Wake Up

On Tuesday evening, an estimated BILLION people around the globe, watched the Wake/Memorial Service for Michael Jackson. The death of a loved one is always sad and I am, in no way, seeking to diminish the grief of Jackson's family and friends. Neither am I seeking to question his supreme talent for song-writing; much of our music today is based on his fusion of r+b with white rock in the early 80s and hearing much of his back catalogue being played ad nauseam on the radio provides an aural feast spanning 40 years of work.

What concerned me was the blurring of Jackson with Jesus. At the start of the Service, the Andre Crouch Gospel Choir began to sing 'Soon and very soon, we are going to see The King'. As this wonderful old hymn, sung with considerable passion and skill, echoed around the venue, Jackson's body was then wheeled out in a gold coffin and positioned at the front of the stage. Which 'king' were they referring to, I wonder? If you watch footage of his concerts and shows, people have often described him as 'messianic' and the adoration and worship of his fans verges on religious hysteria. During the Service, people's eulogies seemed to promote his perfection and ignore his problems. Of course, funerals are not places to run down the dead (!), but a healthy dose of reality is needed and should be welcomed as it provides a genuine insight into a person's whole life and not just the edited highlights!

On reflection, I saw, once again, that humans have an inbuilt need to worship someone or something whether that be food, sex, money, sport or, as in the case of Michael Jackson, high profile public figures. The Bible teaches that only God can fulfill satiate this worship instinct (Exodus 20:3-4, Matthew 22:37) and that Jesus alone is the perfect, sinless, spotless Man who is worthy of our praise.