In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. – Isaiah 26:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 22, 2020): Isaiah 26

The words were written by one of my favorite lyricists, Bernie Taupin. The song was sung by “Starship,” and it was entitled “We Built this City.” It became a hit in 1985. The song is essentially an argument between singers Mickey Thomas, Grace Slick, and what is presumably a music industry representative. Thomas and Slick want to remind the corporate music executives who marketed their songs that, while they might be worried about the money that the industry brings in, the heart of the industry lies with the ones who want to dance and with the music that the industry creates. Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the heart of any industry. And without the musicians, the music industry dies.  

The song itself makes allusions to a few cities that were built on “Rock and Roll.” The spoken word interludes placed inside the song mentions “the city by the bay” (San Francisco), “the city that rocks” (Cleveland), and “the city that never sleeps” (New York). Some radio stations had fun inserting their own call signs and descriptions of their city into the song, reminding their listeners that they, too, were the city that was built on Rock and Roll.

The song itself, featuring a catchy tune but often confused or mispronounced lyrics (someone needs to get Bernie Taupin in a room and ask him “what exactly were the lyrics that you wrote for the song?”) has landed “We Built this City” on many “worst song ever” lists. And yet, the son is also still loved by many fans and those who want to remember the heart of Rock and Roll.

Historically, we have tried to make earth cities the “strong city” that Isaiah speaks of in this prophecy. For many, in the early days of the church, that “strong city” was Rome of the Roman Empire, but when Rome and the Empire fell in the fifth century, many blamed the fall of Rome on the new religion the Empire had embraced over the past century, Christianity. To try to explain what had happened, St Augustine wrote “The City of God.” In his book, he tried to explain the fall of the empire, and differentiate between the city of man, represented by Rome, and the City of God, which was a city in the coming Kingdom of God. Augustine pointed out that the fall of Rome was tragic, but that it was man’s city that had fallen and not God’s city.

And God’s city is all about salvation. It is a concept with which we struggle. The Christian image that keeps coming back to me is that of Ron Reagan (the son of President Reagan) identifying himself in his atheist advertisements. Reagan closes off the ad by saying, “I’m Ron Reagan, a lifelong atheist, not afraid of going to hell.” Every time I see the television spot, I cringe. How did we get so tied up with hell? I believe that hell exists, but it is not our central theme. We are about salvation, not condemnation. If we were doing our jobs, Ron Reagan would have to say, “I’m Ron Reagan, a lifelong atheist, willing to let hungry children starve.” Or maybe “I’m Ron Reagan, a lifelong atheist, unwilling to lift a hand to help the sick.” Because that is who we are. We are all about salvation. We are the ones who stand up for the weak; we are the ones who fight for justice for those who are abused. We are the ones who love the untouchables. Hell? It’s there, but way down in the list. We are the citizens of the city of God, and that is all about salvation, and not condemnation. And we built this city on saving those in need.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 27