LIFEandTIMES with

Angus Gibb

REUNION TOURS:

I wonder if you have noticed the number of bands that are currently touring, or are planning on touring Australia this year? It is very cool, especially as many of them are playing a famous album from 20–30 years ago. It is a strange phenomenon, but I really like it. Just this week I heard that a band I used to listen to a lot when I was in high school, Evanescence (save your judgments for later), are playing in Sydney in August. They will be playing their hit debut album Fallen. When I heard the news, part of me wanted to get tickets straight away and be taken on a journey back to when I was younger and had more hair and pimples and loved listening to heavy rock in my bedroom. Whilst my musical tastes have certainly broadened since then, the music we used to listen to still holds a special place in our lives. Who are the artists that do that for you? Maybe it is from further back in time, from the 60s and 70s. Whoever the band or musician is, their songs hold a special place in our hearts and whenever we hear them, we are transported back to our memories of days gone by. The recent revival of the reunion tour is tapping into something inside each of us. A longing for a better time, or a di erent time and a search for something that will endure. A time when our lives perhaps looked and felt di erent. Or maybe a time when we were free of certain cares or responsibilities. If you have been fortunate enough to go see one of your favourite bands play their hits from years ago, did it live up to the hype? Was it everything you wanted it to be? I remember reading reviews of the famous Led Zeppelin reunion show from 2007 and whilst everyone was excited to see this iconic band back on stage together, it was not the same. For example, the howling voice of frontman Robert Plant had lost its power and the songs had to be taken down a few steps to make them more singable. An amazing show, but not the same.

All these reunion shows reveal to us in a di erent way how fleeting our lives can be and how we long for something better. But where is ‘better’ found? I am reminded of a verse in Isaiah, and it is one that I find myself constantly reflecting on, and it is this: A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry? All people are like grass and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever’. (Isaiah 40:6-8). While we may look backward for something better, it will never last. Talent, beauty, and memories all fade but Isaiah reminds me each day, that it is the word of the Lord that will endure forever and that is what gives me deep and lasting joy.