New Things

John 13:31-35                                                                             May 9, 2004

   When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. [32] If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

   [33] "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

   [34] "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

CCI: We are invited to join God in fulfilling His vision for all creation.

Intro: “New Things”: Those words, can either excite us or create tremendous anxiety. It seems like organizations, industries and even churches are constantly trying to promote new things. Some new things are good ideas. The research that has enabled medical technologists to determine genetically who will respond to certain kinds of lung cancer treatment is wonderful news. Other new things can disturb more than they help. Baseball owners discovered, the decision to “theme baseball” for a week in June in order to promote the new Spiderman movie certainly has it’s detractors, and the change was reversed.

         We are told that new is good and old is bad. We are told we must have the newest and latest of every devise and we quickly buy into that mentality. We often become slaves of technology and department stores because they are source of new things.

         However, everyone of us has quickly learned that these new things quickly become old. The latest technology is outdated before it hits the shelves. The newest therapies are discarded because of unexpected side-effects. What is new today is old tomorrow.

         The gospel of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, while it is the old, old story of Jesus and his love, will open a whole new world for us as we follow Him. The New Testament is filled with new things. These include, New Garments for the believer, New Wine to fill New Wineskins. A New Covenant and a New Teacher (one with authority). Jesus gives us a New Commandment and offers us New Life (Acts 5:20). We are invited into a New Way of Serving (Romans 7:6) when we have become a New Creation and we have entered into a New and Living Way through a New Birth. We have been given New name, promised a New Earth, in a New Jerusalem, singing a New Song. Jesus the first born of the resurrection, offers us new things. And in Jesus, our standard of conduct, our source of identity and our vision of the world is being transformed. Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature, the old has passed, new things have come.”

I. A New Commandment

         The new life that comes from the new birth is made evident to others by our standard of conduct.

         The Old Commandment

                  As God began to reveal himself to the children of Israel, a covenant of relationship was established. It was based on the people’s conduct. There were a set of laws and rules that would set the nation apart as a unique people. There were rules to govern their worship, their farming, their households, and their daily habits. It was a law of fairness which said, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Justice could not be more harsh than the crime. As God’s revelation continued to unfold it became clear that God longed for people to treat one another with justice and equity. In fact, when Jesus was asked to summarize the law and the commandments, he said, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' To love your neighbor as yourself summed up the rule of conduct for the Jew. That is the golden rule. It is a good measuring stick for out behavior.

         However, on the last night of Jesus’ life he spoke the words we read this morning. A New Commandment I give to you, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” No longer is the measuring stick fairness, that can be quite harsh. And no longer is the measure of our conduct what you want people to do to you, that can be quite arbitrary. Now the new standard of conduct is the way Jesus loved you. Jesus forgives without question, we see that when he forgave his tormentors from the cross. Jesus accepts without hesitation, we see that in his healing miracles. And Jesus serves in total humility, we see that in his washing the disciples’ feet.

         Jesus has established a new standard of conduct, if the old way was the golden rule, “do to others what you would have them do to you,” the new way is the titanium rule, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” As new creations we have a new standard of conduct that will reveal our new relationship with Jesus.

II. A New People

                  Then in the passage we read in Acts we learn that God has made us a new people.

         The Jews were known as the People of the Covenant. The mark of circumcision was the sign of the covenant. Their bodies were marked to set them apart. When the law was given, the dietary laws were intended to set them apart from the other nations. In the story of Daniel, Daniel was marked as different because he refused to eat the food everyone else ate. They were the people of the covenant, and apart from that covenant, no one could have a relationship with God.

         However, when Jesus came, Paul tells us that God has now established a new people. They are known as the People of the Good News. Now all people, Gentile or Jew, slave or free, male or female, can be a part of God’s people. Instead of circumcision to mark us, we are given a new heart. Instead of dietary laws, we are given a new standard of conduct. The Good News is that all people can now enter a relationship with God for we are a new people. We have a new identity to go with our new conduct.

