a new thing

“ Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth,
do you not perceive it?”  [Isaiah 43: ]

I am about to do a new thing. The prophet Isaiah was speaking God’s word to a people in exile, a people lost, demoralised, a people who for generations had lived outside their land.

Two of the major formative periods for the people of Israel were the Exodus and the Exile. The exodus was when the people left Egypt. In Egypt they had been slaves. Moses led the people out of Egypt, through the parted waters, then led them for 40 years in the wilderness [about 1250 BC]. This story is recounted many times in the Bible. It is a story about their identity as a people.

The Exile was 6-800 years later, the people of Israel were taken during the war with the Babylonians. The country was destroyed and people were taken from the land.  

Ancient empires knew that to eradicate a people, it didn’t just mean capturing the king and army; they knew they had to destroy the vision, the  dream, the spirit if the people. Not only were armies taken captive, but poets, artists, anyone who might be able to keep the hopes and dreams of the people alive.[1]

Life was comfortable, they could settle into the ways of the Babylonians and forget who they are. In many ways we are like the people in exile. How often are we so caught up in paying the mortgage, updating the house, more and more experiences of sport or theatre, holidays in more exotic places.  How often are we caught up in the system of making money, making a name for ourselves?

It is easy to get on this escalator, and harder and harder to remember who we are, the people of God. People who are marked with the sign of the cross; people whose identity is found in Christ, not commercialism, capitalism or communism.

Prophets were not people who told the future, they were people who spoke God’s word into the public space. Not religious leaders, but people who were given a word to speak at a particular time, sometimes a word of challenge. Here in this section of Isaiah it is no longer a word of challenge, but a word of comfort. The people were broken in spirit, and Isaiah is reminding the people of God; the God who rescued them from Egypt will lead them home.

For  a people whose identity is bound up in the past, part of this reading seems strange to me, this is from an Aussie paraphrase:

“Now I say to you: Don’t dwell on the things of the past;
........don’t get bogged down in nostalgia.
I am about to do something completely new;
........can’t you see it taking shape before your very eyes?”[2]

A lot of what we do in Church is remembering the past, we remember the story of the exodus, the story of people entering a new land, the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. These stories are foundational to our faith. But, we too need to hear what Isaiah is saying: don’t get bogged down in nostalgia.

The stories of this country and this community; the stories of this congregation and the Uniting Church are what we build on. It is no good having foundations if that is all there is. The events of the past are just that, in many ways they shape us; but God tells us the past does not hold us or define us. Here Isaiah is telling the people to look for the new thing that God is already doing in their midst. Remember the past, because that can bring hope. In the same way God was present in the Exodus, God is present in the exile and God is present now. Remember the past, but don’t dwell in it, don’t long for the past, look to what new thing God is doing.

One thing I have learnt is that life with God means taking some risks.

I look at Mary in the Gospel reading today and think of the great risk she took; and the great love she showed. Mary risked ridicule, gossip and rejection. She showed devotion in a way that recognised that Jesus was likely to die very soon.

We need to act out of faith, and that includes taking risks:

Risking the way of Jesus, the way of love, of inclusion, of welcoming the stranger,

Risking the way of Jesus, the way of peace, of non-violence

Risking the way of Jesus, the way of generosity, of giving all, of sharing resources with those in need.

Faith is a verb, not a noun. Faith is active. Faith is acknowledging God’s faithfulness in the past, and being open and alert for what God is doing now.

“Don’t dwell on the things of the past;
........don’t get bogged down in nostalgia.
I am about to do something completely new;
........can’t you see it taking shape before your very eyes?”[3]

When do you get bogged down in the past?

What new thing can you see taking shape?

Where is your identity formed?

 

We now take some time to listen to what God is saying to us today .

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[1] Kathryn Matthews Huey on UCC SAMUEL

[2] ©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net

[3] ©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net