 |
 Ken Medema "New Beginnings" Program #4423 First air date March 11, 2001 |
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Biography
Songwriter and performer Ken
Medema is a prolific composer and a master at musical improvisation.
Ken performs hundreds of concerts every year, across the country and around the
world, thrilling
audiences wherever he plays. He’s been blind since birth, but
Ken has never let that get in his way.
He is truly one of America's most
inspirational performers. [Biographical information is correct as of
the broadcast date noted
above.]
"New
Beginnings" Sanctus Let’s go up into a holy place; Shall we see the tongues of fire? Let’s go up into a holy place; Shall we know the hungry longing Let’s go up into a holy place; Shall we learn the ancient music Let’s go up into a holy place; So here’s the scene for our story: Jesus is teaching in the Temple, and all
at once there’s a ruckus, A Place of Beginning Again (John 8: 1-11) I remember the day when they knocked on the door and they dragged me to my
feet. Listen, lady, we understand you’ve been playing with somebody else’s man! It won’t matter what he tries to say, it won’t matter because we’re
gonna get the fellow either way. Ha ha! So they took me straight to Jesus and they told him all my story. "Stone her then! Stone her then! But let the sinless one throw the very
first stone!" There’s a place it’s as clean as a mountain stream, It’s a place that is open to all this day; Lydia Talbot: Ken Medema with New Beginnings. You’ve touched the
spots of our soul, Ken! Ken Medema: You say very kind things! Talbot: Where do those images come to you? Dreaming a vision that is like
a summer rain. Medema: I use a lot of visual imagery in the stuff I do. I suppose
because I am intrigued with words. Talbot: You play with them and you’re provocative. You go places that
are not comfortable, as your mission Medema: Well, it’s so important to me, this whole idea of new
beginnings, that notion that people don’t have Talbot: You sang that holy places are wherever you happen to be. There
are possibilities wherever you are. Medema: Moses found a holy place out in the middle of nowhere at a bush.
Zacheus found a holy place Talbot: The poet Emily Dickinson said: "The road to paradise is not
far, I travel it into my soul everyday." Medema: I don’t know if I would be that sort of "elevated"
about it, but I do feel like my life is a blessed life, Talbot: Our audience, of course, knows you as a guest, but also you are
the composer of the theme music Medema: Well, they needed new theme music and I had done some shows, so
they said let’s do it. Talbot: Well, we are connected with that and we’re connected with you.
Share with us some more music, Here and Now I’ve been waiting, can’t wait any longer. Here and now, I know that I can change my life. Talbot: Ken, Medema, what an inspiration!
Wherever you are watching this, I invite you declare that place a holy place.
Any place can be a holy
place. In a holy place wonders can happen!
Let’s go up into a dreaming space;
Visions coming like a summer rain
‘Til the garden comes alive again.
Shall we hear the great wind roar?
Shall we know the awe and wonder
That we’ve only glimpsed before?
Shall we know the awesome presence
That can make us laugh and weep?
Shall we know the pain of waiting?
When for so long we’ve been asleep.
Let’s go up into a dreaming space;
Visions coming like a summer rain
‘Til the garden comes alive again.
Of the child at mother’s breast?
Shall we drink ‘til there’s no wanting
Only all consuming rest?
Shall we leap with boundless pleasure
Across the forest and the fields?
Shall we search for buried treasure
That sacred soil her bounties yield?
Let’s go up into a dreaming space;
Visions coming like a summer rain
‘Til the garden comes alive again.
From the ever moving throng?
And from those who’ve gone before us
Shall we learn this journey’s song?
Shall we come to wisdom’s portal?
Shall we bask in wisdom’s light?
And though the flames may burn and sear us
Shall we not shine like stars at night?
Let’s go up into a dreaming space;
Visions coming like a summer rain
‘Til the garden comes alive again.
a noise. Everybody looks around to see what the
ruckus is, and suddenly a woman is dragged into
Jesus’ presence, maybe kicking
and screaming—I don’t know—but she’s dragged there beyond her will.
The
leaders of the Jews are about to make an angry, conflict situation come alive
here. Watch what
Jesus does and watch how Jesus gives this woman a new
beginning. She was caught in the very act
of adultery. The story is told from
her perspective. It starts like this:
What to my wondering eyes should appear but the leaders of the Jews.
In just a moment, the whole thing was clear and I shouted, "My God, I’ve
been used!"
We need bait and you’d nicely do. Cooperate or we’ll throw the book at you!
Listen, lady, this is the plan: we’re gonna catch us a Galilean teacher man.
We will bring him the likes of you and we’ll ask him what in the world to do.
If he says stone you like the law declares, then his crowd is gonna
leave him and we won’t have a care.
