I have never been a fan of “the good old days”; nostalgia isn’t my thing. I do love classic guitars and cars, but I also love new ones. I love looking at old photos and remembering the people and places they show me, but I also love making new memories. I don’t pine for my teenage years, but I do have fond memories of different times when some things were better, and some things were worse. I’m happy that I can tell people my age; every breath – every day – is a miracle. And while I wish I had the knees from my 20s, I wouldn’t trade now for then for anything. Life is good and, sometimes, life is bad. Some things we embrace and some things we regret. But time moves on.
I don’t watch the Grammys (a bit too much self-indulgence for me), but I did watch Billy Joel play his new song, and it was fine. Not his best work, but good enough to enjoy. His playing of that and one of his hits made me think of his song, “Keeping the Faith” from the amazing 1983 album “An Innocent Man”. Billy Joel was the first concert I ever attended; it was 1975 and he had just hit it big and played at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY, which I could walk to. The title of this thought comes from that song, an homage to the 1950s/1960s music that he had grown up with. Joel wasn’t pining for the past; he was remembering and being grateful. He was also looking towards the future.
I have served the Church for a long time, and it is an institution that is often rightly accused of being lost in let’s remember. We have memorials to rich people – hymnals filled with 1700 years of music – a book of Scripture that was started over 5,000 years ago. It is easy to see why so many religious people and faith communities get stuck in the past. The problem is that Jesus wasn’t. Think of how many times He said, “You have heard it said, but I tell you…”. Think about His revolutionary treatment of women; it shocked His followers and His detractors alike. Think about how Jesus embraced the suffering and challenged long-standing systems; Jesus was doing a new thing, and He got killed because of it.
Another Joel lyric – the good old days weren’t always good, and tomorrow’s not as bad as it seems – has been a guide for me in life. And when it comes to tradition, I work hard to keep that which still has meaning and put that which doesn’t work anymore off to the side. I look at other ways and consider whether they might have value to my situation. It doesn’t always work, but I would rather fail moving forward than be at rest looking backward. I will always love Billy Joel and love that he and the Stones (among others) are trying new things. They are a reminder to me that age is just a number, not an excuse to give up. To paraphrase Sting – Stand Up! It’s a brand-new day! It is indeed.
Prayer – We thank You God for the past and all it has meant to us, and we look forward to the future with You and each other. Help us to sing a new song to You. Amen.
Today’s art is an oil and pastel work by Sara Roizen.