Mary Travers - thought & reflection of her time

My musical propensity toward 'folk' was born from the smooth sounds of groups like the Kingston Trio, The Weavers and, later, Peter, Paul and Mary. Yes, before 'folk rock', there was folk, and though but a boy when such appeared on our American music scene, I liked it, learned to play it, and think fondly of it still. "Hooked" - I even enjoyed 'Up With People' and the 'Smothers Brothers' - the latter not just for their comedy but their music. After all, who didn't appreciate "If I Had a Hammer" and the "Ballad of John Henry" simply performed with vocals, acoustic guitar and a stand-up string bass.

But now, frankly, until yesterday - when news that folk music legend, Mary Travers, died at 72 of Leukemia, I hadn't thought much of this genre in a long, long time. Mary was the 'Mary' of "Peter, Paul and Mary" - whom my parents thought of as 'certainly' a 'Christian group' based on their first names, actually only their given names, as New Testament 'biggies,' but, as we all know, this was not so. Not entirely, though Paul Stookey did publicly profess faith in Christ by the late 60s - but that 's a sideline, so let's get back to Mary - she was born in Kentucky in 1936, to journalistic parents. In the 50s her parents moved to New York's Greenwich Village, where Mary was likely influenced by both her parents and the 'bohemian-like culture' of friends and neighborhood. Hip before hippies, this culture greatly influenced what was to come - a brooding in America needing only a cause, and perfectly delivered by the 60s itself, Civil Rights, and the Vietnam War.

Now I know that "Puff the Magic Dragon" may have (perhaps did) offer an alter or ulterior meaning - or at least I was warned. And I also know that many of the young people of that day and time, were, well... a mess. But we/they did think - if only for a while - and were changed because of it, though I confess to looking about now at what has and hasn't been and wondering, "where has our 'hammer' gone?" And though as an evangelical pastor I do not espouse to a politically liberal ideology or body-politic, I do espouse to a thoughtful, world-changing one, thank you very much! One, yes, that still challenges the status quo. For, if Jesus is not that towards this time, then we've misunderstood Him. For we of all people should be careful that we do not rob our own children of the one thing that the folk youth of the 60s held onto - which was hope. The hope that things could be, should be, must be better. Yes, I think we -even we Christian's - are woefully remiss when we sound only the bell of doom. For if our Christian youth are to change their world in Christ, it will be with the gospel - which is certainly a gospel of hope and not doom.

Mary Travers was 72. She has now passed from life to life eternal - and will be judged based upon what she did with Christ, as well as what she was or was not in Him. Period! Her time on earth was six score and 12. Her songs were the easy, at times woeful, songs of hope - if only for things least hopeful. By contrast, we have been given real hope in Christ. So... let me ask... 'what's our song?'

Pastor Sam