Renovation part two

Renovation is about change.  You cannot remove pews, tear up carpeting, sweep up the debris, then say, "Whew, I am spent..You know on second thought, I am not so sure about this any more.  Let's go grab that ripped up, tattered, torn carpet out of the dumpster."  On of the paradoxes of our faith is that we are a people who inherit a tradition handed down from our forefathers and fore-mothers.  On the other hand, our faith is dynamic, always changing, never static.  

Faith is always changing.  Faith is always changeless.  It is a mystery.  On Sunday we gathered around the communion table, a tradition that goes back thousands of years.  We broke bread, just like always.  We poured juice, just like always.  I spilled onto the altar clothe...you guessed it...just like always.  But we also sang a new song to gather us around the table.  We were also communing in Fellowship Hall which was new.  And there was just a different feeling, a sacred feeling, but a new Spirit.  Faith is always about hanging on and moving forward.  

The key is trying to sort out what to let go of in the past in order to embrace something new.  In the sanctuary project we will put the same pews from the 1960s back into the sanctuary, BUT there will be new cushions eventually.  We will try to put the pews back in the right place, but honestly will anyone notice if they are two or three inches moved one way or the other?  

Trying to live and lean into the paradox of faith means that we are constantly renovating our faith.  We are constantly assessing.  In the previous post, I talked about how compartmentalizing can lead us in some difficult places in faith.  So too with constant renovation.  I think part of the reason why we prefer the order of worship and committee structures to remain the same year after year (even when they have lost meaning) is because a). we are not so sure we have the energy to renovate and b). we are not sure the new will be an improvement and c). will it really make a difference?

But then the fresh coat of paint seems to liven up the room.  The new carpet puts a spring in our step that stirs our souls.  The new cushion makes us sit up a bit more during the service reminding us that this matters.  Yes, renovation matters.  Yes, it takes effort and energy.  And yes, the new will be different, take getting used to, and will provide a new Spirit.  Isaiah warned the people of God prior to the exile that bad things were about to happen.  Then, just as Babylon was breathing down the necks of the People of God Isaiah has the audacity to suggest that God suddenly is saying, "I am about to do a new thing, do you not perceive it?"  Of course the people of God don't perceive it, they are too busy trying to fend off the Babylonian army!  

Do you perceive the newness of God in your midst, or just the disheartening news?  Do you perceive the newness of God in your midst, or just the lazy co-worker?  Do you perceive the newness of God, or it is just the same worship service over and over...and over again?

There is a trace of God's grace in opening ourselves to God who renovates and renews and re-creates our whole lives every single Sunday...or do we not perceive that?

Blessings~