Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“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?”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, January 29, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This passage from Isaiah echoes loud and clear yesterday’s text from Luke. So much so that I’m tempted to just cut and paste yesterday’s reflection here. But I won’t. I’ll do a new thing. (ba dum bum)
The truth is that it’s nice to remember for former things. Just today (it’s December 4 as I write this) I was reminiscing with my mom about the time she, my sister, my sisters-in-law, and I got together and baked twelve different varieties of Christmas cookies in my mom’s small kitchen, while the six grandkids entertained each other and us. It was such a joyful and delicious memory! And now, more than a decade later, one of us moved away, two of us don’t eat sugar, and life has just, well, moved on. I can grieve a little for what was lost of that beautiful chaos, and still cherish the memory. These days there are new traditions to discover, new memories to create. They may not look the same, but the spirit of familial love and community still pervades them and fills us with joy.
I don’t think God asks us to forget what has passed, or to despise it. But we have to open ourselves to the incredible possibilities God offers us, the new things that God does each and every day, creating and recreating all that is. Sometimes that means accepting loss of the familiar, but it also means looking forward with excitement to God’s transformative love and power.
Are there family traditions that I miss? Are there new ones that I love?
