Where Are We Going?

Ordinary 25A - Where Are We Going? - (off lectionary sermon series on the body of Christ based upon Isaiah 43:18-21 & Matthew 9:9-17)

Good morning.  It’s great to be with you today as we wrap up the 3^rd in this sermon series about being the body of Christ alive in the world.  If you missed the others, you can pick up printed copies just outside the back door or listen to them online.  You could also just use your imagination from the recaps I’m about to offer.  See, 2 weeks ago, we talked about Christ being the only true authority in the church.  The rest of us are faithfully trying to live out Christ’s calling but do not stand over or under one another. We are faithful together.  Last week we tried to zero in on the diversity of calls within the church and uplift all forms of service as holy.  We are all called to be ministers in different ways.  So whether it’s inside or outside the church doors, but most especially outside the doors, using our gifts and the fruits of the spirit honors God and builds up the body of Christ. This week, we’re going to look at where our lives in the body of Christ might lead us when we’re open to where God is taking us and we’re doing so by examining scripture from Isaiah 43.

The Isaiah passage shows God as both guide and comforter.  In this monologue, God is telling the people of Israel that they need to let go of old ways so that they can be open to what God is doing.  They need to trust that God is not going to burden them with things they can’t do right now.  Rather, the call of the Holy is to lay our burdens and sins to rest with God so that they may be healed.

All this relates to being the body of Christ alive in the world because we need to figure out what God is calling us to in our lives and we need this for two main reasons.  The first is that to see where God is doing something new like Isaiah says, we need to let go of and grieve those things, places, times, and people.  The second reason is so we can open ourselves up to being instruments of that unfolding… and unfolding of something God wants for us and others that maybe we’ve never even imagined before.

Let’s reread parts of this Isaiah passage. 

¹⁸Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.¹⁹I 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.²⁰The 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,²¹the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise. ²²Yet you did not call upon me… ²³You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you… But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.²⁵I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Now first, let’s tease through some of the language here and get some stumbling blocks out of the way.  When God says, “¹⁸Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old” this does not mean that we should not have memories.  The Hebrew word we translate as “remember” is a much deeper word than that.  This word implies intimacy and deep connection.  When God says, “Do not remember” our understanding should be do not be bound to or let our minds be so deeply attached. 

The second translation issue we need to understand more deeply is the idea of God being burdened or wearied.  Does this passage does not mean that when we heap upon God our concerns that God is crumbling under the weight of it.  The linguistic piece that is lost here is that of transference.  We are burdened by sin and wearied by iniquities.  We transfer that to God and God blots out sin and does not “remember” our sins.  There’s that word remember again.

So what is it that we need to not be bound to so tightly so that we can be open to where God is going?  Well, we really could spend days unearthing all kinds of things that we each need to be let go so that we can be part of God’s always unfolding reality.  But for time’s sake and for from what might be very pertinent to this grouping of the body of Christ, let’s get very specific here for a few minutes.  Then if we do this well, the model can be used for dealing with other areas of our lives.

What if God stepped right here and said to us, “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? I will make a way.”  What do you think God might be talking about?  Well, a few things come to mind but the search for a new pastor seems to loom large.  And I believe God truly is saying to this grouping of the body of Christ that very thing.  God is saying, “grieve what you need and open up for something new.” 

Now before you think I’m just pulling a scripture passage and making it say what I want it to say, first of all I want you to hear that I’ve been hearing this message for a long time from God about this body.  I’ve even been addressing it in worship at different times.  But more importantly, you can judge for yourself.  Is that what God is saying?

Let’s look at the evidence.  This congregation has gone through some tough ups and downs and turns.  Even in good times, transition is hard and this church has stayed in transition for a long time.  But when you look around at each other, the quality of the faith and the earnestness of the love for one another is extraordinary. 

I recently told someone that by all accounts, most churches that have gone through all this church has gone through would have closed their doors.  Yet, this one is thriving.  It may have lost some members and it’s had it’s financial concerns but from what I can tell, the faith here is outstanding.  So, if you just look on the surface at the faces and numbers, the church is definitely different from 10 or 20 years ago.  But when you look into the hearts, the body of Christ is most definitely alive and well here. 

And, how did all this happen?  All I can surmise is that God has been here every step of the way making a way.  And I think the very best thing we can do is figure out how to be open to that.

So, did I convince you I’m not just making this up?  I hope so.  Because here comes the hard part… actually letting go of the things, places, times, and people of the past in a way that still honors the meaning they still hold but not being bound to them as if they rule where God is going. 

So often we long for the way things were or at least the idea.  It seems simpler and more comfortable.  And sometimes it really was a simpler and more comfortable time though often that’s a trick our mind plays.  But regardless, we are called to live as God’s people in a living, moving, every changing, body of Christ so we can’t go back in time no matter how badly we might like to and we can’t recreate the past because God has already taught us those lessons so it’s time for something else.

See, just like the Pharisees and the followers of John the Baptist in today’s gospel message, we are often our own stumbling blocks.  Many times it is the existing people of faith who struggle most by holding fast to our own notions, pride, memories, wounds, and other things that keep us from seeing where God is leading us today.

When we think of this church being without a pastor or calling a new pastor, what notions about old pastors gone by or old times in the church do we need to honor and let go of?  Where do we need to honor the things we’ve learned or the people we’ve encountered so that we can cherish what is good and move forward?  What are the old wounds, doubts, grudges, and struggles that we need to place in God’s hands so that God can heal and transform them into some new thing?  I trust that God has already placed something on your hearts even now.

So, what does grieving the things gone by like?  How do we do this?  Letting go and grief is a process but, let’s keep it simple.  Earlier, you were given slips of paper to write on.  In a moment we’re going to pray to hear what God wants each of us to cherish yet move forward from when we think about this church’s past.  We’re also going to pray for God’s support to grieve and mourn the things of the past that we feel bound to or that still have a hold on us. 

Next we’re each going to write just 1 thing on this paper that God said to us.  Later, when the offering plates go around, please place it in the plate.  I’m going to collect them and burn them.  On October 2^nd, in 2 weeks, you can join me as I take the ashes and till in the old memories into the flower bed outside where the things we let go of will always be a part of the beauty of this church but don’t have to bind up where it is going.

Sisters and brothers, being the body of Christ alive is about being here and now and participating in what unfolds.  When we unburden ourselves from wounds, sin, and the past by turning to God, we become fertile ground for God’s plans.  Pray with me now that we may be a full participant in that plan.

Holy God, thank you for the way you have guided us.  Please help us cherish the meaning of the past and honor what you’ve taught us.  Also, speak to us what we need to let go of so that we can be a part of your plans as this church calls a new pastor.  God we trust in you and your work.  Relieve our fear and anxiety during this time without concrete answers and help us to stay focused on faithful living today.  Amen.

What happens next?  Does this mean that God is going to turn everything upside down?  Well, it could happen.  But more likely we’re going to feel the anxiety of the emptiness from trying to let things go.  Yet, we have each other to see it through.  And where there is emptiness, God offers us hope: hope that God’s workings in and around us are healing, hope that life in the body of Christ is faithful, hope that with God’s help we can grow in deeper love of creation, and hope that First Presbyterian Church is on the edge of something even more remarkable and beautiful than it is right now. 

Now I invite you to write on the paper what God has told you and give it to God in the offering plate.  And trust that God will take it and heal or transform it into something even more extraordinary.  Amen.