A New Song in Praise of the Old

A sermon based on Psalm 98

Don Friesen
May 17, 2009
Ottawa Mennonite Church

www.ottawamennonite.ca

The Tyranny of the Old

The psalmist invites us to sing a new song! (Psalm 98:1) One translation, always a little casual in language, invites us to sing a "brand-new song". (The Message) I can imagine that as soon as those words came out of the psalmist's mouth someone in the congregation said, "Why?!? Why a new song? What's the matter with the old songs?"

The people of God have always had among them those who are suspicious of change. In one congregation there was a cantankerous old man who had sat on Church Council for longer than anyone could remember. When the minister of his church recommended they observe their one hundred and fifty year history with a sesquicentennial celebration, the old man was quick to speak up: "I'm against it!" When asked, "Why?" he replied, "For the simple reason that we've never had one of them sesquicentennials before!"

Some of us resist change. We like tradition, and are sceptical about changes and the reasons for making them. For some there have been far too many changes to the Church as we used to know it. One exasperated traditionalist told his minister, "Reverend, if God were alive today, he'd be shocked at the changes in this church!"

I don't know if the Church is any more resistant to change than other institutions, but it's a criticism often levelled at the Church. One person said that much more dear to the Church than the Seven Last Words of Christ are the Seven Last Words of the Church: "We've – never – done – it – that – way – before!"

One congregational leader, responsible for worship, was surprised when his suggestion to move the piano from one side of the sanctuary to the other met with considerable resistance. Refusing to despair, however, he came up with a solution – every month he moved the piano one inch closer to where he wanted it.

The Church's resistance to change is not always for the good. Critics of the Church point to one of our more famous blunders, that of Copernicus (1473-1543), who suggested that the earth circled the sun rather than the other way around – a cosmology that displaced the earth from the centre of the universe, and an idea the Church held to be "false and altogether opposed to Holy Scripture".

Old ways are not always better than new ways. A book just published is entitled The Tyranny of Dead Ideas (Matt Miller), suggesting we let go of old ways of thinking, in this case with respect to economics. He may have a point, the present economic crisis seeming to indicate that the old ways of doing business are not serving us well!

The Tyranny of the New

If, however, we are sometimes subject to the tyranny of the old – the tyranny of dead ideas – we are also subject to the tyranny of the new. And in North America the Church, in particular, seems to be in a rush to embrace the contemporary. Here's how one such church describes itself:

"We're not big on doing church the traditional way, so dress casual and come worship God in a relaxed, contemporary, and informal setting! Gather your family around a table, have coffee or juice, and a treat while one of (our worship) bands ...play uplifting and contemporary music. The sermons are short, ...and positive. The entire worship service is approximately forty-five minutes." (Daily Encouragement blog)

It's considered cool to be "trendier-than-thou," and God forbid we should have to listen to ideas for more than fifteen minutes! The old is disparaged in favour of the new; indeed, the notion of what is old has changed. Someone who attended a self-identified "contemporary" church on Easter Sunday was asked, "Did you sing some of the great Easter hymns, like ‘Christ The Lord Is Risen Today?' Or, for that matter, any songs celebrating Christ's resurrection?" And the fellow answered that they sang an "old" song from 1999 that he thought might have had something to do with the resurrection!

Anything more than ten to twenty years old is considered of little use, and there is a strained attempt to be relevant to the current age. Consequently you get sermon titles like, "What Would Jesus Say to Madonna?"

LarkNews did a spoof of this obsession with relevance, describing a contest for the coveted "Most Relevant Pastor" award. At the ceremony a clutch of pastors stood in one corner and compared BlackBerries, while other nominees swapped tips on which movie clips they were currently using in their worship services. The winner of the "Most Relevant" award was a Jim Turney, who, judges noted, carefully selects the popular songs and TV shows to refer to in his sermons, and often preaches with his iPod earbuds draped around his neck. Said one judge, "The guy is in full relating mode with his congregation. He's completely dialed in." ("N.C. pastor named Most Relevant," LarkNews.com)