III. A New Vision

                  But the message of the gospel does not stop there. God also gives us a new way to look at the world. Apart from Christ there is what I call a Davidic Vision.

         The vision of King David and his descendants was a vision that put Israel in the center of the universe. It was a vision of a kingdom that spanned covered the world they knew. It was a vision of victory and peace. It was a vision where the world saw David and his descendants as the most important people in the world.

         And that is the vision that most of the world still holds today. Whether it is the vision of the United States as the provider of peace in the world, or the vision of an Islamic country under the rule of Imams. The Davidic Vision is a vision of national pride and leadership and judgement. In Isaiah 2, the vision is that people from every nation will stream to Jerusalem. And the nations who come will be punished by God for the way they treated the Jews.

         That is very different from the vision of the Kingdom that Jesus unfolds in the Revelation. In the Davidic Vision, all people stream to the throne of Isreal’s king. In the Kingdom Vision there is a new heaven and a new earth and the city of God comes to the nations. And it is the Kingdom Vision that we are invited to be a part of.

         I believe that one day God himself will fulfill this vision completely when He finally completes the redemption of creation. Until that time, god invites us to work with him to bring about the new creation that we are a part of. The Kingdom Vision is a new way of looking at the world. It does not look at ways the world can come to us, instead it explores ways for us to go out into the world. It is not about the world serving us, it is about us learning to love and serve a new world.

         He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"

         I recently was given a vision of a New Bay City. As I prayed, I looked over the city and I saw the overcast sky open and the light of God stream brilliantly down upon the city. The Spirit of God opened my eyes to see our city as God longs for it to be.

         I saw Bay City, a Holy City, coming down out of heaven; shining like a diamond cut to perfection. Flowing through the city was the Saginaw River pure as crystal. At it’s banks children splash and played and there was no fear of pollution or disease.

         All sickness was gone from the city, HIV and AIDS were a thing of the past. The hospital was a place of health, not illness.

         There was no longer an East Side or a South End, or a Banks District or a Bay Town; the schemes that kept the city fighting had been foiled, and City Council was at peace.

         I saw in Veteran’s Park a tree of Life where residents gathered and sang a new song. They worshiped and danced and celebrated.

         As I looked the shelters had closed because the homeless had found love and lodging. The vacant storefronts were gone, and townhouses were open to rich and poor alike. There were no more women being abused, no more children being beaten. Men and women walked the streets in safety. Love and gentleness characterized the homes, and peace reigned in the schools.

         There were no more racist attacks, no more rapists, no more stabbings, no more robberies, no more gang violence or graffiti. There was no more hatred, for the peace of God reigned.

         Baptists and Episcopalians and Independents and Charismatics gathered in unity around the throne of God, working together for the Kingdom. And their praises filled the sky.

         I saw an old couple walking hand in hand with the light of life in their eyes. Their love was renewed and revitalized. Their voices were filled with laughter like a child and the city was filled with their joy. And this vision grew in my heart for days and weeks.

         This is what I saw as I looked at Bay City, and God promised that there would be a new day and invited me and you to be a part of that vision. The promise of Easter is the promise of resurrection and New Things. Today there a new law, a new people and a new world just waiting to be birthed. As followers of Jesus who have been called to be Christ’s presence in our community this new vision is God’s vision for us.

         Before us lie new opportunities for ministry, for mission and for involvement. The Diaconate has been exploring ways of reaching out to festival goers and young parents. How will we respond? What are the new things in your life that God is using? We have a new standard of conduct, the love that Jesus showed to this disciples. We have a new identity, we are the people of the Good News who are declaring God’s redemption to all. And we have been given a New Vision of the world, a vision where the love of God compels all people and each person has found a home with God’s people. Do we believe that God can make his vision become reality, or do we believe that not even God can change our world? If we believe in the Power of God to transform our conduct, our identity and our vision, then today, we are invited to join with God in the work that God is doing.