The Messiah: A Reflection on Biblical Theology

The Messiah is likely the most enduring and popular work of Handel's career.  The Hallelujah chorus is instantly recognizable to all, and 250 years after its release, it is still a command performance at Christmastime.  Not just classical music aficionados or pretentious, over-educated poseurs enjoy it, either--people still turn out in droves for Messiah "sing-alongs," where you can belt out "Ev'ry Valley" with the heartiest, cheeriest Christmas spirit that can be mustered on a 65-degree December day in Texas.

The musical score is beautiful.  Handel borrowed from his other works for the score, but that does not diminish the creative breadth of this work.  He wrote and arranged 53 separate pieces of music to tell the story of redemptive history.  He did not write the libretto---the "words" were the work of Charles Jennens, a solidly Reformed patron of the arts who was one of Handel's most stalwart and devoted fans--but his music served as a diorama that showcased, enlivened, and energized the Scriptures that formed the base of the work.  In other words, the music complemented the lyrics.  A quick example: in "Ev'ry Valley,"  Handel's score masterfully showcases Isaiah 40:4--"Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain."  Handel's musicthat mirrors the text's meaning.  On "every valley," Handel's notes rise on valley, but then fall on "shall be ex-", only to quickly but measuredly rise on "a-al-ted."  If one were to look at a the score on a staff, you would see a "V," not so much for the English word "valley," but for the up-and-down geographic elevation that you see when you look at a valley.  In the same aria, Handel literally makes you hear the "crooked made straight" ("crooh-ooh-ooh-ked straiiiighhtttt"; up-down-up-down looooo-oooo-oooongggg).  Can you hear it?!  Beautiful!

So the merit of Handel's creativity is huge.  Beyond this, though, the Messiah's message moves me tremendously.  Can anyone imagine a concept album released today that tells the story of God's redemption?  I can't.  But Handel did it then, received tremendous acclaim for it, and the work endures today.

 More on this later, but I had to get this out.

If this broadcasting thing ends suddenly ...

... Big Game Brent could always apply for SEC Commissioner.  He should think about that.  Folksy idioms, laidback style, and incredible boosterism ... he'd be as natur'l as white bucks at an August wedding.

"Goshalmighty, Herbie, is that some sarcasm [wink]!?"  You betcha, Big Game Brent.  It is sarcasm.  But here's some straight shootin', pardner---you should be retired alongside the Dr Pepper trophy.  You, more than any other commentator, have done more to dumb down, over-narrate, maudlinize, and butcher college programs that you personally don't like.  You pick a favorite, you plug him, and then you expect Herbie to pick up the slack from your obsequious rants that purport to be "commentary."  And that favorite is always the team du jour from the Southeastern Conference.

Shame on your "journalism."  Yeah, yeah ... "It sells papers!"  Oh, but wait .... it doesn't, in either the literal or figurative sense.  People like conflict and freshness: you give them neither.  Your tired storylines, your utter predictability, your insincere diction have raised a generation of fans that cannot wait for your retirement.

I didn't play.  I want to know more about the game.  I know what the media consensus is; I don't need it related back to me every three plays in terms that would have made Grantland Rice squirm.  So I don't need mountains made of absurd, molehill-sized ironies about high school colors, nicknames, hometown rivalries, or whatever obscure fact your drift boat of a mind should happen to snag on.

So, Brent, think about that SEC job.  Chase your dream, go home to your first love.  No more pretending that other teams from other conferences might compete, no more missing Vandy-Tenn for having to call that pesky OU-Texas rivalry (although they do have that  mug o' beer and a Fletcher's corny dog!") ... Just total freedom to devote to REAL, folksy, fleet-footed, football.

Senile Eccentric Commentator.  It's got your name on it.