I love the way the sermon plays out, it has such wonderful imagery. I'm sure we all know Maynard's penchant for New-Age philosophy, but what makes this unique is how he merges it with Christian-styled delivery. The whole thing is pretty densely packed, so let's take a look at each section.
"And the angel of the lord led me into the belly of the holy mother
A chamber black as pitch."
Behold, the holy vagina, most wonderful of temples! Probably a metaphorical use here, but considering how often Maynard uses genital imagery (Magdalena, 4 degrees, etc), I think it would be silly not to take that angle here. Sex and spirituality seems to be highly linked for him.
"But I felt no fear, only comfort, for I was as a child in the womb
And she baid me here through yonder portal which looked upon the heavens, and behold! a morning angel'
She ascended slowly from far beyond the horizon, her light like a heavenly finger pointing the way"
Child in a womb, pretty clear there. We've got a re-birth here, he crawls back out of the vagina into a new world. Compare to born-again Christians. Next symbol is the morning angel, or Lucifer. Interestingly, the angel is female, drawing a connection to Venus/Aphrodite, goddess of Love. Another merger of sin and sex.
"And on yonder wall she traced for me a path which led me, five directions, eight winters to east and behold! As my feet landed firmly upon the final winter of the second score."
Other people here have commented on the eight winters to the east line, I'll let you read their interpretation.
"There appeared before me a heavenly star, a holy virgin, the bringer of life and breath, and she spoke unto me, saying 'fear not the movement of the heavens above or the earth below, for change is what we are, my child. Righteous are those who look up and sway with the wind, who look down and dance with the shifting of the soil, who swim with the movement of the tides, who seek the truth around them and discover we are and have always been in paradise.
The reflections of heaven on earth.
Amen!"
Here I think MJK is referencing The Star from the Tarot, a symbol of enlightenment and inspiration. The reflection of heaven on earth indeed. The message from the Star seems to be "go with the flow". Seek re-integration with the natural forces of this world, for humanity has been steadily divorcing itself from Momma.
"And she spoke again, saying know, my child, that there is no devil seeking to corrupt the hearts of men.
No evil, save blind faith, ignorance, and the desire for the unprepared to blame others for the devastation left in the wake of change.
Change, my child. Change is in the heavens. Change is on this earth.
Change is all around us, and we are reflections of the divine, we must roll with these changes, for we are these changes.
Eyes wide open, we must look upon the heavens as a mirror.
Wide awake, aware, deeply breathing."
This is where things get interesting. We have a direct condemnation of Christian rhetoric on evil. There is NO devil seeking to corrupt the hearts of man. This section I believe is hinting at the importance of personal responsibility. You can't blame your faults on the devil because you are your own person. "We must look upon the heavens as a mirror" is a nice little reversal of the earlier line about the Star. While the divine is present on earth to inspire us to seek it without, we need to start by realizing our own internal divinity. As above so below kind of idea. The change part seems rather self-explanatory - the world is flux, is chaos, and we must roll with it.
"And when the shit comes down, my child, you will be there, a true and holy survivor to inherit the kingdom of god.
You will rise above the rumbles of the unprepared to greet the new day, to drink from the sweet fruit of the vine, the water of life, the blood of the risen christ, my child."
Reintegrating with Christian imagery now. Most religious structures tend to have an apocalypse worked in, the Christians just made theirs REALLY exciting. The Risen god is everywhere, but the Christian interpretation of this myth resonates widely, considering how influential Christianity has been on Western culture.
"Go now, child, tell them all. The ignorant, the blind paw of dogma, blinded by faith, the doubters, the nay sayers.
Tell them all, child, they can not see the kingdom of god, they can not see paradise unfold before them, they can not drink from the chalice which holds the blood of christ, the water of life, until they get right with jesus.
Until they get right with jesus.
It's always gonna be sour grapes with you boy, until you get ripe with jesus."
Again, more potent Christian rhetoric. Important to note is the denunciation of dogma and ignorance. Jesus here is not the Jesus of the Christians, any more than the morning angel is the Lucifer of the Christians.
On a side note, does anyone know who does the actual sermon? I think it sounds a bit like Bob Odenkirk, which is a possibility considering MJK's occasional presence on Mr. Show.
