Something about oncoming holidays seems to spur a need
for cleaning, clearing out, and pitching out. Maybe it is the thought that
company is coming over for dinner. We want the house to look like the houses we
see in commercials and magazine ads:
lots of bare space, counters and floors guests can see their faces in,
and the bathroom looks like no one has ever used it. The cat litterbox is
totally clean and well hidden, the dog's bed has been vacuumed within an inch
of its life, and the carpets and floors have been cleaned until they are
spotless and, to quote the old saying, you could eat off them. While cleaning,
we run across broken things, catalogs and magazines that are out of date,
unused items, replacement pictures, and school art projects. Those things get
pitched. Before long, though, the newly claimed space will be the home of
something else to occupy the recently emptied place.
I was thinking of how God did house cleaning. In the time
of Noah, God caused a flood covering the whole earth except for Noah, his
family, and either two or seven of each kind of bird, animal, reptile, and
other creatures. Unicorns were not mentioned in scripture, nor were the
dinosaurs, which asteroids wiped out, or so we postulate. It has long been
thought that natural disasters were punishments from God and opportunities to
rebuild things, bigger and better than they were before. The Bible often uses
dislocation of whole nations or people to punish them only to have them return
centuries later, to reclaim and rebuild as God wanted them to do.
In the Isaiah passage, God is setting out the plans for
new heavens and earth, places where there will be none of the sins and
imperfections of the old ones. They will be happy places, safe for their
inhabitants, and where equality will be unilateral. This is the kingdom of God
that Jesus often spoke of, the new earth where the earth would be renewed and
respected, people would treat each other as neighbors and siblings, and
poverty, sickness, crime, hunger, sadness, and negativity would have no place. This
passage, written by 3rd Isaiah, encouraged people who were in yet
another captivity and those left behind. The result would be a place of peace
and harmony for all, even nature.
We often talk about this kingdom and say we want to
create this heaven on earth, but what are we willing to give up to attain it?
What do we need to throw out? Perhaps old prejudices, hatreds, feelings of
superiority, and entitlements to do what we want and where. What do we need to
change? Maybe old beliefs, thoughts, positions, and practices need to be
reconciled with what is good for the whole earth, its people, and its
diversity. It could be that we need to be less inclined to preach the gospel of
the good news and try to live it, thus setting an example of how to attain this
kingdom on earth.
God will take care of the creating; we simply have to
take care of making things ready. Spring seems an excellent time to start, and,
given the state of the world these days, we won't be starting too soon. People
and places desperately need help, and that help is needed now. Pray for peace
and healing, but work like he** to bring it about.
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