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February 19, 2006

Anne Jensen - “What does our future look like?”

Anne Jensen - Feb 19, 2006
Epiphany 7B Is.43:18-25, 2Cor. 1:18-22, Mark 2:1-12

God is faithful…that’s the theme for the day, and it rings through all our readings. It is a golden thread that weaves through scripture, but it must be teased out and brought to life.

Because it is the most difficult reading of the day, I’m starting with the letter to the Corinthians. Have you ever had a friend, relative or consultant say, “I’m coming; I’m going to stop and see you on my way back home,” and then that person doesn’t come. You might have been annoyed, or maybe relieved.

Well, the Corinthians were a little annoyed with Paul. He had promised to stop by on his way back from Macedonia and then changed his mind. We learn elsewhere in this letter that he had visited them on his way to Macedonia and that there had been a confrontation; his reason for not stopping was to avoid another painful incident. We don’t know what the incident was.


The people of Corinth were a fractious group, so it is not surprising that they were angry at Paul and accused him of duplicitous behavior with perhaps the underlying emotional fear of “You don’t care about us.” The implied question is whether Paul can be trusted, and if his message can be trusted. Paul’s response is vigorous: “As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been “Yes and No.” First and foremost Jesus Christ and his message of new life is rock solid. It is true; God is faithful and Jesus is the proof. Through Jesus we are able to say Amen—our YES to God.

It is God’s action that has brought forth this relationship between Paul and the people of the church in Corinth. To underline the commitment God has made to them Paul uses a business metaphor. It goes like this…and it is as true today as it was then: Through Jesus, God has entered into a deal with us; God has set a seal on us that identifies us as God’s possession, and God has given us the Spirit as earnest money, as a first installment of what is to come. God said “Yes!” to the people of Corinth and God says “Yes to us.”

And we being human, wonder, “What does our future look like?”

Almost 600 years earlier God also made promises to the people of Israel when they were in captivity. Through the prophet Isaiah, God sent this word: “Do not remember former things….I am about to do a new thing…I am He who blots out your transgression for my own sake…” The people of Israel understood this promise to mean that they would be freed from captivity and allowed to return to their homeland and build a new life. God said “Yes!” to the captive people.

And they wondered, “What does our future look like.”
God was faithful and they did return to the land God gave them.

Christians have understood this passage from Isaiah as foretelling God’s saving act in Jesus, the Christ. Today’s gospel acts out this promise and reveals God’s faithfulness. Jesus is the new thing. Jesus forgives the sins of the man who was paralyzed, much to the amazement of the scribes. They asked, “How can this be…who but God can forgive sins...it doesn’t fit into our picture.” Ah…God said, “I am about to do a new thing….I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” The man’s sins are forgiven and he is restored to health and to a new life. God said “Yes!” to the man and his friends.

They each wondered, “What does my future look like?”

God said, “I am about to do a new thing…I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake.” God is ready to do a new thing here at Trinity Church. God is ready to forgive the past; God is saying “Yes” to this congregation! God is faithful.

And we wonder, “What does our future look like?”

What do we need to do to be ready for this new thing…for this next phase of our life in Christ?
We need a positive healthy environment, characterized by trust: first of all trust in the “Yes” that God is for us and then trust in each other. Trust that God’s love for us is stronger than our need to hold onto old bad habits; trust that God is providing the leadership we need to move ahead. Trust that the vestry is inspired by God to act in the best interests of this congregation; trust that the search committee is grounded in God and working diligently with the gifts God gave them.

What else do we need to do?

We need to come together to affirm what is good and true and beautiful in our life together. Joy and humor should be in full evidence. We need to come together to share our dreams and as well as our concerns. Apathy and passivity are obstacles to God’s movement. This getting-ready business is a task we must all share. When we have a vision, we have hope; where we have a vision, we will have goals. We already have a partnership with God through our relationship with Jesus Christ. Through prayer, study and creativity, we can discern what new thing God is calling us to and what kind of leadership we need.


Getting ready means having a broad-based consensus on “who we are, where we are going and what kind of leadership we need.” We are going to begin this process with the “Telling our Story” event on March 5th and with the Town Hall Meetings on March 12. We need YOU to be part of this, because the church isn’t just the buildings or the programs or a small group of people on the vestry and search committee. The church is all of us who come together to praise God, to say the great AMEN, and to share in the bread and the wine of new life.

God said, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Even now God is doing a new thing.

We wonder what our future looks like.
As we wonder, let us remember God’s great “Yes!” to us, as individuals and as a community. God is faithful! Through Jesus Christ, God offers us forgiveness of our sins, release from paralysis, and new life. We have received the Holy Spirit as a first installment. How much more might God have in store for us?