The contemporary church wants leaders who are current, who can entertain, and who can draw all people unto themselves. And if he or she is in the top 0.01% of up-and-coming church leaders, so much the better! Qualifications for ministry might well include that you must have been a high school athlete and be willing to brag about it, and that you must be arrogant and opinionated – in a humble, Christlike way. (Todd Rhoades, "Innovative and Relevant Pastor Needed Immediately," September 29, 2006)

Critics of the contemporary church see a frightening, and rather blatant capitulation to consumerism. Proponents do not hesitate to call their techniques "marketing methods". There is a reckless abandonment of liturgy, form, and creed in an effort to attract people. The idea is to craft the worship of the Church to meet "felt needs," running the risk of attracting, if not creating, casual church shoppers. Meeting needs does not always satisfy needs; it often stokes further needs and raises the prospect of eventual disillusionment. "Need ...subject to consumer fashion, ...becomes shallow, plastic and manipulative," and can mask the real need that the Gospel addresses – our alienation from God! (Os Guiness, Dining with Devil, cited in John H. Armstrong, "The Contemporary Church")

G.K.Chesterton, a famous literary figure in Britain in the early twentieth century, compared himself – with respect to his faith – to an English yachtsman who slightly miscalculated his course and discovered England, under the impression that it was a new island in the South Seas. He writes, with respect to his faith in God:

Orthodoxy

An Ancient Path Provides New Beginnings

A Church captive to the tyranny of the new is just as ridiculous as one held captive to the tyranny of the old. And really, how helpful are our notions of new and old. Some traditions are a generation old, some a century old, some several centuries; some reach back millennia! And doesn't the Church in every age consider itself contemporary?

Our text invites us to sing a new song, but another biblical text invites us to "stand at the crossroads, ...and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls." (Jeremiah 6:16) On some occasions the Scriptures have a preference for the old, on other occasions the new. For example, Jesus said that "no one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made." (Mark 2:21) On the other hand, Jesus observed that "no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.'" (Luke 5:39) And he was not talking about either textiles or intoxicants, per se!

Jesus said, "Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." (Matthew 13:52) There is a recognition that the Gospel has continuity with an old, old spiritual tradition. The writer of 1 John tells us: "Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning...." (1 John 2:7) At the same time there is the conviction that out of the old verities springs new life! "If anyone is in Christ," wrote Paul, (he or she) is a new creation: everything old has passed away; ...everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

There is no cause for those who embrace the new to disparage the old, or for those who cling to the old to find fault with the new. The Church, collectively, and as individuals, needs to strike a balance, for one needs enough innovation to stay vibrant, and enough stability to lend some depth to our witness. We may use new approaches, and try new perspectives on things, but our Christian faith and witness is not a brand-new thing. It's the continuation of the faithful witness Christ's servants for over the millennia.

The psalmist invites us to sing a new song, and perhaps the metaphor of music serves us well. Carla Klassen is composing a new song for our anniversary celebrations this fall, but like all music it will no doubt be a mix of improvisation and tradition, a mix of familiar forms and new approaches, or new melodies using familiar musical motifs. The Church is at its best when it combines new ideas with the best of its tradition.

It's Not about Us!

Let me make one final point regarding our text from the Psalms. Psalm 98 is one of the enthronement psalms, a collection of psalms or songs to be used at the ancient equivalent of a coronation. In this case it is celebrating the coming of God's reign among us, a reign of cosmic dimensions. The psalmist was a member of a geo-politically marginal people, yet he calls every person in every time and place to sing God's praise.

Much of the discussion in the Church about "old" and "new" is rather selfish in character; it's about my needs, my preferences, my view of the Church. And Psalm 98 reminds us that what we do when we gather is not about us! "Sing to the Lord a new song," wrote the psalmist. "Sing to the Lord a new song, for (the Lord) has done marvellous things. The Lord ...has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to (us)." (Psalm 98:1-3)

There is no room in this psalm, and in God's worship, for today's narcissistic, me-obsessed culture. Psalm 98's invitation to joy is based upon what God has done and will do. God has done marvellous things. The new song we are invited to sing is sung in response to God's acts of salvation, which extend from eternity to eternity!

Praise God!

Quotations of Scripture are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.