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Worship Thoughts

Old and New--The Odd Couple of Worship
So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure chest." (Matthew 13:52, God's Word)

This is a verse I have recently rediscovered. And it's becoming one of my favorite verses about the whole of the worship experience. It begins with all of us, "every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven," which is only saying that its about to talk about anyone who has begun the journey of following Christ. What does it have to say about us? It compares us to a home owner throwing a party and entertaining friends. And what do we do? We pull out both old and new goodies from our treasure chest.

Did you get that? Both old and new things. Not just new things. Not just old things. Both old and new things. The old, dusty, and well-known things of bygone days and years far before we existed. And the new stuff that is just now striking a chord with culture or even stuff so new that nobody yet knows about it. We get to play with both Felix and Oscar. Old and new. Stuffy and carefree. Tried and true and uncomfortable and risky. The odd couple is ours. And get this, the Bible calls them both "treasure"?or at least that's what I understand is typically kept in a treasure chest, anyway.

But why invite the kind of dilemmas and potential misunderstandings and possible stigmas that mixing the old and new can get us into? Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary can answer that, I think. Matthew Henry writes: "Old experiences and new observations all have their use. Our place is at Christ's feet, and we must daily learn old lessons over again, and new ones also."

I love the old hymns. You guys probably know that by now. I think they say things that we still need to hear. I think they teach us a lot of theology that newer songs just aren't saying anything about. But I also love a lot of the songs that come out of the contemporary worship movement. I think they have a lot to say about the emotional connection and the personal responsibility we have to lavish adoration on our spiritual Bridegroom. And I love how God has sneaked his truth into songs from the so-called "secular" arena as well. They too have a place in translating truth into a form that can communicate on a broader scale than just our "church perspective." That's why I think we need all of these treasures in order to truly worship.

Out with the old and in with the new is rubbish. But equally so is out of the new and let's just keep the old. If God is the Lord and King of history and we really believe that, then I can't help but feel that he has had a lot to say in every era of human existence and every nook and cranny of human culture, and if we shut off some of those eras or nooks or crannies, we will be weaker worshippers for having done so.

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We've sinned and   
kept at it so long!  
   Is there any hope for us?   
Can we be saved?   
We're all sin-infected,   
sin-contaminated.  
   Our best efforts are   
grease-stained rags.   
-- Isaiah 64:6,   
The Message  

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Going through the  
motions doesn't please you,  
      a flawless performance  
is nothing to you.  
   I learned God-worship  
      when my pride was shattered.  
   Heart-shattered lives ready  
for love don't for a   
moment escape God's notice.
-- Psalm 51:16-17,  
The Message   

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I can't wait to hear what  
he'll say. God's about to  
pronounce his people well,  
the holy people he loves  
so much, so they'll never  
again live like fools.  
-- Psalm 85:8,  
 The Message   

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