“Sing to the Lord a New Song”

Exodus 14:26-15:2, 20-21, Ephesians 5:15-20

Providence United Presbyterian Church=

June = 1, 2008 (Worship Series 5)

Rev. = Dr. Mary Jane Hitt

&= nbsp; What in the world was the Psalmist thinking when he wrote “Sing to the Lor= d a new song”? We would probably be more likely to write something along the lines of “Praise the Lord, but don’t = mess with my music.” Do you = know what I mean?

&= nbsp; Tom Long says that “music is the nuclear reactor of congregational worship. It is where much of = the radioactive material is stored, where a good bit of energy is generated, an= d, alas, where congregational meltdown is most likely to occur.”

&= nbsp; He is right, isn’t he? Whi= le music can pull a congregation together, it can also split a congregation ri= ght down the middle – because we each have our own preferences when it co= mes to music. Some of us enjoy the Philharmonic, and some don’t. Some of us watch American Idol, and some don’t. Country music may be your thing, or maybe it’s show tunes, or easy listening, or pop, or jazz, or reggae,= or rap that floats your boat.

&= nbsp; And of course our different tastes in music come right here with us when we gat= her for worship. Some of us love = gospel hymns from the early twentieth century, and some of us prefer classical tun= es with words that go back hundreds of years. Some like modern hymns and praise songs, and some are drawn to more meditative music from modern or ancient traditions.

&= nbsp; So what’s a congregation to do?<= /i> It’s a complicated question.= We know, of course, what congregat= ions usually do. They usually choose one basic styl= e of music and stick to it. Hymns, instrumental music, anthems, special musical offerings in most congregations follow a pattern. At New Community Church, the music is likely to be modern and upbeat and accompanied by guitar and drums or maybe= a whole praise band. At Old First Church, it’s = likely to be Bach or Handel and the organ all the way.

        &= nbsp;   But there is a problem with that familiar pattern, and it’s an obvious on= e: It divides the people of God. If you don’t like modern praise music accompanied by guitar and drum, you aren’t likely to choose New Community Church. And if you find Bach and Handel te= dious, then Old = First Church isn’t for you. The Chri= stian community divides itself by musical preference, and in doing so, divides it= self in other ways as well, because our taste in music often reflects our age, a= nd our ethnic background and even our income and educational level. When our music appeals to only one= slice of the demographic pie – people like us – we shouldn’t be surprised that a lot of other folks – folks different from us – stay away.

        &= nbsp;   One of the most obvious disconnects between the music of many churches and the people we want to attract is generational.= Teenagers and young adults whose Ipods channel Eminem or Kelly Clark= son or Casting Crowns directly into their ears day in and day out don’t really resonate with much of our church music. And yet we complain that young peo= ple don’t come to church.

        &= nbsp;   Tex Sample tells a story about a midwestern shopping mall that was designed to = have a nostalgic appeal to older, more affluent shoppers. It had quaint gaslights, gourmet restaurants, boutiques with cute awnings and expensive merchandise. But, for some unknown reason, the city’s teenagers discovered that mall and started hanging out there.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> It became the cool place for teens= to see and to be seen. The mall = was where the action was. Every n= ight young people cruised the parking lot and crowded the walkways and the stores. But they didn’t= buy. As a result, the mall’s busi= ness fell off precipitously, so the business owners called an emergency meeting = to address the crisis. As they struggled about what to do, one of them came up with a brilliant idea. The very next day the mall manager= s began playing “easy listening” music over the mall’s sound system. Within a day or two, = the kids had left, never to return.

        &= nbsp;   “This story, Sample says, is a warning sign for ‘churches that will not bot= her to learn and practice the soul musics of the great majority of people in th= is culture.’ By holding fi= rm to Bach-bred anthems and ‘easy listening’ traditional hymns, the church repels youth people and risks permanently alienating a whole generat= ion.” [Tom Long, Beyond the Worship Wars, p. 54]

=             <= /span>And, like I said, our difference= s are not just generational. Race a= nd national origin and socio-economic status and education all shape what musi= c we enjoy, and what music we cannot tolerate.&= nbsp; When a church adopts one style of music, it implicitly creates an environment in which all do not feel welcome, whatever the sign outside the door may say.

        &= nbsp;   So back to the question: What’s a congregation to do? I can think of only two options. The first is to “stay the course” – to stick with what has worked in the = past – with what we find comfortable – with what we like, hoping that there are still enough people around who share our taste in church music to fill the pews. And it can be tempting just to hunker down and insist on doing things the way we always have. It’s easier. It keeps worship familiar and comfortable for us.

        &= nbsp;   But what if we take seriously the fact that worship isn’t really for us at all, but for God? What then?<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> What if it isn’t our musical preference, but God= 217;s, that really matters? And what= it God’s taste in music is as diverse as that of the people God loves? If we really believe that, it open= s up a whole new way of thinking about music in the church. If we really believe that (and I, = for one, do) then we will want to embrace a wide range of musical styles in our wors= hip, showing through our actions, and not just our words, that all are welcome.<= o:p>

Widening the variety of our worship music doesn’t mean that anything goes, and= it doesn’t mean that we leave old favorites by the wayside. It means making room for good music – music that is consistent with the message of the gospel – mus= ic that is well-crafted, whether it is old or new – written for organ or piano or trumpet or guitar – formal or informal. It means (can you believe it?) sin= ging a new song to the Lord, rememberi= ng that all of our favorite hymns were new, once upon a time.

        &= nbsp;   I have a hunch that for many of us, the challenge that new hymns present isn’t really that we dislike them, but that it we feel awkward singing songs we don’t know. An= d so it is a real blessing that our new organist, Linda Hickernell, is also a vocal= ist and a music teacher. She love= s to teach new music to congregation and choir alike, as well as to sing and play old favorites, and she has some ideas about how we might broaden our congregational life through music. <= /span>

        &= nbsp;   Of course, music is just one of the arts that come into play when we gather to worship. Dance and drama also= have their place, as we see throughout scripture. When the ancient Israelites prevai= led over the Egyptian army, the prophet Miriam and the other women took tambour= ines and danced their praise. King= David danced before the Lord as the people carried the ark of the covenant back t= o Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah told the peop= le who had been taken into Babylonian captivity that they would once again rejoice= and dance when they returned to worship in the Promised Land.=

        &= nbsp;   There is a way in which the past few years of our own church’s story have echoed the story of the people of Israel. Sometimes have felt as though we h= ave been wandering in the wilderness; sometimes we have felt as though we were = in Babylonian captivity. We have longed to return to our home, and in just a few more weeks, we will be back= in our “Promised Land.” We will process into our new church with singing and rejoicing and some of you= may even kick up your heels and dance.

        &= nbsp;   As we prepare for that journey, let me suggest something. If you ever find yourself feeling uncomfortable because you don’t know or don’t like a particular hymn that we are singing – if you ever find yourself squirming when d= rama slips into a sermon, or when liturgical dancers come down the aisle, then do this. Look around you, and gi= ve thanks that someone else is being blessed by that hymn or that drama or that dance. And when you really lo= ve the music or dance or drama of worship, give thanks that others who may not sha= re your opinion were gracious enough to share worship with you.

        &= nbsp;   Thanks be to God. Amen.