Romans 3:21-26But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
If you read the words to the two songs below, you will see that Broadway can teach us about redemption. The first is from one of my favorite musicals, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.”
Blow, Gabriel, Blow
[RENO]
Brothers and sisters, we are here tonight to fight the devil…
Do you hear that playin’?
[COMPANY]
Yes, we hear that playin’!
[RENO]
Do you know who’s playin’?
[COMPANY]
No, who is that playin’?
[RENO]
Well, it’s Gabriel, Gabriel playin’!
Gabriel, Gabriel sayin’
“Will you be ready to go
When I blow my horn?”
Oh, blow, Gabriel, blow,
Go on and blow, Gabriel, blow!
I’ve been a sinner, I’ve been a scamp,
But now I’m willin’ to trim my lamp,
So blow, Gabriel, blow!
Oh, I was low, Gabriel, low,
Mighty low, Gabriel, low.
But now since I have seen the light,
I’m good by day and I’m good by night,
So blow, Gabriel, blow!
Once I was headed for hell,
Once I was headed for hell;
But when I got to Satan’s door
I heard you blowin’ on your horn once more,
So I said, “Satan, farewell!”
And now I’m all ready to fly,
Yes, to fly higher and higher!
‘Cause I’ve gone through brimstone
And I’ve been through the fire,
And I purged my soul
And my heart too,
So climb up the mountaintop
And start to blow, Gabriel, blow
[ALL]
Come on and blow, Gabriel, blow!
[RENO]
I want to join your happy band
And play all day in the Promised Land.
So blow, Gabriel, blow!
Come on you scamps, get up you sinners!
You’re all too full of expensive dinners.
Stand up on your lazy feet and sing!
[ALL]
Blow, Gabriel, blow, (Blow, Gabriel!)
Go on and blow, Gabriel, blow. (Blow, Gabriel!)
I’ve been a sinner, I’ve been a scamp,
But now I’m willin’ to trim my lamp,
So blow, Gabriel, blow.
I was low, Gabriel, low, (Low, Gabriel!)
Mighty low, Gabriel, low.
But now since that I have seen the light
I’m good by day and I’m good by night
So blow, Gabriel, blow.
[RENO]
Once I was headed for hell,
Once I was headed for hell;
But when I got to Satan’s door
I heard you blowin’ on your horn once more,
So I said, “Satan, farewell!”
And now I’m all ready to fly,
Yes, to fly higher and higher!
‘Cause I’ve gone through brimstone
And I’ve been through the fire,
And I purged my soul
And my heart too,
So climb up the mountaintop
And start to blow, Gabriel, blow
[ALL]
Go on and blow, Gabriel, blow!
[RENO]
I want to join your happy band
And play all day in the Promised Land.
So blow, Gabriel!
[ALL]
Go on and…
Blow, Gabriel, blow
Blow, Gabriel, blow
Blow, Gabriel, blow
I wanna join your happy band
And play all day in the Promised Land,
So blow, Gabriel, blow, Gabriel, blow, Gabriel, blow!
The other song is probably the most famous song about redemption, from “Guys and Dolls,” Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.
I dreamed last night I got on the boat to heaven
And by some chance I had brought my dice along
And there I stood
And I hollered “Someone fade me”
But the passengers, they knew right from wrong.
For the peopel all said sit down, sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat
People all said sit down
Sit down you’re rockin’ the boat.
And the devil will drag you under
By the sharp lapel of your checkered coat,
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down,
Sit down you’re rockin’ the boat.
I sailed away on that little boat to heaven
And by some chance found a bottle in my fist
And there I stood,Nicely passin’ out the whisky
But the passengers were bound to resisist
For the people all said beware
You’re on a heavenly trip
People all said beware
Beware, you’ll scuttle the ship.
And the devil will drag you under
By the fancy tie ’round your wicked throat
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down
Sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat
And as I laughed at those passengers to heaven (laughs)
(gasps!) A great big wave came and washed me over board!
And as I sank And I hollered “someone save me!”
That’s the moment I woke up Thank the lord
And I said to myself, sit down, sit down,
You’re rockin’ the boat!
Said to myself sit down, sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat
And the devil will drag you under With a soul so heavy you’d never float,
Sit down, sit down, sit down
Sit down, sit down, sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat.
I’m sure this is one of the most unusual religious posts any of you have seen, and it may only make sense to me, but I hope it makes you think about redemption and salvation.
Joe
The Closet Professor 
March 3rd, 2013 at 8:12 am
Agree!!! Look at many other productions as well ~ Into The Woods, Big River, Les Mis, come to mind and there are many more as well…And the amazing thing is they are so often written by jews – not christians!!! Thanks once more, Professor 🙂
March 7th, 2013 at 9:06 pm
When I was a kid I got to see Stubby Kaye reprise his Broadway role singing "Sit Down." What a show-stopper. I saw Nathan Lane perform it years later on a national tour. The irony of this number is that the gamblers use this song as a ruse to fool the Salvation Army goody two-shoes. The sincerity behind the words is totally lacking.Elvis Presley, symbol of all things sexy and evil, enjoyed singing gospel music more than anything!