January 4, 2009

One of the common images of childhood is watching kids play something and asking for a "do-over." Whatever it is you are doing or playing, a do-over is when we ask for another chance, a clean slate, another chance to get what we want. And do-overs are not just for kids. Adults want a chance to start over too. Isn't that what we celebrate every New Year's? "Out with the old; in with the new." A fresh start. I had a friend call me this week and ask to join one of my yoga classes. These were her exact words, "I want my 21 yr. old body back!!!"

U.S. News & World Report magazine has a cover article this month - 50 Ways to improve your life in 2009. They have some really good ideas. They have 10 eco-friendly suggestions, 9 creative endeavors, 8 healthy living ideas and then the bottom three categories are things to stretch your mind, save money and 4 ideas about reaching out to help someone else. There really were some good ideas: ditching paper newspapers and reading your news on the internet, reading up on Abe Lincoln and his leadership skills at his 200^th anniversary; slowing down our spending; and changing our toothbrush on a regular basis. Okay, maybe not life-changing but life-enhancing at least. There were also some odd ones: move toVermont. I don't want to live in Vermont, even if it is a happy place to live. They urge us to learn Russian and read Edgar Allen Poe - no thanks. But I appreciate the suggestions and it did urge me to mentally write my own list - certain authors to read, habits to change, creative endeavors to pursue.

One thing I did notice as I mulled over the list - there was nothing about nurturing one's faith or spirituality: no fasting, no reading of the spiritual giants, no mention of taking a spiritual retreat, no spiritual disciplines to try. There were also no mentions of stripping down our lives - cleaning out closets, uncluttering our schedule, stripping down to our bare essence to learn new things about ourselves and our world. Well, I highly recommend that you add some of these categories of things to your list as well.

I may quibble about what you put on your list, but I don't take issue with the idea of starting fresh, turning over a new leaf. I love the idea of a fresh year, a new opportunity. My question is not with the list - any of us could come up with 5, 10, or 50 things we want this year. My question is what motivates us to do something new? Surely we don't just change as we turn the page on our monthly calendar. Is it fear that makes us change? Coercion, anger, desire?

The Bible has an answer for us. The answer for what makes humans change is words. Think about it. Everywhere in the Bible words and speech are what inspire people to do things differently. The Bible opens with the pronouncement that when God speaks, creation happens. If you look to other traditions, gods "create world by having sex with other gods, or through a primal, cosmic battle between good and evil?" (Pulpit Resource p. 6, Jan. 4,2009) But our God creates through words.

We hear early on in Genesis that God taps Abraham on the shoulder and promises him on a cloudless night with just words. No land, no possessions, just words to ignite his faithfulness. This is enough to set Abraham on a new journey, a radical change in his life with Sarah.

Later in the Bible when people wandered away from God, God sent us prophets. These great men called into question what the people were doing and how they were conducting their lives. Again, no swords, no kings; just poets and preachers who envisioned a new world with their powerful, pushy, poetic speech (Ibid).

This continues into the New Testament. The Gospels open with the preacher John the Baptist. A man with words for us to listen to. He blows into town, wearing strange clothes, eating a stranger diet and with sharp words that urge people to listen up. And yet his words cut right through to people and they listen and they begin to anticipate the one who is to follow him.

And then there is Jesus. He comes and brings a new word to us. He teaches. He shocks with his words. He reinterprets the Law and the tradition of his forebears. He redraws boundaries with his words. He talks and talks about a new way of following God and he talks people into following him and being part of a new movement of believers. Just words. But words that cut to the heart of what we desire and need.

John's Gospel uses poetic, mysterious language to describe this Jesus. He talks about Jesus being the "word." This Logos is a word used by the Stoics to refer to the principle of reason that governs the universe. Philo spoke of the creative power of Logos. The ancient Rabbis related Logos to the Torah and wisdom. John's gospel is declaring a new Theology - that this ancient word became flesh and dwelled in our midst, full of grace and truth.

Just words. But we know that words can be powerful and life-changing. What is the message to us as we stand on the threshold of a new year? What word do we need to hear to step over this threshold into creative being in the coming year?

First, let us remember that our God is a creating God, bringing newness again and again. Our God is not stagnant, but life-enhancing. Second, our God continues to open doors and giving us new possibilities for our life and our world. Our God is not off in some lofty realm, but creating here on earth. Heard about this new Green Bible? Apparently it is causing a slight controversy by folks who think that God is above and beyond this earth and the earth is not to be protected and revered since God dwells in another Realm. But the writers of the Green Bible have highlighted in green about 1,000 references in Scripture that talk about the earth and how we should care for it. I think God does care about how we live on this earth and treat the earth. I'd like to see a multiplicity of Bibles that highlight all kinds of issues: the Green Bible, the Homeless Bible, the Women's Bible, The Children's Bible, the Money Bible, etc.

So, God is life-enhancing, God opens doors of new possibility here on earth, and third, God created us to be creative as well. We have always been called as partners with God. We don't have to do it ourselves and we are also not off the hook to participate in creating heaven on earth here.

I've been reading and hearing this week that poets and authors are excited about our President elect Barak Obama because the man loves words. He quotes poets and reads various writers. People are excited because, as one person put it, poets tell the truth. They speak with authentic voices about people's experiences. Unlike empty rhetoric and false promises, poets and authors write from the heart and people hear words that speak to their own experiences.

As we stand at the threshold of a new year, let us remember the power of a word - the word of God made flesh to walk among us; the word of hope that brings newness to life; the word of grace that is extended to each of us from our loving, creating God. Thanks be to God for words that invite us into the new year. Amen.