A Word from Pastor Lisa: New Thing

“Behold! I will do a new thing. It will spring forth. Won’t you be aware of it?” – Isaiah 43:19 (my translation)

When the weather warms up, my daughter and I love working in the garden. She helps me plant vegetables, and since we use compost, we get a lot of volunteers. Last summer we were blessed with an abundance of butternut squash that nearly overran our small plot. We had a globe zucchini plant randomly appear in our front flower bed. We harvested some beautiful tomatoes and cucumbers that we did not plant. All of these were God’s way of doing a new thing in our lives. They were surprise gifts that we did not earn. Yet we had to water them, tend to them, weed around them, and help them to grow.

The prophet Isaiah proclaims God’s message to the people of Israel who have lost everything when their enemies conquered them, destroyed their temple, and forced them into exile in a foreign land. Even though they have not been faithful to God, the Lord has kept covenant loyalty with them. They remain precious in God’s sight, honored and beloved. God will be with them even in the worst circumstances. Even though they have burdened God with their sins and brokenness, God will blot out their transgressions and remember their sins no more. God will do a brand new thing – setting them free from captivity in Babylon and welcoming them back to rebuild Jerusalem.

But this surprise gift from God of redemption and renewal does not pop up overnight in the Israelites’ gardens. It’s generational work for them. They will remain in captivity for 70 years, longing for their homeland and reorienting themselves toward their God. The Lord may have promised them a new thing, but it will take time to cultivate.

Lent is a season in our lives to cultivate God’s gifts of grace, redemption, and “new things.” Lent is also the 40 days of preparation for Easter, a time of spiritual gardening. We pull up by the roots the plants we don’t want there. We water if not enough rain falls. Vines like tomatoes grow better when we pluck off some of the suckers. We also trim the bottom branches of our peppers to prevent fungus. During Lent, we ask God to unearth in us what lies fallow so that seeds of faith can be planted and nurtured in our lives. We also examine ourselves to see what needs to be pruned and what must die for new life to emerge. This year our Scripture offers us images of earthiness and grit, of cultivating and letting go, and we can’t wait to dig in together.

We will begin this season of spiritual gardening next Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. for Ash Wednesday in the sanctuary and on our livestream. This will be a Taizé-style service of Scripture, prayer, quiet meditation, and repetitive chants. We will receive the imposition of ashes and holy communion. We will be reminded that we are mortal, fragile parts of God’s creation, and it’s only by Christ’s grace that we grow. My prayer is you will join us for a season of growth and renewal, prepared to cultivate the new thing God is doing in your life.