Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover holiday. In all four Gospels Jesus performs various healings and teaches by way of parables while in Jerusalem, until the Last Supper.

I chose today’s song, Pennies From Heaven by Inner City to represent Palm Sunday because it outlines a more expansive understanding of the Joy we began to cultivate last week. There are many gifts of Spirit and we can use them to reach out to those around us to help alleviate suffering.

Peace is one of the gifts specifically mentioned in this song as is faith and the loving understanding born of a heart-to-heart conversation.

I’ve seen this song become a catalyst for transformation where once people danced in their own separate expressions and halfway through this song hundreds of people join hands and sway with people lined up at bathroom and bar put their arms around each other and sing along.

Just reach out and help them do the best you can
No-one said we could solve every problem

I love how the lyrics portray a realistic and practical application of sharing our gifts of Spirit, our pennies from heaven. “No one said we could solve every problem” but we can still reach out and try.

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Lent in the Christian tradition covers the period leading up to the Easter holiday. Different denominations calculate lent differently and they all have their own way of celebrating it or not as each congregation stipulates.

Marked as a period of preparation, believers use prayer, penitence, alms-giving and self-denial to develop an appreciation of the Easter miracle which forms the basis of Christian faith.

This symbolic recreating of Jesus’ experiences in the desert always reminds me of Arnold Jarvis’ beautiful song, “Take Some Time Out.” Unlike the vast majority of gay men, I always seem to gravitate towards a male vocal. Sure, I love a diva wailing and riding those notes too but a strong male vocal like Arnold’s can always stir my soul. I’ve often considered him one of the most under rated voices to contribute to the dance music family.

Originally released in 1987, the vocals just sum up that incredible feeling and spirit of early House Music – spreading a universal message of sharing and loving, accompanied by a masterful soundtrack.