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I am doing a new thing Bible Study/discussion
Opening Prayer Gracious and Holy God, Give us wisdom to perceive you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate on you, through the power of the Spirit of Jesus our Lord. Amen (St. Benedict) Dwell in the word – Isaiah 43:16-‐19 (Spend a few minutes centering in the Scripture passage. Read the passage slowly, surrounded with silence. Ask people to listen to the text and notice images or impressions that come to them. Consider reading the text twice, with time in between for reflection, using two different versions.) 16Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? (NRSV) 16-‐19This is what God says, the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves, The God who summons horses and chariots and armies— they lie down and then can't get up; they're snuffed out like so many candles: "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-‐new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. (The Message) What do you notice listening to the prophet’s words? What do you hear God calling you to do through this passage? (Pause to take some responses if offered) Are you familiar with those reality clean-‐house TV shows, where a team of experts helps a family cope with their clutter? Maybe you’ve seen an episode where the professional organizer spends as much time helping a person understand their attachment to things as he or she does reorganizing them.
Perhaps you are one of the 1 in 5 American families that rent a storage unit. The storage business is growing even during the recession, with revenues that exceed that of Hollywood! We’re a culture that would rather rent new space for our stuff than cut back or part with it. When organizers on “Clean Sweep” or “Enough, Already!” try to help people organize their first step is to clear everything out of the room and spend time sorting it into piles of things they will keep, things they will donate or sell, and things they will simply trash. Our church, the ELCA, and all of our synods and congregations are going through a similar sorting process. While God’s mission and Christ’s presence with us haven’t changed, decades of decline topped by the Great Recession are teaching us that we can’t just keep going as we have… There are things that we have to let go of to make way for the new treasures God is giving us. With all of the challenges the 21st Century Church faces to be a vital and relevant Gospel witness in word, worship, and service, how do we clean out the ecclesiastical attics and the basements and the drawers and closets to make room for the Good News of Jesus Christ and to clear away the clutter that may make seeing Gods activity difficult? Lets see if what the Prophet Isaiah wrote to the People of Israel has significance for us today. When this passage was written the People of Israel were in exile and bondage once again, but this time it was Babylon. They yearned for their old familiar way of life and comfortable rituals of faith. Isaiah reminds the people that God saved them with mighty acts before, and rescued them from bondage in Egypt. God will do it again. This is God’s Promise to God’s people. Earlier, in v. 13, God promises: “I work, says the Lord… and who can hinder it?” The imperative “do not remember the former things” is loud and clear. This is a call to God’s people not to limit their vision to their current misfortune, but to trust in God’s power to turn the situation around. What might “former things” be in our context? What gets in the way of being open to what God is doing around us? (Pause for some quick answers) The prophet Isaiah doesn’t tell us to reject everything old and embrace novelty for its own sake. But it is a caution not to be so focused on looking back that we can’t see what God is doing right in front of us. “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.” The prophet warns us not to be so preoccupied with our memories that we neglect seeing what God is doing now.
“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Jesus told us not to be overly concerned with either past or future. The present moment is the place we can perceive God face-‐to-‐face and cooperate in God’s mission: “Repent and Believe, the Kindgom of God is among you!” The tradition we grew up with is incredibly important in the way it has formed and shaped who we are today. But it should not limit whom God can shape us into tomorrow. Israel’s mistakes and captivity were character-‐building experiences, but they did not limit how God could bring his dreams to reality through them. Then God says…. “I am about to do a new thing.” Don’t read “new” in this case as “discontinuously novel.” The “new thing” that is promised is in line with the trajectory of their history, but it is not boxed in by the specific ways that they have understood God to act in the past. Our challenge is to use the present to build on the past to help bring about God’s future. ‘Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? … We know that God has been, is and will always be present for us. Psalm 139 promises us that God is before and behind and has his hand on our shoulder, and is already everywhere he calls us to be. Our trouble as human beings is that we are not always open or equipped to see God’s action. Sometimes, as with the religious establishment of Jesus’ time, it is not in our self-‐interest to see God’s new thing. Others, like Paul, have been blinded by their experience and learning until Christ opened their eyes to a new vision. Can we stop and make some time to perceive what God is doing? Can we see the Spirit at work in Christians and non-‐Christians gathering? Can we appreciate the worship of people more attuned to Bono than Bach? Can we see preaching and teaching occurring in questions and discussion and story telling as well as in traditional pulpit proclamation? As we think about the sorting we have to do as the church and as a congregation, we can imagine three slightly different sorting piles – the Treasures we want to keep central in our life as a Christian community, the gifts and resources we can Share with others, and the things that hinder our proclamation to new people that we might want to Trash, or at least set aside. Can we adapt our liturgies, ideas of community, serving others, and notions of spiritual leadership to be faithful to what has been and also open to how they do their work in the real world we find ourselves in? Are our images of “worship” and “gathering” and “pastor” stuck in a place appropriate for a time gone by? So what does this mean for us at _____________________________________ (congregation) ?
