221. Rock Goes The Gospel - The Who "Behind Blue Eyes"

The song "Behind Blue Eyes" was originally part of Pete Townshend's "lifehouse project", which was shelved. Of course, a great deal of that aborted project would end up on the album "Who's Next", including this song. It is written from the point of view of the "villain" character (from the story that compromises the "lifehouse project"), showing even bad people have emotions like the rest of us. The "behind blue eyes" refers to the thoughts and feelings of the villain, in his head, behind his eyes.

No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes

No one knows what it's like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies

But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free

No one knows what it's like
To feel these feelings
Like I do
And I blame you

No one bites back as hard
On their anger
None of my pain and woe
Can show through

But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free

When my fist clenches, crack it open
Before I use it and lose my cool
When I smile, tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool

If I swallow anything evil
Put your finger down my throat
If I shiver, please give me a blanket
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat

No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes

We have all lived life where our every day experience is a bad one. Where we are the brunt of people's prejidice and scorn, For many of us we live with the constant reminders of rejection and the pain of it. In the reading today in Mark 5:1-7 we are shown a man who had reason to believe that he was forgotten and rejected. 

Jesus sets out with his disciples for the Roman occupied Gerasenes. Within the vicinity of a Roman garrison and close to the village. A man lived among the tombs, down by the pigs,  A social outcast, a villain, a dangerous man, some said a mad man. Who in his madness was uncontrollable in his rage and venom. Someone who could no longer live in the sanctity of the village. A prisoner, chained hand and foot, but with the strength to break out of the irons he was placed in. In the words of the song "A bad man, a sad man, hated, full of vengeance, possessed by an army from the pits of hell. Nothing about this land is kosher; everything was unclean; spirits, tombs, swine and the territory, everything within this story cries "get out of there Jesus". But he keeps on coming! What for - for the "Bad man, the sad man behind blue eyes" 

The great message of this story: The people in the village that Legion came from would have considered that this man was a waste of space or an idiot or worse a villain, they would have viewed Legion as less than human and mocked and laughed at him while their children probably teased him or made fun of him, added to this because they believed people in this tragic condition had evil gods called demons possessing them and because of this they would have had him cast out of the city. At worse they would have feared him and his evil cohorts. This all would have compounded to the mans feeling of depression, condemnation and rejection. Just like in the song"No one knows what it's like" Jesus does Legion. (To all the Legions that are in society today) Jesus knows what it's like to be condemned and rejected.

In the midst of Legion's chaos Jesus does something that no-one else will do. He comes to the "Man behind blue eyes". He comes to this suffering, lonely, man society considers a reject, He comes to this man who has been rejected and scorned. He comes to a man who has been branded an outsider. Sentenced to live a life outside the community. A life sentence, with no hope, no love, no care. Jesus comes to this man on the margins of life and society. He come to a person who too often has been branded a villain and shows him God’s great mercy and compassion.

Here is the great lesson - That everyone on the face of the planet has worth, that each person no matter how damaged is of great value. That even those who are so far removed from what some would call normal living, are worth pursuing, helping and giving mercy and grace to. Even villains weep. We too as the church need to learn this lesson. Jesus set out on this excursion across the lake in a boat with his twelve disciples, where did they get to? It was only Jesus that came ashore. The Disciples were like the church is at times more concerned with their own wellbeing.........but I guess that's another story.