Peter was praying in the city of Joppa, and an amazing new thing occurred. He saw a stunning vision of animals of all sorts, clean and unclean, lowered as a sheet by four corners by the power of the heavens. The voice of the Lord says: “Rise, Peter, kill and eat.” Essentially Peter sees a vision of a platter of potential food set before him as a gift.
Peter could not believe what he was hearing. For thousands of years it was an undisputed truth, no Hebrew was to eat unclean food. God’s people were supposed to be holy just as God is holy. Now a new thing had happened. Jesus is risen, and this means new life not just for Israel, but for all people who become part of the growing church, the New Israel.
The gentiles who were once unclean and separated from God, now can become part of the church through the power of Jesus. Peter was being shown that what once looked impossible is now here. Something changed, and not for an arbitrary reason, such as the law changes during the beginning of a new administration in government. Something changed because Jesus has won salvation for the whole world.
“Oh Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things.” That was the beginning of our Introit this morning, the first message from God’s Word here in this Fifth Sunday of Easter. The new song the psalmist is calling for is a response of joy for what the LORD has done for his people. A new song is in order- something has changed permanently. Death itself has been swallowed up by life. Now the good news is to spread to all nations.
When each of my three children were new born, it generated an impromptu composition of songs or lullaby’s to help baby sleep. These were new songs in response to what the Lord has done for us as parents in the gift of a child. I won’t sing them here, that would be embarrassing. But I remember how the wonder of the occasion was the inspiration for the creativity.
Each Psalm, each hymn in our hymnal is a New song sung to the Lord, always in response to the Lord’s saving work to us. Most of us do not seek to write sacred music. I don’t think I will ever try to compose a hymn. But I can recognize how God’s Word changes me and moves me to approach my life with a new sense of wonder, with a new song.
The gifts of God abound and the response we have to His Word can blossom in beautiful ways and in surprising ways at different times in life. Hearing God’s Word, sharing in the Lord’s Supper with brothers and sisters in Christ, it just moves you to a New Song.
Today in our congregation, it is a joy to be facing new milestones in our congregation’s ministry. Our lone eight grader right now Monika, is on track for confirmation on June 12th, and last week she offered to add one more artistic touch to the crayon mosaic project I started as part of Confirmation.
She suggested that she would like to paint the wooden frame to match the colors of the scene created by the crayons. This is a New Song of Praise in response to what has been a steady and fulfilling part of her weekly schedule, learning about God’s Word and taking in the wonder of what the life of faith means to her now and will mean for her future stages in life.
Members of our community and many of us as well are hearing the new song of praise in our Carillon. For people in this neighborhood, the bells began to chime again out of thin air, people have told us that this was a delightful experience of grace. But we know it was the Lord’s doing. It only happened because we members of Christ Lutheran experienced generosity of gifts and time and talents from many in the congregation that gave us enough time out of a just trying to survive mindset in order to think outward on how to bless others.
What a gift it is to stop what you are doing or thinking about and simply listen and pray and realize the certainty and routine that God’s love to us remains the same, no matter what changes in our lives.
Within months of the start of our Carillon, the Lord has brought to us people who are not able to hear the Carillon, or our organ, or singing, or conversations. Deaf ministry by the Lord’s plan is now a significant part of our congregation’s story. We will have a guest signing pastor, pastor Engel signing to Deaf members on June 5th during our worship as our first interpreted service for the Deaf community. The grace and love in which signs are made to speak God’s Word, will indeed be a new Song of Praise in our congregation.
And beginning in August our Deaconess Intern Camille will carry on this song in worship and in Bible studies and even in teaching sign to Lutheran grade schools. This is exciting and this is the Lord’s work years in the making in preparing a young woman for service to the church and assistance of the pastoral office with ministries of care and mercy.
New changes can be encouraging, yet in this world we live in problems always remain. Even the joyful change of a new baby born to a family also brings the sacrifice of much work and care and lost sleep.
New opportunities bring more work and stress, and sometimes more than we see that we can handle. There have been times this Spring where the work appeared to be more than our small church can handle. But now the joy of the Lord here is more apparent, His mercies are new every morning.
Brother and sister in Christ, life in the church in this fallen world contains both joys and sorrows. In our gospel lesson Jesus prepares his disciples for being without him, and then for seeing him again one day. “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
Jesus was preparing them for his betrayal and crucifixion in the next few days. In those hours Jesus would be taken from them and placed in the grave. And in 3 days, not 72 hours even, but parts of three different days, Jesus would return to them- how great their joy.
The disciples encountered a paradox, Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death- yet he does not remain in their physical presence, he ascended into heaven. Again, they no longer see him. And again they have the promise that in a little while- on the last day, they will again see him.
We have faced loss and hardships as a congregation this year. How much easier if Jesus could just return and spare us further days of struggle. Yet Jesus still gives us an easy path, we always have the promise before us, that in a little while we will be with the Lord. If the Lord does not return first, death comes to us all in just a short while. We may want to picture this as a impossibly far off event. Yet the truth is we have no guarantee how long our days will be.
In a little while we will be with the Lord. That is why we prayed in our Collect Prayer that among the many changes of this world that our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found- to love what Jesus commanded and to desire the provision he has made for us.
In a little while we will be with the Lord, we will be singing a New Song: “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” There in that place the former things have passed away, no more mourning or crying or pain. “Behold I am making all things new.” Amen.