The Barn at the Homestead

The Barn at the Homestead

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

All along the watchtower...

As the summer days move along, with heat and humidity, I am grateful for air conditioning and the discipline of Daily Office.  Every time I come across the Gospel for today (Mark 11:27-12:12--read every other year), I think of Jimi Hendrix and his rendition of Bob Dylan's All along the watchtower.  Perhaps it is because we are on the octave of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and I'm feeling a little nostalgic, or perhaps it's the summer heat, or the ever  constant "Breaking News" in our day, this song was a part of my day--all day today.

Jesus tells a parable: "A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press,  and built a watchtower . . ."  Feels like we're all on the alert for danger these days...watchtowers? We have more sophisticated equipment these days--but we watch all the same.  Time was when we left our doors unlocked at night and the screen door was rarely latched.  We've moved beyond that now with our security locks and cameras.  All along the watchtower, indeed.

I found this review interesting; I appreciate the compare/contrast between Dylan and Hendrix

Dylan "got religion" some say after this song...I say he always had it, but like with many of us, it had to be awakened in him.  Was it a metaphor for his life or something deeper within him?

As the summer comes to a close and our garden chores change from harvest to clean up, I'll likely continue to hum this song as I circle the perimeter of my garden space.  No watchtower here--but plenty of jokers and thieves around the place!  And I will continue to be grateful for the Daily Office readings and music--sacred and secular--that help me grow.

In case you want to listen to Hendrix, here is a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY Enjoy...


No comments:

Post a Comment