Year may bring changes, but God makes all things new

Reflections on the church

“And the one who was seated on the throne said,
“Behold, I am making all things new.”
—Revelation 21:5

This word from the Revelation to John was a powerful word of hope for Christians who were his contemporaries living in communities around the Mediterranean.
The message scarcely has the same impact on those of us living Christian lives in this day in our nation. We may complain about the circumstances of our lives, like taxes and gas prices, and the circumstances of our churches, like aging buildings and a lack of young adults.
Yet, our standard of living places us among the wealthy of the world, and we do not daily fear for our lives as followers of Jesus Christ.
Those who first heard the revelations made to the apostle John were living as second- and third-generation Christians who had expected that the second coming of Christ restoring the world would have been soon after Christ’s resurrection.
Instead, first generation Christians had died, and persecution had dogged early Christians and increased in its violence and persistence through the years. Some began to lose faith and wonder if faith in Jesus Christ really made any difference in the world.
To hear once again the promise that, in spite of appearances, God was making all things new must have had a significant spiritual impact on both individual Christians and faith communities.
Actually, this word was not new, as God’s promise to recreate, restore and make new had been proclaimed for centuries. What was different was that this word was being proclaimed about having faith in God through Jesus Christ to those who struggled to maintain that faith and witness to others about it at the possible price of sacrificing their very lives for what they believed.
We are entering a new year, and the beginning of a new year always takes my breath away. It never fails that the beginning of a new year involves various responsibilities that are significant and need immediate attention. The brief respite of the preceding holiday period is welcome and maybe necessary to resource us for what the new year brings.
Three matters come to my mind that make 2008 unique:
> We will soon enter the congregational phase of the Offering Christ Today for Tomorrow capital funds campaign for starting new churches.
> General and jurisdictional conferences will meet in the spring and summer in Texas.
> Bishop Joel N. Martinez, who has served us well since 2000, will be retiring Aug. 31, and a new bishop will lead us next fall.
Any one of those matters in itself could take my breath away. Any one of those matters could be a source of high anxiety for pastors, lay leaders and churches. Any one of those matters could be an opportunity for us to act out of hopelessness and a scarcity mentality.
Yet, we worship and have faith in God through Jesus Christ, and we stand in the eternal promise that God is making all things new.
We have a part in making all things new, and we may have to take a deep breath as we enter into what is to come.
But like our spiritual ancestors, we can also hear again a word of hope that propels us into this new year willing to be courageous and take risks for the sake of Jesus Christ to witness to our faith in the world.