It’s time to spend a few minutes considering the treasures and gifts we have received as well as the stuff that has accumulated in our congregation over the years. • What needs to be honored, affirmed and moved to the center? • What gifts do we have to share with other congregations, the Synod and the ELCA? • What might get in the way of people in our community coming to our church? What needs to be moved aside or put away so that people in our neighborhood today can hear the Good News? Please be specific about this. There are no right answers. One person’s trash might be another’s treasure. And what you don’t see as a strength might be what can be shared with others. (Allow a few minutes for discussion in groups. Then call people to attention to write their Treasures, Shares and Trash on separate cards and put them in the bins.) (When completed, ask if anyone wants to share an item from their lists. If necessary start by sharing a few items from each bin. Ask people if they would share why they selected an item, and ask if anyone has a counter opinion. The goal is to model getting ideas on the table without argument or blaming.) "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" The key to Isaiah's message, and a key to our vitality and engagement as communities of faith, is being on the lookout for and perceiving what God is doing – not just in ourselves and in our churches but in the people and neighborhoods and organizations around us. We’re going to practice this in a few moments, but first we’re going to see a video that challenges us to consider how we perceive things. (Play Perception video 2 with text. Have someone read text as it appears on screen.) Do you see what a difference the angle from which we view things makes, and how important the context is? So now it’s time to consider what you have noticed God doing here in the church and out in our community. Think back over the past few months in your life, in the community and here at church, and ask these questions: • What has God been up to? • How have I (or others) joined in with God’s mission? • Where is God leading us?
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Because of this, what do I/we have to share with the community and the larger church?
Again, there are no right answers. This is about what you perceive. Spend five minutes jotting down your answers on the forms provided. (5 minutes for writing) (Ask is anyone would share what they have seen God doing. Encourage discussion and having people tell their own stories. Have someone chart the ideas/perceptions on a whiteboard or flipchart. Note if there are any trends among what people are seeing.) Now that we’ve heard some of what God has been up to, let’s look to how we – as individuals and as the congregation – might accept God’s invitation to join in His “New Thing.” • What treasures could we emphasize and highlight to help new people hear the Gospel? • What ideas, programs or expertise could we offer to share with our community or other congregations? • Is there anything we might need to adapt or set aside in order to connect with God’s mission? (Allow time for discussion and idea brainstorming. Make sure someone captures the ideas generated. Notice if energy or passion seems to generate around any specific ideas.) Thank you for your ideas and participation. Unlike a reality show, de-‐cluttering and re-‐empowering our congregation is a long-‐term, ongoing process. And I hope you find some peace in knowing that we do not have to dream up “new things.” God is already doing them right here and right now. All we have to do is pay attention to what God is up to with the people around us, and figure out how we can be part of what God is doing. Close with prayer. O God, you call your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Lead us out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is guiding us and your love supporting us. Through Christ our Lord, Amen. Based on a presentation by Bishop Claire Burkat at Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (ELCA) conference gatherings in Fall, 2011. Additional material by Bob Fisher.