When asked why The Beatles made their first movie, "A Hard Day's Night," Paul McCartney explained that two years was tops for a hit group. And they wanted to make a movie before they faded away. Never fully realizing at the time, 1964, that the band he played with, would continue through the sixties, and into the seventies, and become timeless. A band so good that you can hear their songs on elevators, 1001 Strings, or hard rock stations. Music so simple, yet so complex that it is studied today on many levels. A band so good, that whenever asked what is your favorite group, they are rarely mentioned-they had very few peers and were so good they were in a class by themselves. There are great groups-but they were the only Beatles!
And this movie is still one of my favorites. I just love the music, but also the way you feel like you get to know each lad. John Lennon, the front man, and wise guy-when asked "how did you find America?" quipped, "go left at Greenland!" Richie Starkey, aka Ringo, plays drums so simply, he only needs a basic set to feed his ego. And who although often criticized for his abilities, when his drumming was analyzed, could not find anyone who could duplicate it. It was almost as if another set of hands was playing with him. He was that good-and innovative on a simple technical level. George, the quiet one, who went on to fame after the Beatles with his All Things Must Pass Album, and the Travelling Wilburies. But who will always be remembered as Patti's first husband, who married his best friend Eric Clapton after they divorced, and who was the inspiration for Layla. Where do you go when you feel lonely? She left George. And Sir Paul McCartney, billionaire and musician/songwriter extraorinaire, the cute Beatle, whose line in the movie "if you hurt my grand dad, I'll cripple ya!" used to make us laugh as we imitated it as kids.
Four men, who were and always will be the Beatles. But more like us than you think. They needed guidance, and without their producer George Martin, music suffered. When their manager, Brian Epstein died, they couldn't function. They succumbed to drugs, women, almost went broke before they broke up, and had to deal with life on the road, and Yoko Ono.
We sometimes talk of what would have happened if someone famous gets saved. How they would change the world. But we discount God in the equation. It isn't people who change us, it is Jesus. Lennon, in his opening line of his signature song, states "imagine there's no heaven"-too bad he now knows he was wrong, or right-for him there is no heaven. George also died, and despite his Hari Krishna, still was afraid of death until the end. And faced the same eternity as John. And even though they wrote the White Album and some 48 songs while under the spell of the Maharishi, he couldn't save them. Their music lives, but they don't.
And they remind me of people I hang with-the people I go to church with. People who are under stress to make decisions. Who are under stress to perform for others. Who face money problems, career decisions, and how to deal with relationships when people become involved. You see we are all really the same, except for the decisions we make. Some are given talent, like the Beatles, and find fame in it. The Bible tells us some are teachers, exhorters, servers, and writers. But it takes all of us to make the church, and for it to function as a unit. Without Lennon, there is no Lennon/McCartney songwriting team. Without Ringo, no drums And without George, a much better guitarist then John, you would miss John complimenting him at the end of "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You," his first solo effort. An unscripted scene in the movie. You see until the holy spirit comes upon you, you just wander, and cannot be guided correctly. You seek your own understanding, and some find it in drugs, women, or rock and roll. Some hide behind a job, but can all be found in any church, maybe next to you, or maybe you. We all need Jesus, and until we are led by Him, we are truly just a gathering of believers, but when led by Him we become the church as He calls us. A Super group if there ever was one!
It's possible that there are talented people within the church just waiting for the chance to audition for God, to use the talent He has given them. Take your audition on the road. Share love wherever you are. It is up to the leadership to see it, guided by the Holy Spirit, and encourage it. To bind us together in the unity of love that only God can, and watch as a group of strangers become a group of believers-a family. We may not be a John, Paul, George, or Ringo like group-but we can be a group like Miles, Josh, Mark, and Richard. Guided by the spirit, an example to others. Whose signature song is Jesus, and don't imagine, but know there is a heaven, and long for it. Who can pick up a Bible and make it come to life just like the lads with their instruments. But without Jesus, they are just notes on a page-it is Jesus who makes us a church, and makes us a song unto Him.
I love this movie, and the music, but the last scene is my favorite. And I still look for ways to use it conversation, when I can. The lads have just completed a TV show and are being ushered off stage by their manager Norm. He is rushing them to their next appointment, when he confronts John. In a scene that almost looks too real to be scripted, he turns to John, and says "Lennon!" "WHAT?" "I have only one thing to say to you-you're a swine!" And the look on John's face, and the immediate laughter on Paul's let me think it was spontaneous, it's that good.
Spontaneity in the spirit. And the only way to get it is to let Him lead your life. If only John had a real Jesus instead of his imagination, he'd be in heaven now. Don't you make the same mistake. All you need is love-and that love is Jesus! Jesus mania!
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogpsot.com