SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW - June 14, 2009
Mark 4:26-34; 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
The reflection today is "Something Old, Something New," because June is traditionally both graduation month and the month when many weddings occur.
A cartoon shows a bride and groom ready to say their wedding vows, and the caption is "for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, the baseball, football and golfing seasons . . ."
Another couple was ready to practice the same vows at the wedding rehearsal, and as the pastor asked the groom: "Do you take this woman to be your wedded wife, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health . . ."
The bride interrupted and said, "Please, pastor, you're going to talk him right out of it."
A little boy was at his first wedding. After the service, another child asked him, "How many men can a woman marry?"
"Sixteen," said the little boy.
"How do you know?" his friend asked.
"The preacher said it -- four better, four worse, four richer, four poorer -- sixteen."
Many brides also follow the tradition of carrying
something old,
something new,
something borrowed,
something blue.
Something old, of course, is something from the past. It might be something that recalls a loved family member, like a pretty handkerchief or a small new testament from an auntie or grandmother or great-grandmother.
That it is paired with something new signifies the importance of the new status and family position once the couple is married. The old is recognized and honored, but it is the new future and new opportunities that gives hope to the new couple.
Something borrowed -- I wonder if this is to remind the bride and groom that they will need their friends as they begin their new life together.
Something blue. This could mean a wish for blue skies, and smooth sailing through life. But blue also can mean being blue, or a little down. Many churches have a "Blue Christmas" worship service, for those people who are feeling lonely or who are mourning loved ones at Christmas. Even though a wedding is a happy time, there can be sadness at leaving behind a job or friends if one of the couple is having to move, or leaving behind a life style. Often, even joyous occasions can have a tinge of bitter-sweet.
As we consider the words of Paul in 2nd Corinthians this morning, I want us to keep in mind that he is asking the new Christians to make a change similar to that of a new couple just getting married. He is asking the new converts to look at life differently. In this case, it is to regard ". . . no one from a human point of view . . . So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!"
Paul goes on to say that in Christ, everyone will look at their relationships through Christ's eyes, and through Christ's heart. Paul urges the new Christians to be ambassadors for Christ, and reminds them that they are entrusted with Jesus' message of reconciliation. That is, they are to be the ones to bring the forgiveness of Jesus to everyone, so that any bitterness or hurt or broken relationship will be healed. Through the mystery of faith, and by being ambassadors bringing Christ's forgiveness, these people who lived so long ago in the very secular city of Corinth, and who are just learning about Jesus and who he was and what he taught, will actually become the righteousness of God.
Well, then, that's a big job, being an ambassador, bringing "Something New".
We can take heart in that we are about planting the seeds of "Something New." In the gospel lesson we find that in the Kingdom of God, we who are the ambassadors are about planting seeds, and that it is God who will cause the seeds to grow and then reap the harvest. But just as the farmer who plants the seeds, we also take our task of being ambassadors seriously, for even the smallest seed, like the tiny mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds on earth, will become the greatest of shrubs with branches large enough for the birds to make nests in.
There is a story by Rev. Fred Craddock about a young woman who came to an evening worship service during Advent -- just before Christmas. It's a good time for families to come to church. Well, she came in late, with noisy kids. She distracted everybody, disturbed everybody around. Kind of bothered Rev. Craddock a little bit, too, although he says he can usually just chop right down the row, but they were really a distraction. At the fellowship time afterward, she came up to Rev. Craddock at the fellowship time afterward, and said, "You don't know me, but I'm the one with the noisy kids."
Rev. Craddock said, "Yeah. I noticed when you came in."
They talked a little bit. Next night she was back for another service, without the kids. At the coffee hour she asked, "You remember me from last night?"
And Rev. Craddock said, "Yeah, you're the one with the noisy kids."
She said, "I didn't bring them tonight."
Rev. Craddock said, "Oh, they're not with you?"
And she replied, "I take noisy kids and go late when I don't want something to get to me. I came without them."
Did she want to be affected by the gospel? No. Yes. No. And then she said, "You won't believe what a mess I've made of my life."
Did she want to be affected by the gospel?
There is a story by Mary Ann Bird in a book The Whisper Test. She writes:
I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to others: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech.
When schoolmates asked, "What happened to your lip?" I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different. I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me.
There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom we all adored -- Mrs. Leonard. She was short, round, happy -- a sparkling lady.
Annually we had a hearing test. . . . Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn. I knew from past years that as we stood against a door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back-things like "The sky is blue" or "Do you have new shoes?" I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, "I wish you were my little girl."
The prophet Isaiah tells us "but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)
Ezekiel says to us, "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you. . ." (Ezekiel 36:26-27a)
And the apostle Paul tells us over and over again, in different ways, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2)
"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The message is that God wants to plant something new in our lives. Do we want to be affected by it?
The message is that God whispers in our hearts, "I wish you we my little girl." or "I wish you were my little boy." Like the young girl, can we rejoice that we belong to Christ? To be His little girl, or grown-up woman, or little boy, or grown-up man?
We already have "Something Old."
Now, with Christ Jesus, we can say "Yes!" to "Something New."
Amen
Pastor Fran
