One of Us

One of Us
by Eric Bazilian

If God had a Name,
what would it be and -
would you call it to His face
if you were faced with Him
in all His Glory,
what would you ask
if you had just one question . . .

Fireplug: Welcome once again to Full-of-Woe Wednesday! The format’s a little different this week because my brother (Fuelgrip Skip) and I once again find ourselves at cross-purposes – as is usually the case. He came up with today’s song, One of Us, as a candidate for one of his Least Favorite Songs. I actually had it on my list as one of my favorites. So here's a transcript of what transpired around the dinner table. Hope you enjoy the dialogue!

Fuelgrip: Right off the bat, I’m annoyed. “If God had a name . . .” Here’s a news flash: he does!

Fireplug: I think she might be alluding to the ineffable name of God and what we might feel if we came before His holy presence. Kind of like when Isaiah said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 6:5)”

Fuelgrip: But she asks “What would it be?” This sounds like “oh, let’s give God a name!” It’s not like we’re going to the Animal Shelter or something. By the way, who sang this?

Fireplug: Joan Osborne had the hit. I think she was even nominated for a Grammy. I wonder what ever happened to her.

Fuelgrip: I thought it was Alanis Morrissette.

Fireplug: She did a cover of it. But then, so did Prince, Mike Meyers (as Austin Powers) and Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty.

Fuelgrip: Ringing endorsements all. I think I can rest my case here. Do we need to continue?

Fireplug: I’m afraid we must. Let’s go on to the bridge.

Fuelgrip: Here’s a high-water mark in English poetry:

and yeah, yeah
God is great
Yeah, yeah
God is good
Yeah, yeah
yeah yeah yeah

Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson – they’re spinning like gyroscopes right about now.

Fireplug: I know it looks a little goofy on paper, but I actually found it kind of sweet. She was repeating that blessing that we all learn as children. And then the “yeah, yeah” parts kind of introduced an ironic element; like how we can get lost along the way in the culture that engulfs us.

Fuelgrip: You know, brother, you’re a good guy, but you are so gullible!

Fireplug: Really!

Fuelgrip: And I can prove it with two words. Two letters, actually – “O. J.”

Fireplug: All I ever said was that I didn’t think the prosecution had made their case.

Fuelgrip: Congratulations! The jury agreed with you! So, let’s see: that makes 13 of you in the “not guilty” camp and, in the “guilty” camp – uh, help me do the math here – what’s six billion minus 13?

Fireplug: We’re getting way off track. Let’s move on to the chorus:

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on a bus, trying to make His
way home . . .

Fuelgrip: Now, I’m going to surprise you here, but I thought, musically, that this was a pretty good part. She’d been repeating the silly “yeah, yeah, yeah” parts, almost monotonously. And then, she pops it up an octave and belts it out on the chorus.

Fireplug: Very nicely said. And I may surprise you here, but the “slob” line always bothered me.

Fuelgrip: I just said I liked the music. The lyrics make me crazy.

Fireplug: I think she was just posing a rhetorical question. If God was one of us, how we would act? Kind of like the “entertaining angels unaware” concept.

Fuelgrip: But God was one of us. “And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us . . .”

Fireplug: True. But the chorus with its questions might be able to start a dialogue with someone on just that very topic.

Fuelgrip: I just think . . . now I remember the singer! Wasn’t she the woman that had the huge ring sticking through her nose?

Fireplug: Yes, I believe so. And you’re saying this makes a difference?

Fuelgrip: I’m just saying that sometimes you can get a feel for attitude by how someone presents themselves. And when I look at her and think, “NASA, I think we found part of that satellite . . .”

Fireplug: Unbelievable! Boy, I’m glad you weren’t around in the First Century. Let’s see: we’ve got this poor, unmarried pregnant girl from some backwater village about to give birth in a stable. Then, there’s some scruffy shepherds that show up. Oh, and you certainly couldn’t start a successful ministry with a bunch of dumb fisherman!

Fuelgrip: Point made. I stand corrected. What’s the next verse?

If God had a face,
what would it look like and
would you want to see
if seeing meant that
You would have to believe
in things like
Heaven and in Jesus and the Saints
and all the Prophets and . . .

Fireplug: I always liked this verse. It’s calling for a decision. If you're someone like Thomas – where seeing is believing – then if you do see, you start evaluating Heaven, Jesus, the Saints, the Prophets . . .

Fuelgrip: But “no one has ever seen God” but only His Son. So we couldn’t look on His face in any event.

Fireplug: You know, you’re just way too literal.

Fuelgrip: And you’re too alliteral!

Fireplug: Well, we wouldn’t want a wayward weblog, would we?

Fuelgrip: Let’s just trudge over the bridge and through the chorus again.

Yeah, yeah
God is great
Yeah, yeah
God is good
Yeah, yeah
yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on a bus,
trying to make His way home . . .

Fireplug: Were you singing along just now? I think you like this song more than you let on.

Fuelgrip: I don’t deny the music is catchy, but that’s part of the problem. People might be taken with the music and then not think about the words.

Fireplug: But the very fact that it’s a good tune means that more people might pay attention. Remember, CBS even used it as the theme song for that Joan of Arcadia show.

Fuelgrip: And you’re mentioning CBS like this is supposed to convince me?

Fireplug: Fair enough. But it was a good show.

Fuelgrip: As Woody Allen tells Diane Keaton in Love and Death, “You’re quoting a Hun to me?”

Fireplug: I was just happy to see God being brought up and discussed on network television.

Fuelgrip: Well, we’re about to the end of our discussion. Here’s the final chorus. I actually did think the “Pope” line was kind of clever:

Tryin' to make His way home
Back up to Heaven all alone . . .
Nobody callin' on the phone
'Cept for the Pope maybe in Rome . . .

Fireplug: I like it, too. And I come away from this song feeling a little sorry for God.

Fuelgrip: You feel sorry for God! Wow, there’s two thousand years of religious doctrine down the tubes!

Fireplug: Well, what I mean is, we’re supposed to see God in everyone, and I do think when his children hurt, God hurts with them.

Fuelgrip: That’s what I’m trying to say, too. There are so many lost and hurting and lonely people that we should be reaching out to them. I think we are supposed to go out and be Christ’s hands and feet here on earth.

Fireplug: And I think we can do that more effectively if we spend time with the Lord; really listening to what He’s saying. And as we’re able to hear His voice, He’ll lead us where we should go and what we should do.

Fuelgrip: But then we need to step out. We don’t need a song posing “what if’s” about God – we need to do what He’s already told us to do.

Fireplug: Well, we’re actually agreeing on something, sort of. You know, Skip, this has been fun.

Fuelgrip: I always enjoy talking with you, Doug.

Fireplug: Really? Thanks. Well, it’s been great to get both sides today. I think I lean more to the inward, spiritual side, looking for the Lord in everything and letting God speak to us. I think you lean more to going out and being His hands and feet. And you’re right – if we don’t do it, it’s not going to get done.

Fuelgrip: So let’s give each other one nugget of wisdom before you pass the potatoes.

Fireplug: Talk with the Father.

Fuelgrip: Call your mother.