I love the way the sermon plays out, it has such wonderful imagery. I'm sure we all know Maynard's penchant for New-Age philosophy, but what makes this unique is how he merges it with Christian-styled delivery. The whole thing is pretty densely packed, so let's take a look at each section.
"And the angel of the lord led me into the belly of the holy mother A chamber black as pitch."
Behold, the holy vagina, most wonderful of temples! Probably a metaphorical use here, but considering how often Maynard uses genital imagery (Magdalena, 4 degrees, etc), I think it would be silly not to take that angle here. Sex and spirituality seems to be highly linked for him.
"But I felt no fear, only comfort, for I was as a child in the womb And she baid me here through yonder portal which looked upon the heavens, and behold! a morning angel' She ascended slowly from far beyond the horizon, her light like a heavenly finger pointing the way"
Child in a womb, pretty clear there. We've got a re-birth here, he crawls back out of the vagina into a new world. Compare to born-again Christians. Next symbol is the morning angel, or Lucifer. Interestingly, the angel is female, drawing a connection to Venus/Aphrodite, goddess of Love. Another merger of sin and sex.
"And on yonder wall she traced for me a path which led me, five directions, eight winters to east and behold! As my feet landed firmly upon the final winter of the second score."
Other people here have commented on the eight winters to the east line, I'll let you read their interpretation.
"There appeared before me a heavenly star, a holy virgin, the bringer of life and breath, and she spoke unto me, saying 'fear not the movement of the heavens above or the earth below, for change is what we are, my child. Righteous are those who look up and sway with the wind, who look down and dance with the shifting of the soil, who swim with the movement of the tides, who seek the truth around them and discover we are and have always been in paradise. The reflections of heaven on earth. Amen!"
Here I think MJK is referencing The Star from the Tarot, a symbol of enlightenment and inspiration. The reflection of heaven on earth indeed. The message from the Star seems to be "go with the flow". Seek re-integration with the natural forces of this world, for humanity has been steadily divorcing itself from Momma.
"And she spoke again, saying know, my child, that there is no devil seeking to corrupt the hearts of men. No evil, save blind faith, ignorance, and the desire for the unprepared to blame others for the devastation left in the wake of change. Change, my child. Change is in the heavens. Change is on this earth. Change is all around us, and we are reflections of the divine, we must roll with these changes, for we are these changes. Eyes wide open, we must look upon the heavens as a mirror. Wide awake, aware, deeply breathing."
This is where things get interesting. We have a direct condemnation of Christian rhetoric on evil. There is NO devil seeking to corrupt the hearts of man. This section I believe is hinting at the importance of personal responsibility. You can't blame your faults on the devil because you are your own person. "We must look upon the heavens as a mirror" is a nice little reversal of the earlier line about the Star. While the divine is present on earth to inspire us to seek it without, we need to start by realizing our own internal divinity. As above so below kind of idea. The change part seems rather self-explanatory - the world is flux, is chaos, and we must roll with it.
"And when the shit comes down, my child, you will be there, a true and holy survivor to inherit the kingdom of god. You will rise above the rumbles of the unprepared to greet the new day, to drink from the sweet fruit of the vine, the water of life, the blood of the risen christ, my child."
Reintegrating with Christian imagery now. Most religious structures tend to have an apocalypse worked in, the Christians just made theirs REALLY exciting. The Risen god is everywhere, but the Christian interpretation of this myth resonates widely, considering how influential Christianity has been on Western culture.
"Go now, child, tell them all. The ignorant, the blind paw of dogma, blinded by faith, the doubters, the nay sayers. Tell them all, child, they can not see the kingdom of god, they can not see paradise unfold before them, they can not drink from the chalice which holds the blood of christ, the water of life, until they get right with jesus. Until they get right with jesus. It's always gonna be sour grapes with you boy, until you get ripe with jesus."
Again, more potent Christian rhetoric. Important to note is the denunciation of dogma and ignorance. Jesus here is not the Jesus of the Christians, any more than the morning angel is the Lucifer of the Christians.
On a side note, does anyone know who does the actual sermon? I think it sounds a bit like Bob Odenkirk, which is a possibility considering MJK's occasional presence on Mr. Show.