The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 21 July 2024
We’re back on this lazy but blessed Sunday when our gospel is about rest, “Jesus said to his apostles, ‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while'” (Mk. 6:31).
Rest is first of all going back to God in Jesus Christ who sends us to work, on a mission; rest is being filled with God or “breathed on” by God as we say in Filipino mag-pa-hinga (https://lordmychef.com/2024/07/20/rest-is-to-be-close-with-jesus-close-with-others/).
And we thank God for the gift of music that is the easiest, most affordable and most rewarding manner of rest for us next to prayer and the Mass. Most of all, see that every song, every musical piece is always about love who is God Himself!
For this Sunday, we go back to 1977 with Roberta Flack’s romantic ballad The Closer I Get to You that is more than a song of love but a story of love in itself.
According to Ms. Flack, it was her manager David Franklin’s idea that she record a duet of that song with her college friend Donny Hathaway who was then suffering with clinical depression. Both have worked together earlier in several duets. As a way of helping her friend get over his depression, the song was re-written while Ms. Flack had to make a lot of sacrifices in recording and shuttling between New York City and Chicago where Hathaway was confined to a hospital and had refused to travel.
Hathaway never recovered from his depression and eventually died a few years after the release of their duet in 1978 that became an instant hit, earning praises and had them nominated for Grammy the following year.
Ms. Flack said in an interview that their duet would always be her dedication to Hathaway as she donated all the money earned from that song to Hathaway’s widow and two children.
As we have mentioned in our homily today, rest is getting closer with God and the closer we get to Him, the closer we get with others. That is why Jesus was moved with pity to the vast crowds who have followed them to a deserted place to rest: His oneness with the Father moved Him closer to people especially the poor and the suffering. And that is why we find The Closer I Get to You perfect with our gospel this Sunday: the more we get closer with Jesus, the more we get closer with our family and friends and those in need.
The closer I get to you
The more you make me see
By giving me all you've got
Your love has captured me
I love that first stanza of The Closer I Get to You; it says the very essence of the song which is a gospel in itself. It reminds us of St. John’s first letter when he wrote, “No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1Jn.4:12).
The more we get closer with anyone, the more we love, because the more our eyes are opened to see others to love. And God becomes more present among us!
It’s a Sunday, go celebrate the Mass and enjoy some beautiful music to remind us of God’s presence among us. Here now is The Close I Get To You…
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