Stairway to Heaven
Digging Deeper: A Lenten Study of the Gospel of Luke - Now available on Amazon.com
Some dormitories at Virginia Tech are grouped in quads: four buildings in a square with a grassy area in the center. That grassy area was a place to hang out when the weather was warm. Windows were often open and at least one dorm window would have music blasting. Often, you would hear this:
There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for,
and she's buying a stairway to heaven.
“Stairway to Heaven” originated in 1970 when Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zepplin were spending time at a remote cottage in Wales. Page always kept a cassette recorder around, and the idea came together from bits of taped music. Jimmy Page strummed the chords, and Robert Plant wrote lyrics.
There are lots of theories as to the meaning. One theory mentions “Lord of the Rings.” But according to the authors, it’s not that deep. It’s about shallow materialism and greed: “a woman getting everything she wanted without giving anything back.”
Sometimes simplest is best. Our lady in the song is trying her best to buy her way through life yet there are choices: “There are two paths you can go by, but in the long run. There's still time to change the road you're on.”
Two paths: you can try to buy your stairway to heaven or as a later verse:
Your head is humming, and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?
Here is where I get creative: “You can’t buy your way to heaven. That’s why your head is humming with confusion. But the piper’s calling you to join him. The proper path on the stairway lies on the whispering wind.”
Who is the piper? For me, it’s Jesus, and he’s calling each of us. The wind of God’s Holy Spirit is blowing all around. If you follow the Piper, your stairway to heaven can be guided by the whispering wind of God’s Holy Spirit.
If the writer of the song heard this, he would likely deny it, but I think it’s a great way to interpret the song, especially when you understand what Jesus is teaching in the eighth chapter of Luke.
In many ways, each of us are on a stairway to heaven and because we are different, the path may look different, but the stairway is before us and Jesus is the piper calling us to join him.
“Stairway to Heaven” says, “Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on.” There is still time for all of us to make changes along the road, but the choice is ultimately ours. But know this: “The piper’s calling you to join him.”
Near the end of “Stairway to Heaven” there is a plea: “Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know that your stairway lies on the whispering wind?”
Ah but she doesn’t follow the piper or listen to the whispering wind. So, the final agonizing words of the song are: “And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.”
That is her choice, but it should not be yours. Follow and trust the Piper: Jesus.
When we choose to follow the Piper and listen to the Whispering Wind, we are never alone. Jesus is with us and will remain with us.
God continually sends invitations to be the church during challenging times. Our faithful response should be to say 'yes' to the invitation knowing that serving God is more important than our occupation, our family or even our very lives. We say yes trusting God for answers, resources, and courage to enable us to do far more than we ever imagined possible.