43:16-21
Our sanctuary is bare. Solemn purple draped over an empty flower pedestal. As part of our Lenten preparation we strip the fanfare, flowers, the festive decor to be reminded of our
long challenging wilderness journey,
the personal vulnerable introspection,
our utter dependence upon God,
and God’s reconciling power in life and in death.
In Lent we are walking with Jesus to the Cross, we are challenging ourselves and making space. Into this void, this barren place, a new thing can happen.
Have you ever brought home something new and placed it in your cluttered closet and then forgot all about it because it got lost in all of your abundant clutter, the fullness of your belongings? For us to see and experience the fullness of a new thing, sometimes we need to be in the emptiness. That is the point behind spring cleaning, so we can de-clutter and be ready for a new thing. We all have a chance to get the church ready for a new thing by helping with the church clean up this Saturday from 9-noon. Please bring your buckets and window cleaning tools and join in the fun.
Isaiah spoke of a new thing. In an unusual turn God says to forget the past, forget the old ways because I am about to do a new thing. This happens after God recounts the exodus in terms of parting water and destroying the foe. But that was then, and this is now. God has a new plan. The setting is Babylonian exile and the Jews are far from home. When the Jews thought all hope was lost, God is afoot doing a new thing. Cyrus the king of Persia conquers those holding the Jews captive and says they can worship as they please and rebuild. But rather than part the sea, God is giving them rivers, streams of living water, to follow back to their beloved Jerusalem.
We might not have a real exile, but we can relate emotionally because we have experienced the grim shadow of past tragedies, the way those ghosts of past loss, shame, and grief swirl around and cloud our vision, preventing us from seeing anything but darkness and despair. Sudden deaths, broken relationships, bad decisions, cruelties of others and cruelties of our own hinder our ability to see a future and to move into it. Or to see God working within this moment.
God IS doing a new thing, now it springs forth! The question is do you perceive it? (Lenten Devotional- today.)
This week I have been struggling with something in my personal life and I prayed to God to take it, to respond as God sees fit. I then was redirected in a new way. One I would have never thought of, and one that completely turned my thinking around. I perceive that as God doing a new thing. Nothing you would ever see, but a new thing in my life.
Scripture is filled with grand solutions, exodus, redemption, and resurrection.
But God is working in the little ways just as powerfully.
God is doing a new thing in your life. Helping you to accept new personal limitations; like giving up driving or living with less mobility. On First Friday I saw the new exhibit at the Museum of Art focusing on Seniors and their struggles. I think the very fact that these individuals could share their story about choosing between paying for food or medicine, or the struggles of being away from their community when they move to be near family are ways that people are working through this challenge. A way God is helping them to process and do a new thing through art. God is also giving you the strength to care for a person in your life or giving you inspiration to move in a new direction. The question is do we seek God? Do we perceive the new things God is doing? Lenten Devotional- today.
In our gospel lesson, Jesus is doing a new thing as well. Jesus is on his way to the cross. It is just a few days before Passover. The chief priests and scribes are plotting against him. Judas is about ready to betray him. The crucifixion is less than a week away and Jesus knows it. Jesus and his disciples stop at Bethany… just a few days before, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus had raised others from the dead; he raised the widow’s son in the village of Nain (Lk. 7:15), and the 12-year-old daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue (Mk. 5:42).
But Lazarus was different. Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days, yet Jesus brought him to life. Jesus also had a relationship with Lazarus before and after his new life. Lazarus’ new thing was our new thing, our new life in Christ. Three times Jesus raised individuals from the dead, each one was as a precursor to his own resurrection, his own victory over death. Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate new thing. The new thing to end all new things. We have grown up with this amazing truth of faith, that through Christ we have new life, new grace, new hope. But sometimes I think we have forgotten how radical of a new thing this is. Not only was Jesus raised from the dead, but God created a way for you and for me to share in this awesome new thing. Because of God’s grace, we do not need to fear death. We get to trust in love and the path to God through our faith in Christ.
Mary did just that. She anointed Jesus for his death, she extravagantly offered him this amazing gift. One would usually be anointed after death before burial. But Mary did a new thing; sharing this fragrant perfume, this priceless gift with her Lord. When we first meet Mary we are told of her anointing Jesus and wiping his feet with her hair and we are also told the love Jesus shared with all three siblings (Jn. 11:2-5). Mary’s faith led her to another first as well. To sit at her master’s feet soaking in the presence of Jesus rather than helping her sister Martha prepare a meal. Mary loved Jesus, Mary sought to honor him. Mary did not worry about conflict, or doubt. She did not concern herself with the cost of the nard, which was a feigned concern for Judas. Rather she saw in her Lord one who would benefit from this extravagant moment of grace and preparation. We do not know if she knew she was anointing him for his impending death, but she faithfully showed kindness to Jesus.
Soon you will come to Christ’s table. A place Jesus faithfully shows you divine kindness, an extravagant grace that only God can provide.
May we come to table anticipating a new thing.
Anticipating the healing hope that awaits us in our shared communion with our Lord.
May we be reminded of the way our sharing of the bread and cup transforms our lives; an abundant gift of grace. Even though we can come to Christ’s table more times than we can count, let us come to table as if it were the first time. Trusting that God will make it a new thing. Will we perceive it? May we celebrate this holy meal, this sacred feast, as a new thing, fresh and filled with God’s grace.
So after you receive this extravagant gift of grace from God at Christ’s abundant table, we will sing “Just as I Am.” Please reflect on the radical gift you have received and the reality of your need for grace as we sing these verses to our Lord. May God bless you with the ability to perceive the new thing God is doing in your life and in the life of this congregation. Amen.
