Fifth Sunday in Lent – April 5, 2025

“Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

All of us were born with imagination. Small children are experts… but somewhere throughout our years, we forget how to play, how to have fun, how to create, how to imagine. As young children, our days are full of endless possibilities, and the power of imagination runs strong. But somehow as we grow into our adults, the power of imagination is devalued.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus models seeing the other and holy hospitality. In a stunning turn of event, Judas says what we might, if we’re following Jesus’ lead, and ask why the money spent on making the air (and Jesus) fragrant wasn’t spent on feeding and caring for the poor. But Jesus, instead, turns the story to being present. He makes us think about the creative possibilities that we can offer – whether in using the perfume to celebrate his presence, in the creativity of the prodigal son we heard last week, or in the sparing of the fig tree that we heard about two weeks ago.

God is the giver of all things. The Holy Spirit instills in each of us the gift of creativity, but we need to open ourselves up to this potential. Daily, we are invited to be co-creators with God as we imagine the possibilities for ourselves and our congregation. Barbara Brown Taylor says that our task encourages us imaginatively: “Holy imagination is a way of seeing – a way of living – that requires a certain loosening of the grip, a willingness to be surprised, confused, amazed by the undreamt-of ways that God chooses to be revealed to us… we are called to participate in God’s own imagination – to see ourselves, our neighbors, and our world through God’s eyes, full of possibility, full of promise, ready to be transformed… because God is not through with us yet.”

What would it look like as we put aside any conversation about how much new ideas might cost, or how much time it would take to start them, and instead, just dream. What do YOU dream of us doing that would take us beyond where we are now, regardless of the cost (monetary or timewise)? What is YOUR passion? What makes your heart sing? When we invite the Holy Spirit to be our partner to dream, to imagine, to engage playfully, we find new possibilities open up for us to use the gifts that God gives each of us. Saying yes to these possibilities that God gives us through creativity is our gift back to God.

New ideas mean change. Change has challenges. But our biggest sin might be complacency. Complacency is a feeling of satisfaction with our own situation that prevents us from trying harder. It’s a feeling of developing something that works and then never re-examining it. We often think of ourselves as a friendly community, but in reality, whenever we gather – as humans – we are a community of friends.

And because of our complacency, we face challenges of inaction and inertia. Inaction can be not making a decision – most often because we’re scared of making a mistake. But there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my years here at St. Michael & All Angels: We’re okay with failing. We just need to try. So, step one: GET STARTED.

When I say inertia, I know you all know what I mean. It’s expressed best in words that all of us know, the idea that “We’ve always done it that way.” Say it along with me: “We’ve always done it that way.” Now forget those words. An old Chinese proverb tells us: When you hear something, you will forget it. When you see something, you will remember it. But not until you do something will you understand it. How did the words “We’ve always done it that way” feel as you said them? The always-done-it-that-ways are the traditions within our church that have become sacred unto themselves. Signs, certain ministries, announcements.

I am reminded of a congregation that had an odd tradition. At the beginning of the service, the entire congregation would be sitting on the side of the church nearest to where the lector would read the lessons. The clergy would proclaim the Gospel from the congregation and the sermon from the pulpit on the opposite side of the church. At the passing of the peace, the people would greet one another and then move from one side of the church to the other. A new priest was very confused by this, and asked around, and was told it was the church’s tradition. It didn’t make much sense, so the priest asked around more, finally settling in talking with the matriarch of the church one day. In a soft voice, she said, “Our members are all wrong. We used to heat the church using a potbelly stove on the side of the church near the lectern. At the beginning of the service, it was the only warmth in the church, so people gathered near it. By the time the passing of the peace came, we were sweating from sitting near its heat, so we got some relief by moving to the other side of the church!”

We all can identify those sacred cows we have in our church – from actions we do (at least we don’t move from one side of the church to the other!) to activities or programs that bear no fruit for God’s kingdom. What if we spent weeks preparing for an annual outreach event that resulted in absolutely no new people joining the church? Would you consider that a good use of our time? Do we want to grow, or are we truly happy being the size that we are? Jesus challenges us to go and to make disciples of all – doesn’t that mean that we are always looking to grow by helping more people know Jesus?

Here’s the thing, Jesus tells us how to confront these sacred cows. We are given gifts… Wonder. Play. Imagination. Possibility. Creativity. These are all gifts from God. What if we honored them and utilized them, instead of using our stand-by crutches of “We’ve always done it that way” or “That’s a lot of work” or even “But we’ve never done it THAT way before”? Our job as the representatives of God here in this corner of our community is to honor our creativity, unearth our gifts, and empower each one of our members for mission and ministry in the ways that they feel comfortable. Being vulnerable opens us up to innovation, creativity, and change. We have to be inspired to take risks with courage to risk failure as we seek to be change agents for the glory of God. And we have to consider whether the things we do now really do help to spread the knowledge of God’s kingdom or not.
“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Is 43:19)

Dear God, grant us courage and imagination this day. Open our hearts to creativity and possibility. Open our eyes to be opened to the obstacles that are holding us back from ministry. Give us wisdom and courage as we discern and confront those sacred cows in our midst. Fill our souls with your unfailing grace and boldness as we imagine, create, and envision ways to connect with all of your creation to be a faithful community of love and relationship, a living monument to God’s strength and grace. Amen.