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Psalm 126 -- New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

A Harvest of Joy, A Song of Ascents.

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy;then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.

5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.

6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

Isaiah 43:15-21 -- New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,

17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior;they lie down; they cannot rise; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

18 Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old.

19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches,for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,to give drink to my chosen people,

21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.

John 12:1-8 -- New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

12 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

This was my first week of being back among you after an unexpected three month absence. It was my first week back at Sally’s house in Sullivan. 

As with my absence, my return has been greeted with your warmth and love everywhere I turn. My heart, ache-y with grief has also been filled with the joy of your kindness and compassion and friendship. 

An unexpected surprise that found me on Wednesday evening came in the form of a multitude of deer in Sally’s back yard. Eighteen! They were browsing under the apple trees. They were grazing in the field. The younger ones were playfully cavorting. A couple of them sprinted across the field, and I waited for all of them to follow, assuming they sensed danger. But no, the herd was content. Those that sprinted away soon came sprinting back. And continued to do so, back and forth across the field. They were, I believe, sprinting for the sheer joy of it. I watched them all until it became too dark to see. A gift to be sure. And a reminder that we live simultaneously with grief and joy. 

Isaiah 43, verse 19 is familiar to me and perhaps familiar to you. 

“19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

During my Chaplaincy Training at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, I remember having this scripture quoted to me by a patient; one that was facing a life-changing, likely life-ending diagnosis. Their emphasis was on hope. God had seen them through in other dire life situations – had made a way for them where and when there was no way. Belief. Hope. They are life sustaining.  

I remember holding this same passage close during my time in Seminary and during my Search and Call process; trusting in a new and unfamiliar way forward. I had an unyielding belief that God would see me safely to where I belonged. Here, among you all. 

Just prior to this verse in Isaiah, there is a counter-intuitive verse. “18 Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old.”

Aren’t we to remember – and learn from – the past? I believe that we are. But we are not to let the past hinder our present or our future. Do not let the past get in the way of God’s new thing. 

John’s Gospel is my favorite of the four gospels that we are most familiar with. This particular passage; not so much. It is so ordinary. Seemingly not much is going on. Prior to these eight verses we are told that Jesus raised his friend Lazarus after he had been dead and in the tomb for four days. The day after the events in this passage, Jesus makes his way into Jerusalem and is greeted along the roadside by crowds, wildly waving branches and shouting and singing his praises. This passage, sandwiched between the other two seems mundane.

For that reason, this passage demands to be sat with, pondered while reclining, as was the custom when having dinner with friends. For many of us this is a familiar cast of characters, including some we recognize from our own families. 

Martha prepares and serves the food. Mary sits at her teacher’s feet. Judas criticizes Mary for her extravagant gesture. Jesus teaches lovingkindness through his words and actions. 

In Lincolnville, on our refrigerator, among all the familiar photos, is a quote. It says, “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change, I am changing the things I cannot accept.” A Serenity Prayer re-boot. When I first read it, I was taken aback, finding it offensive to the original intent. But I have come to appreciate it more and more this past year. 

We must spend time in discernment each time we are presented with new, and old, situations and opportunities. Sometimes it is wise to accept the things we cannot change and at other times it is crucial that we change the things we cannot accept. Dear Lord, help us to know the difference. 

When faced with laws and policies that are unjust to women, children, black, brown and indigenous people, lesbian, gay, and transgender people, I pray that we have the courage and the stamina to stand for what is right. 

When faced with bullying antics – from the schoolyard to the highest office in our land, I pray that we have the courage and the stamina to stand for what is right. 

If one of the individuals in this Gospel narrative of John’s would not have stepped outside of their expected boundaries we likely would not have been reading about it this morning. We know that “well behaved women rarely make history.” While Lazarus was trying to figure out what had just happened to him, and Martha served, and Judas covered his insecurities with criticism, Mary took a risk. Sounds to me like Mary was willing to make some “good trouble.”

At that gathering, Mary broke with tradition, taking a pound of costly perfume, she anointed Jesus with burial spices, while he was still alive. Why? Was the scent of death in the house, lingering in the air around Lazarus? Was the aura of death already present on Jesus? We can’t know. We can imagine that God moved Mary to do a new thing. Anticipating Judas’ criticism regarding funds better spent on the poor was not enough to stop her from taking the risk. 

If we, as individuals and as a collective community do not step outside of our comfortable roles, we will be dismayed, perhaps horrified, at the history that unfolds in the coming weeks, months, and years. 

Many of us are often dismayed and sometimes horrified at the history of the Christian Church … from the death of a political prisoner raised up as Savior, to untold wars and deaths in the name of a religion whose namesake was a peace and justice activist. Generations of believers and non-believers alike have wondered, how were these injustices allowed to happen? 

Isaiah 43 “18 Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old.19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Like my earlier Chaplaincy patient, many in our midst, in this country and around the world, are facing life-changing and life-threatening situations. Wrongs that we must right. Unjust situations that we must prevent.

Who among us are brave enough to both remember the past, and let go of the past, making way for God to do a new thing through us? The joy spoken of in Psalm 126, that God intends and promises us is for all, not for some. Let all mouths be filled with laughter and all tongues shout with joy. Let us prepare our hearts and minds and bodies to work with one another and with God so that new and joyous life springs forth, creating beloved community for all.

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – April 6, 2025

The Serenity Prayer -- Reinhold Niebuhr

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as God did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that God will make all things right

if I surrender to God’s Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with God

Forever in the next.

Amen