04/06/2025 ~ Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8 ~ YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW3MvtdE_Lc
VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/1073981772

New Things

“Do not remember the former things, / forget the events of the past / ignore the things of long ago / do not consider the things of old. / Look! I am about to do a new thing! / Now it springs forth! / Can you not see it? / Do you not perceive it?” — Isaiah 43:18-19a.

The computer app called Facebook has caused some— no, a lot of controversy lately. For those who don’t know about Facebook or don’t have a computer, the denizens of Facebook have what’s called a wall on which you write. People you’ve designated can see what you’ve written and write something back.

So Facebook is not like a town square. It’s like a town fence where you scrawl a message but any message you leave can be spread by the town gossip or worse, used by the town bully to cause disruption. That seems dangerous. And that’s the controversy.

Now, there is an upside to Facebook. You can try to track down folks you have not seen, spoken to or even thought about in years, like the people you knew in High School. Now, I graduated from High School in 19… [the pastor mumbles].

Just like now, back in High School I was involved in music. I was the librarian for the school choir, the manager of the school dance band and in my Senior year I was deeply involved in the school musical, which that year was The Music Man.

You may remember this musical features a Barber Shop Quartet. Well, here’s how we put that Barber Shop quartet together. There were three guys who were— to use the vernacular of the time— “Greasers”— and they would hang out after school in stairwells singing doo-wop as they listened to the echo of their harmonies.

They were recruited for the show. I taught them the melodies of the songs— Lida Rose, Sincere, It’s You and then sang a bass part underneath their harmonies. It worked.

The character of Harold Hill was played by a fellow named Jeff Spolan. At that time we became friendly. After graduation we went our separate ways. He went to college and studied theater. I was drafted and went to a theater of war— Vietnam.

But we both wound up in professional theater. He was an actor. I was a writer. His passion was seeing the world— traveling. He did that by hooking up with non-profit companies which toured overseas.

My career was more parochial, confined to New York City, so our paths never crossed. That is they never crossed until we found each other on Facebook. Amazingly, at least four of us from that High School class went into professional theater. Renewing these contacts reminds me of how different my life is now than what it was at that time.

But I would not exchange where I have been and what I have done for anything. So perhaps what Shakespeare said in The Tempest is true: “What’s past is prologue.” (Slight pause.)

These words come from the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah: “Do not remember the former things, / forget the events of the past / ignore the things of long ago / do no consider the things of old. / Look! I am about to do a new thing! / Now it springs forth! / Can you not see it? / Do you not perceive it?” (Slight pause.)

Scholars say this Prophet writes from the Babylonian Exile where the Jews are held in captivity. Given the situation, the Prophet makes a stunning statement.

Using an amazing metaphor— rivers flowing in the desert despite the dire situation of the Jews— the Prophet insists God will do and is doing a new thing. Further, their call is to be aligned with God in newness. (Slight pause.)

But how does this Word of hope, apply to us today? (Slight pause.) A colleague recently asked a question of the church he serves: “what makes ‘a church’ really ‘a church’?” (Slight pause.) He offered this list.

A church must trust God enough to welcome everyone and be as surprised by one another as we are by God. We need to let our hair and our guard down rather than pretend and defend, shoulder each other’s burdens, celebrate blessings.

We need to respect others as they are, not as we wish they were, honor one another when we differ, see creativity in differences and accept that we and the church fall short. We need to value doubts and ask questions while having faith and assurance, open ourselves to God loving us just as we are as individuals and as a group.

Thereby we, paradoxically, open ourselves to change, to growth and newness. We need to look to God for help with all this as we recognize, in ways subtle and glorious, Jesus is with us. [1] (Slight pause.)

It’s both the first and last piece on that list to which we Christians especially need to heed. Trust God; Jesus is with us. (Slight pause.) Still, the metaphor of “rivers in the desert,” wonderful though it is, is just a metaphor. How can this claim of newness be real for us? (Slight pause.)

I invite you to look around, to look at each other— I’ll give you a moment to do that. Just go ahead— look around. (Slight pause.) You may or may not know what each person does daily outside these walls but please start with an assumption.

Assume each of us strives not to do well but to do good. Each of us represents a reality based in hope, a reality that a river can flow in the desert, that each of us represents a belief God is among us, is present to us. (Slight pause.)

Reacquainting myself with old friends and old times is heart warming, even when it’s done over the Internet. But it also has made me aware of a reality: life has moved forward in ways and with possibilities I could never have imagined.

When we realize there are possibilities, perhaps we can be empowered to trust God, be aware that life with God is like a river, flowing, moving ceaselessly. Indeed, trusting God means being aware the love of God is present, real, tangible, life giving.

Trusting God allows us to realize the hope God wants for us is always forward looking. Hope may be written in the present tense but hope is realized in the future tense.

And so let us be aware the hand of God is with us, the Spirit of God surrounds us, Christ is present to us. Let us be aware that the reality of the Messiah helps us be aware that there are rivers in the desert.

Let us be aware the love, goodness, wisdom and peace of God etches its image in the sands of time while seeking out new horizons. I could be wrong about this but I think looking to new horizons is exactly what Habitat for Humanity seeks to do on a daily basis— what do you think?

And yes, these are the words offered by Isaiah (quote): “Can you not see it? / Do you not perceive it?” These words both present us with a challenge and help us to be mindful of the constant, faithful, present, forward looking love of God. Amen.

04/06/2025
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “Back in the 80s I had the privilege of hearing Millard Fuller, a co-founder of National Habitat, speak at First Parish in Brunswick. He said Christians really don’t agree on a lot. Now, Millard was from Georgia so he then said we Christians can’t even agree on how to say the Name Jesus. Those from the Deep South know it should be said “Jeee-sss-us.” (The pastor has moved an arm pulling the first down.) And you have to have the arm movement with that. Then he said we Christians can agree on one thing. People need housing. Here’s what I say— helping people get housing may be an old thing but every time a house gets built or renovated by Habitat it’s a new, forward looking thing.”

BENEDICTION: In Christ, we experience God’s presence together. Where Christ leads, let us follow. Where God calls us to service, let us go. And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge of God, the love of Jesus, the Christ and the companionship of the Holy Spirit, this day and forevermore. Amen.

[1] The Rev. Mr. Michael Caine.

[2] Note: the Brunswick director of Habitat for Humanity offered a Time for Mission at the start of the service.