Songs for the Journey: Easter

A little over two years, ago, I began a musical journey through Lent. You can see the original post here, which will give you a little idea as to why I started that journey.

Much as I guessed at the end of that post, it has taken me two years to put together another list.

Sometimes the hardest part of these lists is figuring out the themes for each post. While there are always overarching themes for the year, the reliance on four gospels and a handful of other writings through the lectionary means that there are at least three different sets of readings for most Sundays. This year, I was fortunate enough to find themes that would work in Stages on the Way: Worship Resources for Lent, Holy Week & Easter from the Wild Goose Worship Group of the Iona Community.

So, here we are at the end of Lent. We again stand in the Saturday between times. Yesterday, Jesus completed his journey to the cross. Today, he is in the tomb and the disciples feel that all is done; their hope for a better world, for a different tomorrow has come crashing down around them.

But the good news for us is that we know how it really ends, we know that there is a better tomorrow. The journey has not ended, but is about to burst forth into a new beginning. We are a Sunday people.

Easter Vigil
K-Os - Sunday Morning

Easter Morning ~ Resurrection
Chumbawamba - Tubthumping

Easter Morning ~ The Role of Women
Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet

Easter Week 2 ~ Thomas and Doubting
Paolo Nutini - Rewind

Easter Week 3 ~ Jesus Appears to His Disciples
Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians - Love Like We Do

Easter Week 4 ~ Jesus Foretells His Departure
The Cure - Lovesong

Easter Week 5 ~ Promise of the Holy Spirit
Indigo Girls - Love Will Come to You

Easter Week 6 ~ Gift of Peace
Carl Thomas Gladstone - Mother Jesus

Ascension ~ Jesus Returns to Heaven
Ben Harper - Amen, Omen

Easter Week 7 ~ Jesus' Prayer to God for His Disciples
Collective Soul - Shine

8th Sunday of Easter ~ Pentecost
The Doors - Light My Fire

As it is now getting dark here on Saturday evening, I feel that I should say a word about the Easter Vigil song. This is the one carryover from my previous posts for Lent. Just as I could not end the Lenten list with Jesus in the tomb and the disciples experiencing that loss, I can't just jump into Easter without the hint of what came before. So here are the words I posted 2 years ago.

I must say that it was this song (Sunday Morning) by K-Os that pushed me to finally put together this playlist. The refrain repeats over and over "Everyday is Saturday night, but I can't wait for Sunday morning." It is such a happy and upbeat song, and I realized it fits perfectly into that transition between the emptiness of Saturday and the joy of Sunday. I heard or read part of an interview with K-Os, who spoke of the night life of Toronto and how everyone is so focused on the Saturday nights - the parties, the clubs, the hook-ups, etc. But there is just something different about Sunday morning that calls to us. Sunday hearkens back to memories of our grandparents' church and family meals. For us as Christians, there is also the sense that too often we get caught in the pain of Friday or the emptiness of Saturday. Every day of the week becomes a Saturday night - a time of excessive living in this world. But week after week, I find I can't wait 'til Sunday morning - Sunday when everything is made new, Sunday when we become aware of the risen Christ all around us, Sunday when we celebrate the joy of God's promises fulfilled.