If he says to let you go, we’ve got him in a trap for contradicting
Moses’ law, he’ll have to take the rap.
Listen, lady, come with us. Shut your mouth and don’t you dare put up a
fuss!
Can you imagine those people all standing there looking at me,
wagging their tongues, saying:
"Stone her! Stone her! Stone her! Stone her! Stone her!"
"Wait, just a minute!" said one of the Pharisees. "All must be
done in order!"
So they came to Jesus and they said:
Oh, good teacher, what shall we do? (Oh, what shall we do?)
Oh, good rabbi, we’ve come to you (Oh, we’ve come to you)
This woman was caught, adultery was her crime.
She should be stoned! (Be stoned)
She should be stoned until she’s dead!
He bent down and with his hand he began to write something in the sand.
One by one they all backed away.
"So where are your accusers now?" he said.
"Why, no one stands accusing you; then I don’t accuse you
either," he said.
"Go your way, go your way, go your way and sin no more!"
That’s as bright as an April morn.
There’s a place for rebuilding a shattered dream,
There’s a place where hope is reborn.
It’s a place for all women and men;
It’s a place that is only a step away;
It’s a place of beginning again.
Beginning again.
You’ve been blind since birth and yet your vision is
clearer and more imaginative than most sighted people.
I love words. And I love visual words. And
though I don’t see the things you do, I have my own associations
with visual
words. When you say red, I have an association with it. When you say blue, I
have an association. When you say azure sky, when you say green forests, I have
an association. So, I may not mean the same things you do when I use visual
words, but sometimes they’re the most powerful words to convey the meaning.
And because I love words so much, I love to play with words. I want to use every
single possible word at my disposal!
in the Brier Patch music company states.
And you take us there in this collection of Biblical stories.
to be stuck in the rut where
they are. I’ve seen this happen so often, a lot of times among people who are
disabled or who feel like they’ve been given a bad rap, or given a bad deal by
society. So I think there’s this
idea that’s so resident in the faith about
"you don’t have to be stuck there." There is a new possibility.
You
can make a change, make a turn, go a different way.
up in a dog-gone tree, for goodness sake! Martha,
busy Martha, always cooking, finds a holy place in her
living room where her
life is turned around and she discovers she doesn’t always have to be cooking.
Sometimes she can sit and chill!
Is that what you do, Ken?
is a gifted life. I do
feel like there are people around me and situations around me where I am enabled
to
see and hear new possibilities. And I am very grateful, both to my Creator
and also to the wonderful people
who have surrounded me, who have given me all
these opportunities. It’s pretty exciting!
for this program. How did that come to you?
They told me how much time we needed, the kinds of
sounds we needed. We want something sort of "churchish" but not
really. But it has to have tradition, but not really. It has to be sort of old
and new.
So I put together a lot of sounds on a synthesizer, which was one of
the older synthesizers back about
fifteen years ago now, I guess. Then I
composed the little melody in my head, did all the parts in my head,
did all the
instruments in my head, and then went to a studio with the keyboard. One by one
we laid down
the parts, all the bells and whistles, and the little solo things,
and the drums. We laid down the parts and
mixed it and there we were!
Ken Medema.
Don’t have time for these detours any more.
I’m getting restless, feelings getting stronger,
And I know I must go where I dared not got before.
Now I see it, looking like a throughway,
And it leads me places I’ve never, never been.
Time to travel, travel down a new way.
Turning the corner and this is the way I begin.
Here and now, I know that I can change my life.
I will rearrange my life and turn it right around.
Here and now, I’ll take a new direction, yes I will!
I’m on my way, headed for higher ground.
I’m on my way, now I am freedom bound.
I see people caught between the falling rocks
Maybe driving down a dead-end street with no way through.
Life gets dreary between the rock slides and the road blocks.
Well, maybe when you’re driving around,
You don’t do what you know you gotta do.
Now I see it, it’s looking like a highway.
It leads me over the rough and treacherous land.
Now I see it, and I think it’s going my way.
Got my map on the dash and I’m taking the wheel in my hand.
Here and now, I know that I can change my life.
I can rearrange my life and turn it right around (right around, right
around).
Here and now, I’ll take a new direction. You bet I will.
I’m on my way, headed for higher ground.
I’m on my way, now I am freedom bound.
Watching out for the mountains and the valleys,
Bright eyes peeled for the signs along the way.
Stopping everyday to read the instructions again,
It’s a long, hard road, but it leads to a better day.
I will rearrange my life and turn it right around. You bet I will.
Here and now, I’ll take a new direction. So, so sure.
I’m on my way, headed for higher ground.
I’m on my way, now I am freedom bound.
I’m on my way, know that I am freedom bound.