Isaiah 43:16-19 (NRSV)
43:16 Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 43:17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 43:18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 43:19 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.
If you are like me, you sick to death of the news…why is it always so negative and dispiriting? Why do we allow ourselves to become so pre-occupied with it that we cannot listen to each other, or speak with each other without rancor?
Turning Our Attention
Part of the answer to that question is that we turn our attention from the important to the unimportant. I know, I know, it is hard to ignore the blare of news media, whether from the Internet, print, video or audio sources we use. Those outlets want to sell advertising and they need audiences. They desperately try to grab and hold us to see and listen to what they produce. The ruling elites of business, government, and other organizations are similarly focused completely on getting media coverage and our attention. That is the way for political advancement and profitability and “success.”
That’s the old stuff … it has been with us for a very long time and it is not going away. But it is not the stuff that is ultimately important. What is important is the new thing, the new stuff that God is bringing our way and calling us to work on. What new stuff? Possibilities for peace … for conversation and community-building…for feeding and housing and educating and healing the hungry, homeless, unlearned, and sick. There is no glamor, no political capital, and no advertising dollars in that stuff so we have to make a real effort to push through the noise to get to the truly important.
Fulfilling God’s Rule
We need to be working to prepare for the fulfillment of God’s rule. Jesus lived in a way that shows us what that looks like. We need to work on building and sustaining organizations and institutions and processes dedicated to the goal of loving one another. Those organizations and institutions do not look much like the ones that now get most of our attention. Organizations aligned with God’s purposes will truly bring order from chaos and will persist in the care of God’s creatures and Creation in ways we can perceive only if we turn away from the noise and towards God. God is about to do a new thing. Can we not perceive it?