As I was sitting at the car dealership having my car serviced, the background wallpaper music was playing classic pop songs.  The iconic “American Pie” caught my ear and I nostalgically listened.  The last verse, the most haunting of all six verses, seemed more relevant now than when it was first released in 1971 – I was in middle school:

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away

So I went down to the Sacred Store
Where I’d heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play

And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
Not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

So, let’s break down these lines of American Pie ala 2020:

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away

“Happy news” is rare today.  When I do hear “happy news” I confess I find myself feeling manipulated as if someone is trying to sell me something. I know – I can be a cynic.  But we have to admit the reality we are currently living through is real, and it is not good.

Good is not necessarily happy. Good is the behavior of those who choose good over evil – those who recognize good as good and evil as evil – the wise ones, who do not confuse the two.  The Bible teaches that goodness is a fruit of the Spirit of Christ, living and operating inside the heart and outwardly through the behavior of those who surrender to Him.

Next lines:

So I went down to the Sacred Store
Where I’d heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play

A church staffer friend of mine told me their church has decided when they start meeting together again, group singing would still be banned for fear of spreading the coronavirus. But of course, passively listening to musicians performing songs, which 50% or more of congregants don’t know and can’t sing along with, has been the new-normal now for at least a decade (see my book Wallpaper Worship).

But societally, when things fall apart, if there is any place to go “hear the music” it would be at the local “Sacred Store,” right?  Is it error for the church to let fear redefine the identity of corporate worship?  Perhaps. Yet in many Sacred Stores this new-new normal has been established.

Next lines:

And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
Not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

Just turn on your favorite cable news outlet and see these lyrics come alive before your eyes.  But understand: my generation watched the civil rights marches (peaceful) and riots (violent).  We watched college campus take-overs by radicals, Vietnam war protests, National Guard opening fire on students at Kent State University, all in the name of “social change – will-of-the-people – civil disobedience.”

It all reminds me of Jesus’ words (Matthew 24): “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”  For a nation that prides itself on being a “nation of laws,” America is not recognizable, once again.

The final lines of American Pie are:

And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died

As much as it may seem to some God has abandoned us, the Bible, through its history and its theology makes the opposite claim. The Spirit of God is always with us, in seasons of trouble as well as peace. History proves God’s word and work continue and even thrive in times of turbulence.

So, in conclusion, what’s the “happy” news?

Psalm 11 opens with a relevant question for these turbulent times:

“The foundations of law and order have collapsed.  What can the righteous do?” 

The Psalmist asks the above question in verse 3 but has already given the answer in verse 1:

“I trust in the Lord for protection.  So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!”

I believe the solution in America is simpler than we want it to be. We should not fly to the mountains for safety when the foundations of law and order start to collapse.  Instead, we must do our civil duty to peacefully replace those who use our government for evil with those who will use our government for good.  Remember?  The wise ones who don’t call good evil and evil good.

And after we – in our best judgment – have executed our peaceful, lawful duty, we must trust in the Lord for protection – while keeping a wary eye on those who lead at all governmental levels.

“It is true that Christians, so far as they themselves are concerned, are subject neither to law nor sword, and have need of neither. But take heed and first fill the world with real Christians before you attempt to rule it in a Christian manner.

This you will never accomplish, for the world and the masses are and always will be unchristian.”   – Martin Luther

American Pie by Don McLean; © Universal Music Publishing Group