Thus
says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things
of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall
always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to
be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult
in my people. Isaiah 65:17-19b
The
royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said
to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to
him and left. John
4:49-50
Piety
My life flows on in endless song
Above earth's lamentation.
I hear the real, though far off hymn
That hails the new creation
Above the tumult and the strife,
I hear the music ringing;
It sounds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?
(Written by Pete Seeger, “How Can I Keep from
Singing?”)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CgAaZvFssU
performed by Marty Haugen, et. al)
Study
Today we get the message of new creation from
the prophets and from the Good News. Our
Gospel shifts from Luke and Matthew earlier in the Lenten season to John where
we read of the second sign/miracle that Jesus performed.
The seven signs are:
- (Sunday) Changing water into wine at Cana (John 2:1-11)
- (Monday) Healing the royal official's son in Capernaum (John 4:46-54)
- (Tuesday) Healing the paralytic at Bethesda (John 5:1-18)
- (Wednesday) Feeding the five thousand (John 6:5-14)
- (Thursday) Jesus' walk on water (John 6:16-24)
- (Friday) Healing the man born blind (John 9:1-7)
- (Saturday) Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45)
Since the “beginning,” the natural world
worked in one way. Water was water, not
wine. When you fermented grapes, you got
wine. But the properties of the two
drinks were unique and one would not change into the other at the mere presence
of the Lord. But, as one poet would
write, it was as if the water in Cana looked at its creator and blushed.
Since the beginning, death was death. Yet, when the royal official turned to Jesus
in faith, death was defeated in this one case (also foreshadowing another
Easter defeat to come). Jesus was not
only upsetting the natural order, he was upsetting the people who kept order of
the natural world.
In Luke, Jesus started to agitate the Pharisees
from the very first day of his public ministry when he read from the scrolls of
Isaiah. In John, Jesus goes beyond mere
reading to actually live out the prophetic new creation with seven miracles.
The seven signs are seen by some scholars and
theologians as evidence of New Testament creation theology in the
Gospel of John. The resurrection of
Jesus on Easter Sunday is the eighth sign, indicating a New Genesis that
flows anew from a calendar week of re-creation and then a New Creation as
predicted by Isaiah beginning with the resurrection. Others see the final sign as concluding with
the great harvest of fish in the last scene of John’s Good News.
All this New Creation is done and said and studied so that
Jesus might live again in us and we might live again in Jesus.
Action
As the temperatures warm this week, we can
begin to say goodbye to winter and hello to spring. What ways can you celebrate the arrival of a New Creation and new life this year? Consider planting
the seed for something inside or outside that will grow into flowers, spices or
vegetables for you later this year – and which will be a constant reminder of
new life.
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