BE A 'NEW THING' FOR CHRIST!

      Christmas is over... and a new year is dawning! God willing, it will be filled with good things, but it's certain to be filled with new things... because things are always changing. They're either birthing or dying, growing or shrinking- and the things in our lives in 2017 will most definitely change. Some of them, perhaps most of them, will be beyond our control. Someone may start a war, or close a factory, or come down with an illness. Some of the changes in our lives will be traceable to things we've already set in motion. We may get married, get divorced, give birth to a child, or move to a retirement center. And some things are completely, or nearly completely, in our hands... like the resolutions we make... and keep.
      January 1 is at hand and it invites us to look to the future! What will happen in the new year, and more importantly, what will happen to me in the coming year? What will I become? How will I grow? These are important questions, but today, rather than focusing on the typical New Year's resolutions- like losing weight (which would be a good one for me), quitting smoking or drinking (another path I've been down), or saving money (which I've never done well)- I would like to talk about God's new thing... and encourage each one of us to be part of it! Christmas is over, but it lives on in us. We've received a great gift- God's Son- and He has a startling agenda for the world and for each of us- one in which the poor will be blessed, the powerful will be dethroned, and the so-called little people will stand tall! Christ came to earth to turn it upside-down. We are invited to join him in his work... but we settle for the same 'o-same 'o, because we lack courage, or faith, or vision. We hear Mary singing about her son empowering the poor and the needy- but we don't do much to empower them- we lift our voices in praise of the One who invited drifters and beggars to sit on the dais, but  we continue to reserve the seats up front... for people with money, titles, and prestige! We hear the words- unto you a Savior is born- without living as if we've been saved... and we come face-face with Isaiah's prophecy about the "new thing" God is doing... and in particular, with his great question: can you perceive it! 
      Isaiah, many centuries before Christ was born, saw that God was doing a "new thing," that the old was out and the new was in! He said that God was doing a new thing, that things weren't going to be the way they used to be! Through eyes of faith, he saw that a broken-hearted world would break out into a mile-wide grin... and he saw that the blind would see with perfect clarity. In the midst of his own dark reality, Isaiah saw that God was doing a new thing- that would conquer the world. He saw God's transforming hand at work, and he asked a excellent question: can you perceive it? Can you perceive God's "new thing?" Can you make it your own, and give your heart to it? God is doing a new thing- can you see it? Can you see God working... in your heart? Can you see God working to open... your mind to new truths and to new people? Can you see that God is given you new opportunities... to let go, to turn around, to make amends, to forgive someone, to work on your spiritual fitness, to say "yes" instead of "no" to his call in your life, to listen more frequently, to reflect more deeply, to live more intentionally as a Christian, to take a step toward more obedient stewardship, to visit someone who is lonely, to clothe someone who is naked, to pray for someone who is hurting or for someone whom you dislike, to get involved in your church community, to become a cheerleader... instead of a scorekeeper? God is doing a new thing- do you see it ... as something that involves you?
      Christmas Day gives way to New Year's Day, and our thoughts return to ourselves and the games we play... and to the resolutions we seldom keep. Over the years I've made a hundred resolutions. I quit smoking scores of time, tried every diet in the world, pledged to be more loving, and to be more disciplined. None of these are bad things and I've gained ground on some of them... but this year, my only resolution is to live AS IF I've had Christmas. I resolve to live as if my life is filled with promise, and that I actually can help Jesus usher in his new world order. I resolve... to BE one of the new things that Isaiah talked about... which means that I will elevate the poor and the needy in my own world, that I will forgive more freely and more completely in my own life, that I will take more risks for Christ on my own journey, that I will treat everyone as if he or she... is someone, and that I will see the Christ in every person I encounter. In 2017, I resolve to see the new thing that God is doing in Christ AND to be a "new thing" for Christ... and to do it boldly... because I've experienced Christmas. For that matter, I've experienced Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost too, and I am more than able to be a new thing for Christ. So are you. Amen!