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Commentary: Desolation Row
November 18, 2024 / By Rev. Daniel Bradley / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The following commentary was written by Rev. Daniel Bradley. The views expressed in this article are his, and not of Bishop Burgos Núñez or any Upper New York staff member.
They're selling postcards of the hanging, they're painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors, the circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner, they've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker, the other is in his pants
And the riot squad, they're restless; they need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight from Desolation Row…
Bob Dylan—"Desolation Row," August 4, 1965
Upon my commissioning as a provisional Elder in the United Methodists of Upper New York Annual Conference, Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez gave me a copy of the children's book What the Road Said by Cleo Wade. His episcopal seal was on the opening pages, and he wrote a wonderful note thanking me for my commitment to God in ministry.
I've served the church for over twenty years, with humble beginnings in Olean, New York. Mary and I attended Trinity United Methodist Church on North Ninth Street. About a month before we were to be married, we discovered that I would be a pastor. This is not something I came looking for but was plunked down in my lap by God (Luke 6:38).
Throughout the years, we have traveled many roads that led to different churches, towns, health issues, and tragedies. All this grace and madness have shaped who we are today. In all this, we have lost ourselves—and God has found us. This reminds me of what David writes in Psalm 30:5:
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Bob Dylan is one of my favorite folk artists. He was an exuberant Christian during his early years, and his music reflected his commitment to Christ and social justice. As he became entangled with the music industry, his lyrics shifted and changed. Alcoholism and drugs affected his ability to perform well on stage. In 1989, his son Jakob started a band called The Wallflowers. Bob Dylan used his money and influence within the record industry to help Jakob get started.
Some years ago, one of my parishioners offered me a pair of tickets to see Bob Dylan and Jakob play a show at the former Rich Stadium. I should have been ecstatic. However, I really wanted to see Bob Dylan from his early years when he sang with Joan Baez.
Whatever Bob Dylan has become today, he has changed. Throughout our lives, we are changed and transformed, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Mark my words: "God is not done with us." There is far more to know about God and Godself than there is in our own understanding. It sounds crazy, but I pray for Bob Dylan and his son Jakob.
During my time at Colgate Rochester Divinity School, during my M.Div. program, Rev. Dr. Stephanie Sauvé said in a chapel address, "Wisdom is God's grace in a world of madness." Conversely, the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland tells Alice, "We're all a little mad here." I think at some point in our lives, we have experienced madness and grace. Sometimes, those things happen together; they are the yin and yang. Grace and madness are where we find our minds, bodies, and spirits.
The Latin phrase compos mentis translates as "with full mind." This phrase is often used in legal documents and the court system to describe an individual's competency. There are times when I am not with my whole mind, and there are other times when I am compos mentis.
I wonder if Bob Dylan, throughout his career of success, fame, money, drugs, and sex, had ever experienced compos mentis.
As Christians, we are not always compos mentis, and that's okay. If you have read the Gospels, you know that Jesus never leaves the marginalized. He always gives what he has and sometimes more than he has. I reflect momentarily on Mark 8:23-25:
When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." Once more, Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
Jesus never leaves us in our despair and hopelessness.
Mary and I have walked a long road. Along the way, we gave birth to our daughter Kiah and found friends who have been lifelong companions. We have loved and lost, and in this grace and madness, we have found out "who we are and whose we are."
The last words of What the Road Said are, "Be a leader." The road has always been paved with grace. Sometimes, we have stumbled and fallen; however, Jesus always waits to pick us up. His words are comfort in the madness:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you…" (John 14:27).
I pray that the many friends at Trinity United Methodist Church and Knapp Creek United Methodist Church will receive grace for the moment. As for Bob and Jakob, "the circus is in town." I pray that they may receive the fullness of God's grace, assurance of salvation, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to serve the communities where they live and the God who called Bob so many years ago. The peace of Christ is with you, Bob and Jakob.
This is for my best friend and mentor in Christ, Rev. Jerry Piper: "God looks out for fools and idiots."
In my life, I have been an idiot and a fool. I do know this: I am never left alone. It is not that I loved God first, but that God loved me to help me become a leader—and more importantly, a disciple of Christ. That's more than enough for this lifetime.
[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps. 30:5; Mark 8:23-25; John 14:27