From the Rector’s Desk

February 1, 2004

Recently, I have been hearing a cry come forth from many different people that there is too much change in the world, in the church, and in our community. Why can’t things stay the same? As we journey through life we face continual change and from time to time even sudden and drastic changes which may stop us in our tracks. Our personal map for living, which we had worked out so well, is somehow no longer applicable. It does not seem to fit our new and changed experience and we have to re-draw it once again.

While facing change helps us to grow as people and as Christians, we fear it. We are afraid that things will never be the same. This fear of the unknown takes over and we can become afraid that the change will destroy us. Many of us avoid change as much as possible. We tend to refuse to face new changes in our lives and in our bodies because we want to cling to the familiar. However, every change we face becomes like a mini-birth in terms of new experience and growth. It is only when we refuse to change that we stop growing and learning and we kill off our potential for life.

St. Augustine wrote, "Lord, you have made us for yourself alone, and our hearts will always be restless until they find their rest in you." If we spend our life resisting change and keeping things the same, we will be in a constant state of restlessness, for there cannot be time for keeping our focus on the past and at the same time, focusing on the path that God has created for us in the present/future.

When we look at Scripture we see the biblical characters being transformed through life’s experiences. Joseph moved from being the outcast younger brother to a leader of international importance. Job is transformed from a prosperous citizen to a social outcast and then back again to a prosperous citizen. Some of the most dramatic changes of the Bible come from the book of Revelation, where the whole earthly order is changed before our eyes through John’s vision. Some of the change is toward decay and destruction, but the vision also includes renewal, especially in the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. "The former things have passed away," God says, "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:4-5). The biblical message portrays that things never stay the same but always change into something better or worse, at the very least, different.

The Good News is that even though change can bring challenges, the steadfast love of the Lord always remains. Whatever we go through as individuals or as a community, good or bad, God promises to be with us. In the end, we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Together as the people of St. John’s, let us face the winds of change knowing that God is guiding us, and that in the end, there will be peace and renewal.

- The Rev. Mark William Kelm