Reebee’s sermon at West Medford, May 30
What New Thing is Happening?
A Sermon for The Congregational Church of West Medford
Rev. Reebee Girash, Guest Preacher
May 30, 2010
Texts: Isaiah 43:16-21; John 16:12-15
Isaiah: 16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.
John: 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Prayer
Sermon
18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
Surely there is an irony to preaching on these words on Memorial Day Weekend.
And yet, here we are, remembering the words of a prophet from thousands of years ago, from an ancient people, trying to understand their message for today.
This is not a matter of translation. The Hebrew here literally means, do not remember.
But what things of old is Isaiah referring to? He is referring to the people’s time in exile – when Isaiah proclaimed God’s words, it had been almost 60 years in Babylon. Long enough to be all that most of the Jewish people alive could remember. No, wait, Isaiah says, this is not the story of your life. God is going to do a new thing! Isaiah begins this passage by remembering – remembering a moment of victory. “The Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick.” The Israelites made it out of Egypt; despite 60 years in exile, they will make it out of Babylon, too.
God is doing a new thing in our world, and within our churches. Part of our challenge is to do what the Israelites in exile had to to: to believe in that new thing, in that future They couldn’t see it, any better than we can. Isaiah said, hey, God’s going to make everything right again – but what they could see right at that moment was Babylon. Isaiah asked them to believe. To look into the future. To perceive something imperceptible.
To do so meant letting go of the pain of the past. Remembering not 60 years of exile, but rather, remembering all the way back to the Exodus and leaping forward, with hopeful spirits, into a new age for Israel.
I will tell you that the 43rd chapter of Isaiah is just about my favorite in scripture. It begins with God, telling the people through Isaiah, do not be afraid. And then it goes on to say why we should not be afraid: God loves us, God is with us, God will see us through hardship, and God has a bright future planned for us. Those assurances are as powerful in 2010 as they were in 540 BCE. But to fully draw strength from them, you have to do what most of the Israelites did: remember not the things of old; instead, focus on what new things God is doing.
I said most of the Israelites. You know,some of the folks exiled in Babylon actually chose to stay there? To stay in the past, to stay in the place of exile and oppression? Why? The only reason I can think of, is that they were too caught up in the past, in the experience of exile, maybe even reveling in grief, embracing a victim identity, to be able to imagine a radical, new future.
It is not memories of the past, but the power we give to those memories, which can limit our future.
Theologian Paul Tillich said it this way: “We cannot be born anew if the power of the old is not broken within us.” (The Shaking of the Foundations)
In 2009 and 2010, our two congregations have both heard God calling us into a new future. We’ve heard that still speaking voice, saying, behold, I am about to do a new thing.
I’ve heard plenty of folks from West Medford and Pleasant Street talking about the past. With nostalgic, almost mournful voices. Do you remember what it was like when it was standing room only? When we had 25 confirmation students? When we had sixteen women’s circles? When every banker in town wanted to be a member of this church? When we didn’t have to rent out our building?
But by following the path of transformation and partnership, we’re choosing to say, the past is gone, it can never be retrieved and we accept that. What we can do, what we will do, is follow God into a radically new future, filled with hope and possibility.
I believe that it is possible, even in a new church start / radical / transformative / renamed / relocated and changed forever church, to honor the past. To learn from the past. To draw strengths from the past. But we must not be bound by the past.
I’m not asking you to totally let the past go, to forget it, to banish it completely. I don’t have the gumption that God and Isaiah had, to tell you not even to consider the things of old. And I for one do not want to forget the people who founded a Sunday School here in West Medford; or Anna Bradshaw who founded Pleasant Street Church.
But I am asking you to choose to believe that there is a future, a whole new thing, that you can perceive, that you can be part of, that you can help to bring about. We can’t do that if the past controls us.
Y’all have a dream board over here. I’ve seen some of the ideas on it. (Quote a couple.) One of those dreams is to serve lunch to the wider community, every Sunday. Do you know how great that is?
That is a brand new thing that you are doing, serving God in the community, a brand new thing that God is doing in you. I’ve heard folks say, well, not too many people have come yet. That’s all right. You keep at it, because now you are well prepared when folks do come. And have you, each one of, you, personally invited someone to come? Maybe your elderly neighbor that doesn’t seem to have many visitors. Maybe the young family who just moved in down the street. Have you facebook’d it? Have you told your friends at the gym?
In addition to being a great thing to do – offering food and fellowship to the community – you’re also exercising your brand new thing muscles. Your hospitality imaginations. Your mission brains. This is good! (Folks at PSCC seem to love this, by the way, and are eager to learn more about the lunches.)
Kenneth Callahan, in his book “Small, Strong Congregations: Creating Strengths and Health for your Congregaton,” says that one way to build strength in a small congregation (and even partnered, we will be for a while) is to choose one mission focus, one clear identity. It’s not my job to choose that focus, but let me just play out one concrete idea: what if the partnership of PSCC and West Medford focused on a food mission? Community meals, supporting food pantries, doing the walk for hunger, a food and visitation ministry for elders, food education for our children, conversations about sustainable, healthy eating, serving as a CSA dropoff site, building a community garden on the lawn, and at the center of it, an open Communion table? Wouldn’t that be interesting?
“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
(Matthew 25 )
What other brand new things could God be about to do?
Could it be that, in a united and transformed community, we discover brand new ways to deepen our faith? Brand new ways to offer hospitality? Brand new ways to praise God? Brand new ways to nurture our children? Brand new ways to heal God’s world and serve our brothers and sisters?
Here’s what we know: either Pleasant Street Congregational Church, or the Congregational Church of West Medford, on our own – or a united congregation – will not stay open much longer if we do things the way we have been doing them. And, we confess, that right now we are not following God’s call to praise and service. The past is gone, the present is waning. What we must do is to embrace the radical idea that God is calling us into a brand new future of praise and service. Us, as a united congregation. Us, as individual people, too. I believe that this new, transformed church will require much of each us – more that our old churches have. But, if we do it right, if we break from past patterns, our energy will go, not to support for the institutional church, but to the work of growing deeper in our faith, serving more meaningfully in our community, connecting more powerfully with God.
I see transformation as the transformation of a church away from institutional survival to disciple formation. And I see transformation as the transformation of people, on a deep soul level.
I think of your four pillars, and the bold, transformed and transformative, brand new church I see, looks like this:
WORSHIP Every worship service vibrant and life giving
DISCIPLESHIP Every child mentored in faith; every adult growing in faith
MISSION Every person serving God
COMMUNITY Every gathering filled with love
And why?
Because, the Lord has told us that we are: the people whom God formed for God’s self, so that they might declare God’s praise.
May it be so.
Amen.