What next?

Scripture  Isaiah 42:1-9   (NRSV) . 

42 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
    he will bring forth justice to the nations.

2 He will not cry or lift up his voice,
    or make it heard in the street;

3 a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
    he will faithfully bring forth justice.

4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
    until he has established justice in the earth;

5 Thus says God, the Lord,
    who created the heavens and stretched them out,
    who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
    and spirit to those who walk in it:

6 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
    a light to the nations,

7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.

8 I am the Lord, that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to idols.

9 See, the former things have come to pass,
    and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
    I tell you of them.

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Today is the first Sunday after the Epiphany.  The Christmas decorations have been taken down and stored away till next year.  The season that begins on the day of the Epiphany is, for many people, a time of letting go - of the stress and busyness of the holidays.  It’s a time when maybe we feel like we can breathe until the Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday.  It is part of what is called Ordinary time - those times during the church year when nothing major is going on - it is defined more by what it isn’t than what it is. It is not Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter or Pentecost.  Ordinary Time is when we hear stories of Jesus’s daily life and ministry  - the time between his baptism and his crucifixion.   During Ordinary Time the drape at the entrance outside is green, and I wear a green stole - the color of hope and growth.

Ordinary Time sounds . . . ordinary.  Not special.  Same old same old.  But this season, this Season after the Epiphany,  after the Magi arrive to worship the newborn King and after the prophets in the Temple recognize the Messiah in the infant Jesus, this is a time of new things.  Jesus was a new thing come into the world,  and his coming was heralded by a magnificent star, a new thing in the night sky.  And it fulfilled the word of God, who said to the people through the prophet Isaiah, “See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare.”    

New things abound right now.  It is a New Year.   At First Christian Church we will soon have a new budget and new officers.  We are making changes to the sanctuary so it is more welcoming.  We are going to adopt a cop! Or two.  We went visiting last week!   And we experienced a different sort of worship service.  In a few weeks, the folks from Pella Lutheran will come visit us here.  And then we may start conversations about what it might be like if we became one congregation.  We’ll see.  It’s a new idea, for us.  

New things can be frightening.  It’s change.  People don’t like change very much.  It is much easier to keep doing the same things we’ve always done - at home, at work, at church.  The people of Israel kept doing the same things.   All through the Hebrew Bible we see the people who have just been saved from some terrible thing clean up their acts, get all passionate about their Lord, and do all the right things.  And then the right things become routine.  Worship and giving are no longer a response to God’s love, but just the things that they do because the Law says to do them.  They stopped caring about the welfare of the widow and the orphan and the stranger in their land, and expecting the Temple to take care of them.  That’s what their tithe was for, after all, to care for the poor and to support the Temple.  And God noticed.  And God tried to get their attention.  Sent prophets to shake them out of their complacency.   But the leaders didn’t listen, and the people suffered.   When it got bad, when the nation had drifted too far from the Lord, and bad things happened, the people cried out and said, “Save us, Lord.  And we promise, we will never do that again,” and God always forgave, always sent someone to save them - a general or a great leader.  Until finally, because the people kept repeating the same behavior, God sent a new kind of Messiah, whose coming was foretold by Isaiah.  Not a noble or a great warrior.  But an ordinary man, a teacher and healer, who would care deeply for the injured - the bruised reed and the dimly burning wick.  Who would preach justice for all the people, all the nations.  And whose voice would quietly convince those who heard it, not overwhelm them with noise, and in that way change their hearts, so that they stopped repeating the same behaviors over and over.   So that their souls would be healed, and their passions would be engaged in the right things, for the right reasons.  Not because the Law said to, but because their hearts said to.  Because they loved each other, and all the world, as deeply as God loved them, in response to God’s gift of love.   

Sometimes the loud voices of the world overwhelm us.  They drown out that still, small voice that speaks to our hearts.  We may find it easier to just keep doing what we have always done than to seek new ways to be.  We do all the things we are supposed to do, because that’s what we do, but maybe not because we are still care passionately about those things.  Or maybe we have stopped doing those things that we used to be passionate about, because nothing is changing.  Our efforts may seem to be in vain.  Maybe a new thing, a new idea, a new focus is needed in our lives to re-ignite our passion. 

And so, another new thing.  Clergy women friends have been posting in our groups about what their Star Word is for this year.  Since I had no idea what they were talking about I started reading blogs and articles about Star Words.  They are words written on stars, to remind us of the Star that heralded Jesus’ birth, and everybody gets one - a gift to commemorate the gifts the Magi brought.  And that word, that Star Word,  becomes our individual focus for the year.  There are 150 different words (and stars) so no one will have the same word as anyone else.  Because we are all different, we will all use our word differently.  Some won’t pay much attention at all.  Some will wonder why they got the word they did, and pay close attention to that word in their life.  It is suggested that you hang it up someplace - a mirror or refrigerator - so it stays on your mind.  One woman blogged that her word last year was Restraint, and that she had lost 90 pounds just by focusing on that word, restraining herself from taking that second helping, that larger piece of pie, that handful of cookies.  

The Star Words are gifts.  They will be distributed in offering trays.  As you reach in to the tray to get your Star (no looking - just reach in and take one!) consider that in this instance when the offering tray comes to you, you are not being asked to give.  Rather you are receiving a gift - a reminder that this is the way it is in God’s world - God always gives first, and then we are invited to respond with our gifts and ourselves.

If I could have some deacons to distribute these?   Let us sit in silence while they are being distributed.  When you get your word, contemplate it for a moment.   

[silence until all are distributed and everyone has had a moment to sit with their word.]

May the word you have received bless your life.  Now please stand and join me in singing “This is a Day of New Beginnings”