All Things New - a sermon
Rev. Alison Longstaff, Aug 9, 2013
Bath Church of the New Jerusalem, Maine
Scriptures: Luke 15: 1-10, Revelation 21: 1-7, Apocalypse Explained 675:10
These readings can be found at the end of this document, if desired.
Our text for today is, “Behold, I make all things new.” This is not just an observation in the voice of God. This is a promise. It is the same promise that gave birth to the resurrection of our Lord---the promise that nothing good ever truly dies. No aspect of God’s love can ever cease to exist in any way. It simply can’t. The Love of God is the only reality and created all things, so every aspect and face of that love continues. Death itself is an illusion. Yes, the death of beloved time periods, of beloved relationships and institutions, and most especially of family and friends is a very real and painful part of mortal existence. But mortal existence is not the end of the story. It is just the prologue to a much bigger story.
In preparing to come for this visit, I was emailing with Rev. George about the way candidating for a congregation feels a bit like dating. George responded uncertainly, saying that that cast him in the role of the protective parent, with which role he wasn't thrilled. I kept chewing on that metaphor, and my thoughts turned to, “Actually, George is more like the “ex…” except he is also supporting the congregation in finding the replacement spouse... And the metaphor just got weirder after that.
I was left wondering if there is any metaphor that serves to describe the dance we are enjoying together this weekend? This is indeed something like a first date. A ministerial candidate could perhaps be seen to be something like a prospective adoptive parent? Or even a step-mom? But wouldn’t that make me “wicked?”
No, this friendly looking-one-another-over keeps feeling like a mutual courtship. It is somehow more than a job interview, due to the intimacy of the prospective relationship. But it is not as intense and far reaching as a marriage proposal. The pastor-parish relationship is somehow something unique in the world. We are indeed here this weekend exploring the possibility of a committed relationship---one in which we all bring our individual strengths to the game and call out the best from each other. This is not just a job interview. Pastoring a church is so much more than a job. It has a peculiar blending of civil and spiritual, of practical and mystical, of human and divine. It is a sobering undertaking. It is serious, and real, and weighty.
As I sat down to reflect on the transition Bath is facing, I was flooded with images from the movie “Truly, Madly, Deeply.” In it British actress Juliet Stevenson gives us a touching look at a newly widowed young woman trying desperately to reconcile herself to the loss of her husband. We see intense grief. She has lost a best friend, a companion, half of her piano-cello duet; she has lost her life in so many ways, and the only way forward is through her grief. It is a poignant, endearing, and tenderly told story of loss and new life, and in no way minimizes the real work involved in releasing the old to make room for the new.
When she gets stuck in the grief, her husband’s ghost, played tenderly by Alan Rickman, moves back into the flat with her. Her joy and relief is palpable. They cuddle and laugh and play music together the way they used to. It seems idyllic at first, except for the awkward fact that he is dead and no one else can see him. As the story goes on, she must continue to eat and sleep and go to work the way mortals do, while he grows paler and colder and increasingly lonely. He keeps turning up the heat to warm himself. And he invites hoards of ghost-friends over to keep him company while she is at work or when she is trying to sleep. It becomes noisier and increasingly crowded in her flat. Then he starts redecorating.
She is less and less delighted.
Then a dear and very alive gentleman comes into her life. Finally, she accepts his friendship. When she heads off on a date with this new gentleman, we see her ghost-husband, surrounded by a host of his spectral buddies watching her go with a wistful grimace of satisfaction, that we realize he has been intentionally making himself a nuisance all along in order help her get over him. That is how truly, madly, and deeply he loved her.
