arguments citing verses from the Bible to argue homosexuality as being a sinful lifestyle choice. Many people have insidiously distorted Christianity to serve their own agendas. This is not only annoying but infuriating because at its core, at its best Christianity is a hopeful religion and one of the truest expressions of all that is humanity and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” represents all of this in a beautiful and powerful way.

When Pete Seeger, one of the most influential American folk singers, used the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1 from the King James version of the Bible he was responding to his publisher who disliked his protest songs. Seeger responded that what protest songs “were the only songs he knew how to write" as he explains in this interview.



The two musicians at the end of this clip are Roger McGuinn and David Crosby who as members of the band the Bryds recorded “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and transformed it from an obscure folk song to an iconic song of the 1960s.

McGuinn describes how they added a “Beatle beat” and an counter-melody to use as an introduction but the Byrds did so much than that to the song. What is immediately striking about this song is the Roger McGuinn’s guitar. This song is one of the most famous uses of the 12-string Rickebacker guitar. This guitar features 6 pairs of strings, each pair tuned to the same note that corresponds to a stings on regular 6-string guitar. The bottom four pairs have the strings tuned in octaves on the same note while the top two pairs are tuned in the same octave. This creates a bright resonant sound, that sparkles like the light shining through oak trees leaves on a sunny day.



The guitar playing of McGuinn’s 12-string Rickebacker seems to turn and roll into itself enforcing the meaning of the lyrics. Watching McGuinn playing this song solo with his guitar up the creative and understated way that McGuinn moves through the chords and creates the sound of multiple guitars in becomes clear.

On top of this rolling guitar line are the vocals which alternate between unison singing on “to everything” to the gentle harmony behind the words “turn, turn, turn.” David Crosby, who later went on to further fame with Crosby, Stills and Nash provides the gentle high harmony which brings a comforting sense to the melody.

While the chorus has a sense of calmness and acceptance the verses express a feeling of urgency. With the turning of the earth and the cycle of life, thereis inevitable that all the things in the verses, both good and bad are happening and the purpose behind all of this is beyond are understanding.

Seeger added the last two lines of the final verse because he needed them to balance out the verse but in adding “a time for peace, I swear it’s not too late” he breaks the pattern. Every other line describes the good and the bad, a yin/yang relationship. The song mentions peace in the third verse but is preceded by war. However ending the last verse with peace alone is a statement that peace is coming and that we can’t give up.

“Turn! Turn! Turn!” may not be the greatest religious song ever written but it helped me understand what Christianity means to people. It showed me that Christianity is about embracing the human experience. It is knowing that everything, even the bad things, have a purpose and that in the end of all there is always hope because in life it is never to late embrace love over hate and embrace peace over war.

That’s not a bad bunch of ideas to be at the center of a culture, or a life.