Today's Scripture Reading (February 14, 2022): Joshua 10
I recently watched an older documentary on the rock band "Chicago." The band has always held a special place in my heart
and mind, especially that band that existed before the Peter Cetera and David Foster era. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for both men,
but "Chicago" was already well developed before the years that
they joined in the music. One of the first bass guitar lines I ever learned was the opening lines to "25 or 6 to 4." I remember fooling around with the bass line in
Junior High School Band before the teacher came in to take us through that day's practice. And, when I am tired or even lonely, it
is that bass line that I still return to, improvising in and around the
structure of the line. I have a clear memory of January 23, 1978. The date
might not be
significant for most people, but it is
the day that Chicago guitarist and lead singer, Terry Kath, died due to an
accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound. It was a time of great upheaval in my
own life. I was struggling with questions about the future and what I wanted to
do with my life, and the news actually staggered me for a while. In the
documentary, one of Terry's bandmates, it might have been Robert Lamm, but I'm not sure, said that he is still dealing with Terry's death. In my mind, I echoed the thought; there are a lot of "Chicago" fans who had never met the man but only got to know
him through his music who are still struggling with his senseless demise. His recognizable voice still brings me back to my
teenage years.
"Chicago" doesn't necessarily occupy a lot of the time that I spend
listening to music anymore. But when something happens in life, it is often a
comfortable place to return to, a place where it is easy just to sit and listen as the band plays and contemplate
life and all of the twists and turns that comes with it.
There might have been several places in scripture
that were called Gilgal. But if that is true, it was Joshua's Gilgal that set the stage for any that might follow. When Joshua
first crossed over into Canaan, it was at Gilgal that the prophet set up his
twelve stones of remembrance. At Gilgal, Israel, in obedience to God, circumcised those who had been born during the four decades of the desert
wanderings. Gilgal became the spiritual base for the nation, the place to which
they always returned. Israel's victories always came out of Gilgal. This was their
place of faith, a space where the nation committed itself to the person and actions of God. And it was the place where
Israel finally surrendered themselves to God. No wonder that Joshua always
seemed to find his way back to that spot or that Gilgal became his spiritual home.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Joshua 11
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