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.
In the strongest Man or Woman competition, one of the trials that all the competitors must complete is to pull a semi-truck from a complete stop to a finish line a distance away. The competitors must use brute strength to overcome the inertia of the truck and pull it the desired distance. Inertia is the property of matter which wants to keep it either at rest or in motion. It must be overcome by the athlete to change the rest into motion. Inertia is the tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged.
Just as objects are affected by inertia, the tendence to stay at rest or to stay in motion, so too is the church of Jesus Christ. We tend to stay in places of comfort and resist change or transformation to another place. Moving a semi that is at rest takes a large amount of strength, trying to move a body of people that is at rest also takes a large amount of strength. The body of people want to stay as they are, with a status quo, and a comfort level that gives both security and surety on the path of discipleship.
But what the past few years and past few weeks has done is to overcome the inertia of congregations. Whether the agent be the pandemic, or inflation, or political turmoil, or invasion of the Ukraine, these agents have overcome the inertia of our congregations and have forced us to move or change. We cannot rest where we were in 2019, we had to relearn church in a global pandemic; and our life together in worship and work has changed. We cannot rest where we were, we had to relearn church amid rising costs; and we have yoked together with East Side. We cannot rest where we were amid political turmoil, we are being called by God to work in our communities; and so we have built new connections with the people around us. We have not been allowed to rest in the ways things were, or a status quo of our own design, we have been disputed in our comfort zones. God has overcome the inertia and forced us to adapt and to relearn. God has led us to change.
But while the forced change has been challenging, the overcoming of inertia should not be surprising. After all even in Isaiah’s time the people of God in Israel were told that I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In exile, God was still doing new things, the new thing was a return from exile. But even in exile, the people had inertia. While Babylon was not Canaan, the people still had a routine and a status quo of doing things. They might have been under the boot of an oppressor, but the way of life together was a status quo. The people had inertia and God was doing a new thing to get his people moving and changing. The question was could the people recognize the new thing God was doing?
Can we recognize the new thing(s) that God is doing in our communal life together and embrace the new path forward or are we mired in inertia, resisting the change from God and clinging to old ways that are both comforting and provide security from the chaos? I think it is important for us all to realize that we all have a certain amount of flexibility and adaptability. For some we can tolerate a large amount of change and perhaps treat it as a grand adventure. But for some, change is best kept in small amounts. But each of us can handle only a certain amount of anxiety before the defense mechanisms kick in, anger and resentment, fear and worry, panic and desperation. Are we as a congregation at this point where we have been forced to deal with so much, in so small a time frame, that we are unable to see the new thing(s) that God is doing because we are overwhelmed?
But while the Gospel might challenge us as disciples to embrace and follow the new thing(s) that God is doing, the good news of the Gospel is that we given the means to do so. Not only is God doing a new thing, but God is also giving drink to my chosen people. When we lose the comforts of familiar situations, we are reminded of the true comfort that only God can give. When we are pulled forward out from behind our literal and emotional defenses, we are reminded that Christ is our true defense against the world. When we are forcibly removed from our sanctuaries, we are hidden in Christ, our only true and stout strong tower over us. When we are challenged to grow and to become better disciples, we are reminded that we have been buried and resurrected with Christ, of what else could we ever need more to overcome our inertia?
My friends, I have no doubts that we are in a challenging time and place, being called to change weekly in ways we could not imagine or desire years ago. But the Prophet reminds us, that God maybe the one doing a new thing, but can we see it? But the good news of the Gospel is that even though God might be pulling us forward as pulling a semi, God is for us and not against us. We have Christ to keep us and protect us along the way. Let us therefore in our difficult and everchanging circumstances seek refuge and comfort only in our covenant with God in Jesus Christ.
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