Embracing Change

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

            “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

            Change. We love it. We hate it. Change happens.     

Sometimes change is gradual. The sun sets; the sun rises. It takes approximately 24 hours for the Earth to make a full rotation. 365.25 of these rotations happen every time the Earth travels around our Sun. Seasons (eventually) change. Because of Earth’s axis and our corresponding distance to the sun, we experience gradual change in our weather systems, however, the gradual change has become much harsher in the last few years. Children (eventually) grow up. Much like the seasons, sometimes this change is much harsher than is meant to, but generally, there is a gradual change with children maturing.

There are times when changes are too gradual and slow. It took the Church around 300 years to agree on what books should be in the Bible, 1500 years (and a rogue monk) to allow the common folk to read the Bible, 1800 years for the Catholic Church to formally admit the Earth was round, and 1900 years to admit that Jews didn’t kill Christ. Women weren’t allowed to formally be ordained in some protestant churches until the 1800s, LGBT folk until much later. It took almost 200 years for the United States to allow voting rights for everyone, and marriage equality is slowly changing the hearts of the nation, state by state.

            While some change is gradual, change can also be thrust upon us. Bombs are dropped, planes crash into buildings, and our nation is thrust into perpetual war. Parents divorce, loved ones die and thus, our family dynamics are never the same. However, sudden change sometimes arrives in the most unexpected of places.

            Moses was born, shoved in a basket coated with pitch and bitumen, and sent down the river, because his mother wished to save his life. He grew up, and after killing an Egyptian, Moses fled from Egypt and became a shepherd in Midian. God heard the cries of the Israelites, and called upon Moses to save God’s people. Moses went up to Mount Sinai, and God thrust upon him tremendous change. All of a sudden, God told Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and even though Moses pleaded to have someone else do it, God chose Moses. So Moses did as was commanded, and led the Israelite people out of Egypt. “Do not be afraid, little flock…”

            Some of you may have noticed, that I was not here on Wednesday. Well, at least for long. Wednesday morning, I dropped Sam off at daycare, and he was his normal jolly self. I went to class, went to the bank, and drove to work. I did as I always do, dropped my stuff down, put my phone on the desk, and went to the office to talk to Jen. I had a lovely talk, and then grabbed what I needed, and returned to my office. I heard my phone ringing. It was Tiffany. Sam was sick with a fever at daycare, and I had to drive back home to pick him up and take care of him. Tiffany was at a social work conference, and unable to leave, so the burden was on me to be there for Sam.

            I just drove all the way here. I had so much to accomplish, including writing this sermon. There was no way I’d be able to write this sermon and hangout with sick Sam all day. I had things to do here. I had to help the youth with their worship leading, show them how to light the Thurible, work on my Mission Trip for next summer and write this sermon. All of that changed with that phone call. Change was thrust upon me. I showed Jen how to use the Thurible, packed up my things and I rushed home. I did what was absolutely necessary, and I was off. Sam has spent the last few days pushing out his 2 year molars, and had given me little opportunity to finish this sermon.

            Change happens like that. Sometimes, our whole life gets thrown out of whack because of something out of our control. And how does one feel when this happens? Scared, and completely out of control.

            So, there he was. Not so alone with the thousands of Israelites behind him. In the wilderness. With no water. The Israelites had just survived slavery in Egypt and the escape from Pharaoh’s army. Now they were grumbling, miserable, and thirsty. Whining and complaining, they pointed their frustrations at Moses.  Moses was at his wit’s end. The Jewish Study Bible reads, “Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? Before long they will be stoning me!” God instructed Moses to strike a rock, and water would come forth from the rock. So, Moses did as he was asked and water issued from it. Moses struck the rock, and God came to the rescue of the Israelite people, bringing forth water for everyone to drink.

