Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

• Luke 15:1-7

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

• John 10:11-18

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
    he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

• Psalm 23:1-6

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

• Matthew 7:7

“There’s a saying old, says that love is blind
Still, we’re often told, ‘Seek and ye shall find’
So I’m going to seek a certain lad I’ve had in mind
Looking everywhere, haven’t found him yet
He’s the big affair I cannot forget
Only man I ever think of with regret
I’d like to add his initial to my monogram
Tell me, where is the shepherd for this lost lamb?

[Chorus]
There’s a somebody I’m longing to see
I hope that he
Turns out to be
Someone who’ll watch over me
I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the wood
I know I could
Always be good
To one who’ll watch over me
Although he may not be the man some
Girls think of as handsome
To my heart he carries the key
Won’t you tell him, please, to put on some speed
Follow my lead?
Oh, how I need
Someone to watch over me”

• Ira Gershwin and Howard Dietz, Someone to Watch over Me

Admittedly, Howard Dietz only penned the title, for a song in the musical Oh, Kay!

So, okay, that’s the way they state “composing” a song and why there are so many lawsuits over who actually wrote the song.  I have heard of a writer changing one word in the song and then claiming to have “composed” the song.  It gets kind of silly.  The music was composed by the other Gershwin, George Gershwin.  I do not think anyone changed a note, but with a jazz song …

When we listen to the song, it is a beautiful song.  But there is a hint of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  It is not really hidden.  In the Ella Fitzgerald opening, she mentions needing a shepherd to find the lost lamb.

So, in a very simple song, we have the parable of the lost sheep.  We have Jesus making an “I AM” statement that He is the Good Shepherd.  And the song uses language that pleads the essence of Psalm 23.  And I did not even bring up the quote from Matthew 7:7 about seeking and you will find.  Okay, I just did.

But the singer is still trying to find that someone yet.  Ira Gershwin may not have had his Bible memorized, for these quotes or references are the common parts of the teaching of Jesus.  But this song seems to jump straight out of the Bible.  And then …

And then misdirects the search to someone here on earth, a romantic interest, who will fall far short of what the song asks for.

First, we fail.  We may wish to always be good and never let Jesus down, but we cannot measure up to that.  Once the sin nature is gone and we have new bodies, we can follow up our desires, but that is when we are with Jesus.

And once we accept Jesus into our hearts, to my heart, Jesus carries the key.  He does not care if I am handsome or homely.  In my thinking, when we go to be with Jesus, we will all look fantastic.

So, do I ask God to put on some speed and come to me?

Or do I say, “God, I discover new pains every day, and that pain in my shoulder that has been gone for twenty-five years is back, and it is worse than ever.  I would love to be where there is no more pain.  One of the greatest pains is losing the woman who loved me whether I was pretty or not.  But God, your will be done.  As long as I have breath and a clear mind, I will sing your praises.  I am not looking for someone who will watch over me.  You are already here.”

Here is Ella Fitzgerald singing Someone to Watch over Me.

And for a change of pace and a song, I think, from the only album from this performer I ever had, here is Willie Nelson singing Someone to Watch over Me.  Okay, my wife may have gotten the album about Luckenbach, Texas.  But I loved just about every old jazz standard Willie sang on that album.  I think it was his ease of delivering the lyrics.

The gender switches, depending on who sings the song, but it rings true.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.