So, I got a message from a listener today with a brilliant idea! This listener suggested that we take some time on Sara Smiles to go through the sound track of Jesus Christ Superstar. I've chosen to do this on Western Good Friday, which is tomorrow at the time of this writing. Now, anyone who may find this offensive is free not to listen, and I truly do hope that those who commemorate Christ's Passion on this day will be doing so in all peace and quietness of heart. But as I think about this musical and what it has brought to my life, I realize that for some years in my teens, it was my Good Friday ritual when I had no community with whom to gather on that day.
I think I first encountered it in its movie form purely by accident, tuning into it during Judas's Death of all bits, and it sort of freaked me out, being but a child of eleven or so. However, two years later, I received the movie sound track as a Christmas gift, and from then on, it was something I listened to quite a lot in my teens around Holy Week and Easter. So, because of my relationship to this version, and because in August, we'll celebrate fifty years since its release, and because it was directed by a Canadian, I thought this year would be a good time to play it. (Well, okay, my listener thought this, and I went along with it. Thanks, loyal listener!)
So, if you, like me, enjoy the complex musicality and the interesting take on Christ's Passion that this movie gives us, then feel free to tune in to Sara Smiles at the usual time. That's Midnight or Noon Eastern time on Friday. Thanks for listening, and a blessed Holy Week and Easter to all who celebrate at this time.