Psalm 31 - The Blues Brothers

Ok - so it is Oscars week. I love movies and the Oscars are the one awards show that I will happily take time to watch. So, let’s go to the movies with the Psalms this week. Full disclosure - I was inspired for this by the poetry podcast I listen do each day called The Slowdown. This week, each day’s poem is connected to a movie. Today’s was Jaws. Back to the Psalms. So these three lines spoke deeply to me Sunday night as I read Psalm 31 before bed.

For you are my protection
I put my soul in your hands
And you hold it fast in your truth

After listening to The Slowdown’s poem this morning, I got thinking about movies that connected to these three lines from Psalm 31 and initially was trying to be deep and reflective but the movie that kept coming to mind for me was the 1980 Musical/Comedy, The Blues Brothers. The film is an absolute favorite in our family and it was one that my dad was so excited to introduce me to back in the day (the edited-for-network-TV version). Several of our children have made it their mission to introduce their friends to the film since many of them haven’t seen it.

So, if you haven’t seen it, you really owe it to yourself to do so. Great blues music, great car chases, marvelous humor, and an incredible cast.

But here’s the connection. The story is that Jake and Elwood Blues have a religious awakening and feel a calling to raise money to save the orphanage they grew up in and so a phrase that shows up many times over is “We’re on a mission from God” (said in a stunningly hysterically unique way by Elwood, played by Dan Aykroyd). But in the film, it isn’t words, they are truly called and protected by a divine hand. They are protected, they are held in God’s hands, and they are held fast (and they drive fast too). They have a religious awakening at the Triple Rock Baptist Church, and they manage to escape the police multiple times. They survive the collapse of a building and the destruction of a phone booth they are in. Their car manages to do a miraculous jump over a police barricade and then does a literal “back flip” (is it a backflip if a car doesn’t have a back?) over a car full of Illinois Nazis. And there are many other examples of the divine hand of God watching over them.

So yeah, I’m going to go there today. If you haven’t seen the film, you totally should. If you need to borrow the blu-ray or DVD, I’ll be happy to set you up.

Maybe it isn’t your car doing a backflip over Illinois Nazis, but how have you felt the protective hand of the divine in your life?

Here’s some photos from a “Blues Brothers Pilgrimage” our son and I did in Chicago in early October. The link goes to a google map we set up in planning the trip.

These barricades were painted alongside the bridge that the Bluesmobile jumps early in the film.

The two of us re-enacting the begining of the film when Elwood picks Jake up from Joliet Prison

The Triple Rock Baptist Church - site of the religious awakening. Also where James Brown was the pastor in the film and Chaka Khan makes a cameo in the choir

What was named the “Curl Up and Dye” Hair Salon

The bridge where Jake and Elwood drive a group of Illinois Nazis off into the river. Was a good idea then. Still a good idea now.

The site of the “Palace Hotel Ballroom” where the big concert takes place

The Honorable Richard J Daley Plaza - “Is that where they have the Picasso?” “Yep”

The building that houses the Cook County Assessor’s Office. We went in and rode in the same elevator seen in the film too!

I truly don’t know what movies will be connected to the upcoming Psalms. We’ll see!

Grace, Peace, Love, and Joy,
Ed

PS - Scout felt the need for a photo shoot after our evening walk. One of our daughters added a few things to the fourth image…