And this is where the Bath church’s story departs from the movie-plot, for beloved Rev. George is very much alive, and I don’t think he is capable of being a nuisance, even if he tried. Still, there are several points of resonance. George loves this church deeply, and wants with his whole heart to see you move forward in good hands. Also, no matter who steps forward to lead you from this point on, there will be grief for the loss of what
“Behold, I make all things new,” is God’s promise to lead you into transformation, growth,and new life. New life always involves a death of the old, but it need not mean irreparable loss nor a rapid change to something unrecognizable. It need not nor should it leave anyone behind. Every congregation goes through life cycles, and the Bath Church of the New Jerusalem is at a key point in its journey---you are primed to burst into new growth.
The Lord can make this tiny congregation new. God’s promise includes “everything,” as we read in today’s reading from Apocalypse Explained. But one must sweep the house to find what is needed. Our story from Luke does not say that the woman hesitated to sweep, or feared what she would find if she swept. She didn't question whether she was worthy to be the mistress of all she would find or if she knew enough truth first. She simply lit a candle, which means she brought her best love to light the way, and she swept house diligently. She cleaned spiritual house, because that is the only way to find what was lost. Apocalypse Explained says that “sweeping the house means to review everything inside one’s being, where the truth lies hidden.” The truth lies hidden within one’s being, not outside of it. This is speaking about the manna or goodness that God has tucked away inside each of us and inside this congregation. It is saying that this congregation already has all it needs inside its gifts and strengths, to become what God intends. You already are and have all that you need, should you choose the path to growth.
“Behold, I make all things new,” says our Lord. Now it is your time to grow! Bring your best love, and get sweeping. You will find you already have what it takes within you. Congratulations on your courage to make this transition, and blessings as you go forward. Thank you for the privilege of meeting you,and please know that no matter whom you choose as your new leader, I am sure good things lie ahead. Fear not.
Amen.
The Readings:
Using the Inclusive Bible by Priests for Equality:
Luke 15: 1-10 Meanwhile the tax collectors and the “sinners” were all gathering around Jesus to listen to His teaching, 2 at which the Pharisees and the religious scholars murmured, “This person welcomes sinners and eats with them.”3 Then Jesus addressed this parable to them: 4 “Who among you, having a hundred sheep, and losing one of them, doesn’t leave the ninety-nine in open pasture, and search for the lost one until it’s found? 5 And finding it, you put the sheep on your shoulders in jubilation. 6 Once home, you invite friends and neighbors in and say to them, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent. 8 “What householder, who has ten silver pieces and loses one, doesn’t light a lamp and sweep the house in a diligent until she finds what she has lost? 9 And when it is found, the householder calls in her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me! I have found the silver piece I lost!’ 10 I tell you, there will be the same kind of joy before the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”
Rev 21: 1-7 Then I saw new heavens and a new earth, for the former heavens and the former earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, as beautiful as a bride prepared for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, “Look, the tabernacle of God is among humankind,and God will abide with them, and they shall be God’s people. God will be fully present among them. 4 The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then the One who sat on the throne said, “See, I make all things new;” and added, “Write; for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And that One continued, “It is finished. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who thirst I will give drink freely of the spring of the water of life. 7 This is the rightful inheritance of those who overcome. I will be their God and they shall be My daughters and sons.
From The Apocalypse Explained by Emanuel Swedenborg, paragraph # 675:10
Ten signifies “a whole lot” and “everything.” Because of this, the number ten appears in passages where “a whole lot”and “everything” is to be understood, such as the story of the woman having ten pieces of silver. If she lost one piece, would she not light a candle and sweep the house, and seek carefully till she found it? (Luke xv. 8). Ten here signifies “everything.” There is spiritual meaning in every detail of the Word.In the spiritual meaning, “woman” signifies “the church” regarding its love for truth. A “piece of silver” stands for truth, and losing the piece of silver is about losing one’s understanding of the truth. Lighting a candle corresponds to self-examination from affection; sweeping the house means to review everything inside one’s being, where the truth lies hidden. This is the spiritual meaning of these words. A hundred, like ten, also signifies everything; therefore a similar parable speaks of a hundred sheep, and if one were lost (Matt. xviii 12, 13; Luke xv. 3-7).
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