Passion for a New Earth

This past Tuesday night many people stayed up very late to watch the election returns.  As the night progressed it became increasingly clear that pollsters had it all wrong.  The media pundits made false assumptions and so did anyone else who made advance predictions of election results.  As votes were counted across the nation people were stunned.  About half of the voters were pleased with the results while the other half were dismayed and saddened.  What happened?  How is it that the election of a president for our country ended as it did? 

It is certainly clear that the coming months will be filled with uncertainty and a lot of soul searching in both the Republican and Democratic parties.  Polling as we have known it is no longer a viable method for predicting results.  Political parties are challenged to respond to the voters’ anger about government and the media as we have known them.  As a result of this election we do not know what will happen, how our lives will be affected, or how our fellow citizens will fare during the next four years.  All of this remains to be seen.

On Wednesday morning I turned to our Scripture readings appointed for today and found a message of hope for all of us within religious communities.  The prophet Isaiah and the Gospel of Luke tell us about how people of faith can live in the midst of anxiety and uncertainty and also maintain a sense of hope for the future.

Isaiah said, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.”

Then Luke, in writing his gospel, looked back to the time of Jesus and focused on the prediction that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. “The days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."  Then, in predicting an apocalyptic future he said, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.  But before all this occurs, [you will have] an opportunity to testify.” 

 

Living in times of uncertainty, anxiety and wonder about the future is not at all unusual.  The people of Israel needed a word of hope.  Jesus’ disciples and followers needed to know that their relationships were important, especially in the midst of trying circumstances.  They were to tell their stories, to testify about coping with what was happening all around them.

 

How are we to cope in our time of uncertainty, a time of transition in our national leadership when we have no clear idea about the future?  What do you do?  What story do you tell at the dinner table with your family and friends?  One of the ways for all of us who gather for worship as part of the family of God is to know that we have hope for the future in the midst of whatever happens in the present.  In Isaiah God said, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth…. So be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating.”

 

Last Sunday we heard a story from Dan Mechnig about what All Saints’ Church has meant for him for the past 60 years that he has worshipped here. His story is a testimony to the importance of our congregation and the relationships we share.  It is also an invitation to contribute toward a  sustainable financial future.

 

And, this past Tuesday in our confirmation course we talked about Jesus and what he was passionate about.  Jesus was passionate about God, and he was passionate about the Kingdom of God.  He prayed and taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Jesus’ passion was God’s dream of justice, non-violence, and peace centering on the transformation of the world. 

 

The meaning for us is clear.  First, we are to trust in God by loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.  Second, we are to strive for a new earth where resources are shared, justice reigns. and our planet earth is maintained for future generation.

 

I asked the members of our class to think about their passions.  We know what Jesus was passionate about.  What are you passionate about?

Tell us your story.  Tell the story of your relationship with God, and tell the story about your dream, your passion for a new earth.

 

Our baptismal covenant is a good place to begin.  As Christians, members of God’s family, we are to “continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. “  We are to “persevere in resisting evil,… to repent and return to the Lord.”  We are to “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.”  We are “to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” 

 

These are not just words; they are our commitment to action as ministers of reconciliation. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.  Our mission is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. To the extent we are passionate about the covenant we made in baptism and renew every time we baptize another person, we participate in God’s creation of a new earth.  Amen.