NEW
REVELATION 21:1-6a
JANUARY 1, 2017
FIRST SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS, YEAR A
COVENANT RENEWAL SUNDAY
FARM HILL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, HARRISBURG, AR
INTRO. Four times in these short verses, the word “new” is used. The whole language of the passage is of newness, of change, of leaving things behind. “Passed away,” “no more,” “no more,” “no more,” “passed away,” “it is done.” As we flip the page from 2016 to 2017, doesn’t new sound attractive? 2016 was full of ugliness and pain, heartbreak and war. Hope and change went to making America great again, but most places in our world have a long ways to go to become good, much less great. One way to think of new in the church is through covenant. Covenants are different things. We are used to making and breaking deals and appointments. We are used to people not keeping their word. We tell each other we will keep in touch, or call, or write (remember that?), and it never happens. But covenants are not like that.
“The Bible indicates the covenant is more like the ties of a parent to her child than it is a doctor’s appointment. If a child fails to show up for dinner, the parent’s obligation, unlike the doctor’s, isn’t canceled. The parent finds out where the child is and makes sure he’s cared for. One member’s failure does not destroy the relationship. A covenant puts no conditions on faithfulness. It is the unconditional commitment to love and serve” (Bruce Shelley, sermonillustrations.com). At least that’s how God looks at it. Covenants are for good. They are unconditional.
In 1942, Margaret Wise Brown published a simple children’s book called The Runaway Bunny. In the story, a young bunny wants to run away from his mother. Each time he tells his mother his plans, it is in a different way, but she always has an answer. He will run away and be a fish; she will be a fisherman. He will run away and be a rock; she will be a mountain climber. He will run away and be a flower; she will be a gardener. He will run away and be a bird; she will be the tree that he comes home to. What a picture of the covenant love of God! Always there for us, seeking us out, keeping the promises he makes. And that brings it back to us. As we think about what and how we can covenant with God in 2017, let me ask some questions.
I. WHAT IS NEW? What has changed in our world? I know that each of us would make up a different list if we sat down to write what we have at the beginning of 2017 compared to the beginning of 2016. There are a number of things that stood out to me, but I want to focus on just a few.
A. One is change in America itself. I have lived long enough, I feel, to get a sense of changes and trends in our land. I am an optimistic guy, but we live in pessimistic times. America’s position in our world is at its lowest since the 1920s and 1930s. Our friends do not trust us. Our enemies do not respect us. In many eyes, we are no longer seen as a force for good and right, but for wrong and evil. We have lost our political will, our moral authority, and our military dominance. And all of this retreat internationally has grown out of our decline here at home. Not to depress anyone, but it seems as if these days that, if it is traditional, it must go. If it is respectful of Christianity, it’s religiously intolerant. If it preserves the distinction between male and female, it is sexist. And all these trends accelerated in 2016.
B. Another area of change was in the United Methodist Church. History will record 2016 as the year that the group known as progressive in our church laid down the gauntlet in their push to conform our church to the twisted sexual morality of our society. The next few years will tell us if those who hold to the Bible will have the backbone to stand for the truth. But as it stands now, we speak to a listening world in a very confusing and mixed voice. Just when they need to see us stand for Jesus and share the Good News, they see us stand for everything else and share our church politics and agendas. As you know from what I have said before, this is simply not the way things should be, and they cannot be if the United Methodist Church is to survive. But wait, there’s more!
C. One other thing that stands out to me as new is the changing perception of Christianity. I have spoken before about the “nones,” that rising group here in America that identify with no religion at all. Not Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or any of the other false religions. None of the above. The numbers are bad and getting worse. 23% of adults in America vote for none of the above when it comes to religion, up from 16% in 2007. When you factor in that over a third of millennials (those born from 1982-2004) say that none is their religious choice, we have much to be concerned about with the future of Christianity in America. Internationally, the church is on the grow. Here at home, it is in decline.
Just a few of the things that are new in some way in the world around us.
