TFF: On a Hill Far Away

The Feeling Fragment: Music is the "fragment" of a story that connects us to characters and allows us to empathize with them. In this series, we explore the role music plays in story. Music, in my opinion is what gives the story it's humanity, and adds more "feeling".

"What do You think You're doing up there /
Instead of me, bleeding.
What do You think You're proving up there / Instead of me, this is crazy."

What do the rich young ruler, a man blind since birth, and the woman at the well have in common? They were seen and loved by Jesus despite there ailments and shortcomings. They were offered a second chance at grace that the world could not offer. 

What was it like for them to tell their story?

With the help of Scripture and song, Ethan Norman, has answered that question. Norman's musical, On A Hill Far Away, tells the story of people in the midst of the Gospel. The musical sows ancient context with modern understanding, a bit of wit, and an underlying tone of restoration. I don't need to give you a review, though. Firstly, because you'll have the opportunity to see it, and it's worth your time to do so. Secondly, this segment is about the empathy and emotive experience that music adds to a story. 

 Marching on.

I've listened to CCM for most of my life, and it's no secret that contemporary Christian music is known to be a bit behind the times. It's also predominately sugar-coated and marketed as positive and clean, instead of music about the Gospel. Please don't hear me hating on CCM. I've been to more Winter Jams and conferences than my teen years can count. Many of those bands and artists spent time on repeat on my Walkman. I still enjoy some of the artists that broke the ceiling of their genre through content, relevance, and a fearlessness to express the grit of what it means to live according to Christ. 

I digress.

The point is that it's incredibly difficult to make art about the Gospel. It's not just a broken heart, or a party anthem, or ambiguous lyrics that rhyme. It's sacred. It's true. That's why you find so much art surrounding the truth of Christ to be timid, avoidant, or surface level. It's a weighty task to interact with God-breathed Scripture and the Holy Spirit, but that is how one acts out faith - that is how the Church is built. 

As a Christian, it's my joy to work out my faith with fear and trembling. As a human marred by sin, it's my joy to work out my thoughts with confusion and chaos. So it seems only natural that the two would meet at music, expression, and art.

On a Hill Far Away, captures that blend. From a song called, "Rumors," that the people of Jerusalem sing about Jesus and his healings, to a woman who, "never dreamed she'd be someone who needed saving" - the songs within this musical hit a common cord: 

We're all a wandering people wondering who will save us.

This musical walks through popular parables in the Bible and gives us a first account of what the recipients of Jesus' grace must have felt. The exert at the top comes at the end as Jesus is being crucified. The rich young ruler struggles amidst his grief to marvel at the power of this "Crazy Love". 

The words, "What do You think Your doing up there / Instead of me, bleeding. What do you think you're proving up there / Instead of me, this is crazy," are sung by the rich young ruler, the man who loved Jesus and his great wealth. Here he comes to grips with the fact that Jesus is better than anything he could possess in life. We also hear the anguish it takes for him to believe. In this moment, he is in between the tug-of-war we all feel: flesh or freedom. He is astonished by Jesus. The love of Christ is "crazy," and the truth has gotten under the young ruler's skin. But has he already lived too long in the riches of the world to hand them over for the riches of Christ?

The woman at the well and the blind man who was healed, Bartimaeus, sing behind the rich young ruler while he contemplates following Jesus. They tell him it's not too late to be healed and urge him to let go of what is ordinary and embrace the extraordinary.  

We're all there, right now. Saved or searching. 
We are suspended on the edge of whether we will take Jesus or not. 
Our stability, ambitions, and society all flirt with our soul trying to convince us they are the gods we should worship. 
But Jesus reveals Himself and once faced with His truth we have a choice.
We follow Him and live, or we justify every action we take form that point on. All the while, His people are behind us encouraging us to lose ourselves in the assurance we find Christ. 

I feel the urgent words at my back, 

"It’s not too late to be healed

It’s not too late to be free

It’s not too late to let go

Of all you thought it would be

It’s not too late to repent

Just turn and follow Him"

How beautiful He gave us His story, Holy and human.

How beautiful that we can sing about it.

...

Upcoming shows (free, open to all) :
April 2, Cedar Lane UMC, 714 Cedar Lane, Knoxville, TN 37912 – 6:00 pm
April 9, Kingston UMC, 212 W. Church St, Kingston, TN 37763 – 6:00 pm 
April 12, 2nd Presbyterian, 2829 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919 – 6:15 pm 
April 14, Ebenezer UMC, 1001 Ebenezer Rd, Knoxville, TN 37923 – 7:00 pm