Musings on the Daily Lectionary

O sing to the LORD a new song;
Sing to the LORD, all the earth. (Psalm 96:1)

What's wrong with old songs? Why do we have to sing a new one? I vaguely recall watching a movie on the life of Peter Marshall on our TV when I was a child. At the time I didn't know that he was a famous preacher, and I don't remember very much about the movie. But I do recall a scene where he was struggling at some outdoor event early in his career, and the situation was salvaged when someone fired up the crowd by getting them to sing "Gimme that Old Time Religion." It wasn't a song I knew, but it had lines that went, "It was good enough for Hebrew children; it was good enough... And it's good enough for me."

We recently did a "hymn survey" in my congregation so we would have a good list of favorites to use for a "hymn sing" Sunday worship service. A few favorites were relatively new songs, but most were oldie goldies. I don't know, but I suspect that for many these favorites come from folk's childhood and youth, songs that were part of their Christian formation. Music is a very emotional part of life, and many of us have music both religious and secular that can immediately transport us to another time and place, that can conjure up all sorts of memories.

So what's wrong with old songs? Nothing. We need to sing old songs. We need connection to the traditions that have sustained faith over the years and centuries. But as the psalmist knows, we need new songs, too. A God who is "making all things new" can never be fully expressed using only the old and traditional. Our faith is aimed toward a "new heaven and a new earth," and it cannot be fully contained in what was "good enough" for some previous time.

A vital, lively faith must cast its vision in two directions, toward both the past and the future. Traditions from the past form a foundation for us so that we can continue to move toward God's future. And as we catch glimpses of that new day, we will need to "sing to the LORD a new song."

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