Christmastide

December 30, 2022

Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:1-6a
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

One of my favorite choruses is I Will Do a New Thing in You based on Isaiah 43:19:

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.

The chorus makes it more personal, but it is also copyrighted, so I cannot share the words, but the title says what moves me and hopefully moves all of us to action. We need to do new things, most of which are as old as time. Loving your neighbor is first commanded in Lev. 19:18. Doing Justice is described in Micah 6:8. Matthew 25:31-46 spells out precisely how Christ will judge us individually and as a nation, remember for I was hungry and you gave me food… Living in a democracy, we do not have a monarch or dictator to blame for our failures to provide for the Common Good, the purpose of government. We, the people, select those who represent us and who are supposed to support our biding. Maybe the new thing Christ is trying to do with us wakes us up to our responsibilities in providing for the Common Good.

Prayer: Lord, help us see the new/old things you expect from us and give us the courage to do them. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.