Is Anything New?

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9).

            I find it interesting to consider verses like this alongside some of the other biblical stories.  On the one hand, there are certain patterns that repeat themselves throughout the Scriptures:  People are faithful for a while, only to fall away again.  Prophets are sent with warnings, the people don’t listen, and disaster happens.  Sin-judgment-grace; sin-judgment-grace; sin-judgment-grace.

            On the other hand, there are passages like in Isaiah where God is about to do a new thing (43:19).  There are the things that Jesus does that people say they have never seen before – like giving sight to a man who was born blind, or raising somebody from the dead after four days.  There are people like Saul (Paul) who get turned around to go in a totally new direction (Acts 9).

            I have to wonder if the conversation is different depending upon whether we are talking about human beings or God.  God, it seems, can and does do new things – or even makes “all things new” (Rev. 21:5).  Human beings, on the other hand, seem to have great difficulty with any significant change – unless God is involved.

            We have certainly been seeing a number of things lately that feel a lot like history repeating itself.  The Russian invasion of Ukraine reminds many people of the Nazi campaign in 1939.  The “100-year pandemic” has been compared to the Spanish Flu and to numerous other pandemics that came before that.  The threat of flooding seems like “here we go again.”  The only question is which previous flood most resembles the current one.    

           However, then I look at Paul, and the dramatic turn that his life takes following an encounter with the risen Jesus.  I suppose one could argue that Paul was still the same person.  He had just been “pointed in a different direction” in order to put his zeal and stubbornness and education to better use.  Still, it is hard to imagine a more dramatic change – from persecuting those who believe in Jesus, to preaching salvation through the same Jesus.

            At the same time, the Holy Spirit is never described as being particularly predictable.  “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn. 3:8).  Presumably this is part of becoming a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

            Most of us (if we are being honest) are pretty much creatures of habit.  We have our routines, as well as our memories of the way things used to be, and it is hard for many of us to think outside the box.  It is hard to imagine new ways of doing things that we haven’t already experienced or seen.  Yet, this type of thinking seems to be exactly what is needed when it comes to sharing God’s love with all people.

            Are there new ways to do this that haven’t already been tried?  Are there ways to share God’s love with those who don’t think that they need it?  Are there new ways to engage people with the good news of Jesus Christ?  May the Holy Spirit show us, and open our minds and our hearts.           

            In Christ,

            Pastor Lynne Hutchison