The Times They Are A-Changin'

March 6, 2015

Being a baby boomer and a child of the sixties, I was a little surprised to see the latest edition of AARP with a picture of Bob Dylan on the cover. It's actually a great article on his life and thinking but it also makes you smile when you think back on songs with lyrics like:Come gather ’round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou’ll be drenched to the boneIf your time to you is worth savin’Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin’

I remember singing along with this, feeling that I was part of a new generation, yet today Bob Dylan is 73 years old and has had quite a career. I am not sure what he would say about this song now, given the fact that he has just recorded songs from the American Standard Song Book, and specifically songs sung by Frank Sinatra.Dylan, who is now going to be a great-grandfather, talks about wisdom in older age. When asked what he would like to do if he were not singing songs or doing concerts, he said that he would like to teach theology. This is an interesting thought. Could I have been doing the right things all along? Of course I think so. Maybe Bob could be an assistant pastor at our church.If you study his songs, especially from the albums Slow Train Coming and Saved, you find a born-again Christian or at least a person struggling with issues of faith and the Bible. Where he is now on these issues I don't know but I find his interest in theology heartening. After all, we all need to be interested in theology, which literally means words about God (from the Greek theo logos).It is also another good reason that you should be in Adult Forum or Bible Study here at St. John's. You can enhance your thinking, let alone your life style. All I can say is that it works for me.One of my favorite songs by Bob Dylan is Forever Young. Isn't that the Christian hope - and the message of Easter?Sunday is always for the early Christians and for us the Day of Resurrection. Remember, Jesus died on Good Friday and was raised on Easter Sunday. Join me Sunday because the times they are a changing, and perhaps even in your life.