Sing a new song to the
Lord!
Many of us have been praising God with these words of Psalm
149 every single morning this past Easter week in the Liturgy of the Hours.
But what does it mean to “sing a new song” to the Lord?
Often, it means that we need to move on from our “old songs”
– or to allow Jesus to transform them radically with the newness that he brings
in his Passover victory. Our old songs, if played out to their completion, only
bring slavery and misery. Jesus desires to teach us a new song in the new and
eternal covenant, sealed with his blood in his Passover victory.
As in the original Passover, singing a new song means
leaving Egypt and the ways of Egypt behind as we pursue God’s promises with
fellowship, praise, and a deep desire to enter into the Lord’s rest.
Most of us know how well that worked out for most of the
Israelites. It didn’t take them long in the desert to start pining for the
fleshpots of Egypt, wishing they were back among familiar places and faces,
forgetting in their fantasizing just how awful it had been to be enslaved. They
reached an ultimate low point at the very moment when God was ready to form a
special covenant with them on Mount Sinai. Moses comes down from his forty-day
fast, bearing tablets inscribed by the very finger of God, only to find the
Israelites carousing and revling around the golden calf they have fashioned for
themselves.
Such sins do not come out of nowhere. They are the
culmination of singing “old songs,” the melodies of which sweep us along toward
old solutions to old problems. Once we get started with a catchy song, we feel
the urge to finish it. Fans of The Office
may remember the hilarious elevator scene in which Andy and Pam are trying to
make a cold call to a potential client. Andy annoyingly sings the names and
suite numbers of all the businesses he sees listed. Pam interrupts him with the
right answer and urges him to stop singing. Andy complains, “Except it was
going to resolve the melody, so now my head hurts. Feels like I held in a sneeze.
Mmm! I hate this feeling!” Truthfully, we all do. The farther along we are in
our old song, the harder it is to stop.
It is so helpful to reflect upon our experiences – including
our darkest moments of sin – with kindness and curiosity. In our shame, we tend
to avoid telling the full truth of our behaviors. Sadly, in that hiding and
avoidance, we also miss out on the chance to learn valuable lessons and grow.
The truth is that our unholy moments of acting out are almost always preceded by unholy rituals that function much like the melodies of an old song – often a song that we learned decades ago. If we are paying attention in those moments, we will notice that we feel a certain way; that we have certain images running through our head; and that our bodies experience certain sensations. Typically, some level of fantasizing is involved. Our deep desires get hijacked by the fantasy, and some promised pleasure begins arousing us. There is sexual arousal for some, but the arousal can be ordered towards any number of fantasies: food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, envy, achivement, anger, rage, or revenge. In each case, as the anticipatory arousal grows, so does our urge to finish the song.
As a classic example, consider the devout dating couple who keep telling themselves they don’t want to get physical with each other when they hang out – but somehow always do, only to feel ashamed. They don’t always recognize early enough that they are entering into a ritual with each other – surrounding themselves with the same environment, the same sensations, and the same behaviors. They tell themselves that the outcome will be different this time, but of course it’s only natural that they begin feeling a heightened sense of anticipation for the completion of the ritual. Even if their minds are oblivious, their bodies and emotions and imagination understand what is happening. The more measures of the song that are sung, the harder it is to decide to stop. Again, this is true of sexual arousal but also of any number of other fantasies.
For some fantasies, the ritual song and dance may take days to play itself out to its finish; for others (e.g., an outburst of anger) the whole song can play itself out within milliseconds. Even then, as Victor Frankl once said, between stimulus and response there is always a space. In that space there can be power to choose, to be free, and to grow. In other words, there is the opportunity to learn a new song.
Singing a new song means calling on the newness of Jesus as we reclaim the things the Lord has made: desire, arousal, connection, intimacy, union, and joy. Every one of us is created by God to have these experiences – yes, even those of us who have freely renounced marriage and sexuality for the sake of the Kingdom. One need only see a smattering of celibate Saints to get a glimpse at the intensity of their desire, their longing, their anticipation, their delight, or their joy. Consider Francis of Assisi, a man known for his poverty and chastity, and how intensely he enjoyed in the beauty of God’s creation. Pseudo-desires like lust and greed actually undermine authentic desire, intimacy, union, joy, and delight. It was precisely Francis’ open hands and open heart, his renunciation of lust and greed, that opened his heart up to the deep joy and peace that come as the fruit of praising of the God who delights in giving good gifts to his beloved children.
Psalm 149 speaks to all of these experiences. Singing a new song means joining in communion with the rest of God’s assembly – no longer isolating or hiding, no longer secretly stealing pleasures when we think no one is looking. It means rejoicing in God as our King and allowing ourselves to feel deeply the delight he takes in us. It means true rest with the Lord, learning just to be, basking in his loving gaze, and praising him amidst the delight we experience his presence.
It also means binding up God’s enemies in chains and fetters of iron (Psalm 149:8). Many of us have been bound up by chains for much of our lives. The evil one attacks early and often, seducing us into unholy agreements, enticing us to believe lies about ourselves or about God. These lies become cords that bind us, not to mention “chords” that keep us trapped in the same miserable old song that brings the same miserable old outcome. I know some of my own “chords” in that regard: I must hide my true self. I must not be weak or fail. I must never ask for help. I must never depend on others. If I keep playing these chords, the song won’t end well. I need Jesus to enter in with his newness and transform the song.
Some of our chords need to be eliminated from the song
entirely. If we play them, they will only lead us to an evil end. Think of the
alcoholic who needs to give up going to bars and part ways with some of his
buddies.
Perhaps some of the old chords served us well for a time,
but the song needs a change of key. Each of us have our own self-created
solutions in our attempt try to make our pain go away, or try to fill the empty
places of our heart, or attempt to resolve our inner conflict. Unaided and
unprotected by others, sometimes it was the only viable way to survive. Indeed,
some of us have survived truly hellish situations, and the measures people resort
to in survival don’t always make for glamorous stories. The saddest part about
survival stories is often after the rescue comes. One of the hardest thing for
survivors to do is to internalize the truth that they are now free to live a
full life – they don’t have to live in their joyless survival methods anymore.
If we find ourselves clinging to old ways of surviving (even
when they have long outworn their purpose), we can allow Jesus to teach us new
chords in a new song – even though we may, at first, find this learning process
to be unfamiliar, frustrating, overwhelming, or intimidating.
Again, Psalm 149 offers the basics of the new chords needed: Connect with others in God’s assembly in joyful communion. Receive and give love together with them as we open our hearts in praise of the living God. Receive joyfully the truth that he delights in us (no matter what we have done), he rescues us, and he desires us to rest in him and delight in him. Bind up any and all evil spirits who would dare attempt to interrupt this amazing new song that Jesus brings.
God has ordained it so. This honor is for all his faithful.
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