            Moses was no longer the boy who rode down the Nile in a basket, or a shepherd alone in the wilderness. By this time in the story, Moses had already met God, learned God’s ineffable name, confronted Pharaoh and his magicians, and led God’s people out of Egypt. Moses was now the leader of the Israelite people, and on his way to the Promised Land that was flowing with milk and honey. (Sounds Sticky)

           

            “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing… Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin… For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them…”

            There I was. Alone in the baseball field. I had just survived ten months in Orange County, where life was unlike anything I had known before. I had missed the wind blowing in the trees, the quiet peace that was small town life, the clear air of Midwestern Minnesota. This was my home. For years growing up in Donnelly, I longed for the city life of Saint Cloud, my birthplace. But as the years wore on, Donnelly (and by extension, Morris) became my home. So upon leaving home and arriving in the land of make believe, otherwise known as California, I was quickly tired of sunny and 70 degrees every day. Crazy I know, but after 3 months of sun, I started to miss… ya know… weather… My parents had divorced when I was a sophomore, and I moved to California with my mother and little brother for my Junior year of high school. I hated the dramatic changes that my life had taken. From small town to mega suburbia; from small high school to larger high school (still nowhere near as large as some of your schools…); from living with two parents then one and helping support myself and my little brother; from everyone knowing what a Lutheran was to almost no one knowing…

            I went to school, went to work, paid for our school lunches, and fought my parents on where I should be living. I won. I moved back to Donnelly at the end of that school year, and this was my first chance of being alone. Alone, under the clear blue sky, in the baseball field. I had no idea the changes that were about to befall me even then, but I didn’t care. I was home. Over the course of that final summer at home and the eventual school year, I learned about love; about friendships; about how to live on my own. My father moved down here to the cities before I even finished high school. I was on my own at 17. Those next 6 years after high school, I moved eight times, lived in 5 different apartments, attended four different universities, married Tiffany and became a father. Here I am today, telling you, that change is hard, but change can be good. Change was thrust upon me when my parents divorced and I moved to California and back, but I became who I am today because of it. “Do not be afraid, little flock…”

            There He was. Alone on a cross. He had just barely survived being beaten, flogged, and pierced through the side, and there He was, suffocating to death on a cross. Jesus was no longer the 12 year-old carpenter’s son reading in the temple. No longer was He just the man who was being baptized in the Jordan; just the man who healed the sick, cured the blind, or fed the hungry. Neither was He merely the man who told parables; the man who fished with his friends; or the man who calmed the seas. Jesus had changed so much in those short 30ish years; seen so much; been so much to so many.

Just a few days before, He was riding into Jerusalem with palms or coats being thrown at His feet for Jesus and His disciples to walk on. Just a few days before, He had dinner with his friends, and He washed their feet. Jesus knew he was going to die, but change was thrust upon His disciples when the authorities arrested Him. Peter denied Christ three times. The cock crowed. Judas ended his own life. On Easter morning, His disciples were scared, ran away, or were doubtful. After Christ’s ascension, Peter and the rest of the disciples went from following Jesus to proclaiming His message. 

They were thrusting change upon the world. And this change happened slowly over time, but the entire world was forever changed because of Christ’s life and eventual death on the Cross. The entire world was saved because of God’s grace. Christ changed the world. Christ changes us. Christ changes you. Change happens. Everything on this planet changes. Coal eventually turns into Diamond; children eventually become adults; students become teachers; and winter (eventually) turns to spring.  

Life begins anew with spring, yet

Frosty winter has died, forget?

Cold must cease to welcome the birds

Christ must die, to rise on the third

Change happens. God blesses this change, and instructs us to not fear it. We are different because of this change, but we are better for it. We are not defined by who we were, but by who we are today. I don’t love Minnesota because of the winter, but because of the spring. Easter is not determined by Lent, but the timing of Lent is determined by the timing of Easter. We hearty Minnesotans stay here through these long harsh winters because we know and we love the beauty of spring. We are Lutherans because of the emptiness of this Cross. We believe in and profess the living word, the risen Christ. It is God’s grace and mercy because of Christ’s death on the Cross that we proudly profess is freely given to everyone. Grace that is freely given because of Christ’s death and resurrection. Change is coming my friends. Do not be afraid. Embrace it.

Amen.