II. WHAT IS OLD? There are some things that are old, and I mean old as a positive thing, old in a good way. Not everything new is good, and not everything old is bad. What are some old things that were around and dependable in 2016, and I personally am counting on being around in 2017?
A. The first thing I am counting on is the Good News! Every time I saw a story about another senseless shooting, be it of police or civilian, I could remember that Jesus died for that person and cared about what the family was going through. Every time I read in the paper about a tragedy of any kind - natural disaster, terrorism, you name it - I could turn to the Bible and be reminded that God was there at that tragedy and that he had a way to bring the people through that were there. Every time I heard of someone being sick, I could remember that Jesus was the Great Physician. Every time I stood at the graveside of a family member or friend, I could take comfort in the fact that Jesus was the Resurrection and the Life! I expect no change in 2017 from the Good News; in fact, I am quite confident that it will continue to be Good News!
B. Another old thing I counted on in 2016 and will continue to stake my life on in 2017 is this: Jesus saves. In the past year, I saw the Gospel at work in the lives of men and women, boys and girls. I heard the old, old story of Jesus and his love. Here at Farm Hill, we witnessed the impact of the Good News of salvation on one of our own, in the life of Jessie. I stand here as a testimony to the power of the salvation of Jesus Christ. If you follow Jesus, it is only because of him that you are able to do so. Praise God for the fact that Jesus saves! If he did not, I tremble in fear at the thought of where I would be, where you would be, where our world would be. And in 2017, I fully expect Jesus to go on saving every person, young or old, male or female, rich or poor, who turns to him in repentance and confession. I do not doubt it one bit!
C. Another thing I counted on in 2016, that has been around and stood the test of time, is Farm Hill United Methodist Church. When the circuit riding preachers started working their way out of Harrisburg over 150 years ago, they came up Farm Hill and built a church here that has stood as a lighthouse ever since. Farm Hill has made a difference in its community from that time until now. I have talked to a few of those who previously served at Farm Hill, and every one of them recalled their days here with a smile of gratitude. When God does good things somewhere, you are grateful to be a part of it. I know I have been, and I will count on God continuing to make us a blessing as Farm Hill United Methodist Church in 2017!
III. WHO WILL I BE? I wish I could say that 2017 is going to be better in every way for you than 2016 was. You will be healthier, wealthier and wiser. I wish I could say peace will come to our world, that righteousness will prevail, that the terrorists will come to their senses and give up their wicked ways. I wish I could say that any family issues you have will be erased, that any painful memories you have will be healed, that life will be everything you want it to be. But I am not in control of any of those things and neither are you!
So what do we control? It reminds me of what Jesus says in John 21:18: “When you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” Life has a way of reminding us how little we are in control. The weather? No. Whether or not the car starts in the morning? No. Whether I feel like getting out of bed, or am too sick to get up? Again, no! What do I control?
Let me give you the second verse from Charles Wesley’s powerful hymn, “A Charge to Keep I Have”:
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill:
Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage
To do my Master’s will!
And that is something we can control. In 2017, I can decide to live for the Lord, to give my all for Jesus, to have no regrets in doing what I can to see the kingdom of God come on earth as it is in heaven! Folks, that is who I want to be this year! How about you?
CON. Father Time, the old man with the robe and the scythe (sith), is someone we look for at this time every year. But in Revelation 21, here at the end of the New Testament, the end of time is in view, and it is out with the old and in with the new! If Father Time shows up, let it be as the Baby New Year, full of promise and joy and anticipation. I want to sign up for bigger and better things, for that new thing that God has for me and for you. If this year is anything like last year, there will be times where we sigh with resignation because we knew at some level it was coming. There will be some good things that bring us joy and happiness. There will be some bad things that shock and hurt us. But I want to be ready for the God thing, for the moving of the Holy Spirit, for the pouring out of revival, to hear once again that God is loose and working in this world through you and me. I choose to be available for him to do his new thing through me. Will you be available too?
