Isaiah 43:18-19a
I can’t remember when I’ve been more ready to say goodbye to a year than I am now. When I think about last New Year’s Eve, and what I imagined that 2020 would hold, I never even came close to imagining what it has brought. Who would have believed back then that a worldwide pandemic would claim millions of lives, wreak havoc on national economies, lead to new practices like social distancing and mask-wearing, remote learning and Zoom meetings? Who could have pictured the social unrest and historic protests raising public awareness of the ongoing struggle for equal justice for people of color? And I’m sure no one would have believed the record-setting year for natural disasters, including wildfires, hurricanes, and floods! What a year this has been! Are you as ready to move on as I am?
I find myself returning again and again to these two short verses in Isaiah 43. God speaks to the people through his prophet: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” God spoke these words to a people in exile, who had been soundly defeated in battle by the Babylonians, watched their capital city, including their Temple, burned to the ground, and been carted off to a foreign land. They didn’t know if they would ever get home again. They had wept by the river, trying to figure out how to worship God in this strange place where there was no Temple. They had experienced horrors beyond description. But finally God had a word of hope for them. Let’s take it apart a little bit.
First, God says, forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. That is easier said than done for most of us. It is hard to forget what has happened to us. I know I will never forget what has taken place in 2020. First came the disruption of the pandemic. When we had to suspend in-person worship during Lent, missing being together for Easter, it never occurred to me that we would not be worshiping together in our sanctuary for Christmas. These months of remote worship and Bible study have been hard and tedious. It takes a lot of preparation to have worship materials available online, in the mail, and on Zoom. I have missed seeing your faces in person. I have missed coffee hour and UMW and Bible study and Christmas karaoke. I have not been able to visit parishioners when they have been in the hospital or rehab, due to COVID-19 restrictions. I have not visited in your homes out of an abundance of caution. And we have all watched in horror as so many of our fellow Americans have caught the virus and many of them have died. Some of us have family members who were sick or who passed away, while we were unable to be with them. This year has meant inconveniences, like toilet paper shortages and closed restaurants. But it has also meant economic ruin for many small businesses, who had to close forever. Millions of Americans filed for unemployment and many worried about what would happen if they couldn’t pay their rent. Millions have had to depend on food banks to feed their families for the first time in their lives. It has been brutal and devastating.
And on top of all that, we have had social unrest unlike anything seen in a generation. Millions of Americans took to the streets to protest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis in May. They marched, in spite of the risk of catching COVID, because people had had enough. This was a last straw in a long recent history of the shooting of unarmed black people. There were even demonstrations in other countries, as people became aware of what was happening here. Confederate monuments were taken down. The names of buildings and streets and food products were changed. But it is not enough. The fight will continue into 2021 and probably beyond.
How do we forget these things? How can we not dwell on them?
We do that by remembering that God has promised to do a new thing. The New Year brings the promise of good things. There is hope. There is a reason for joy. For one thing, we now have more than one company producing a vaccine for COVID, and by the summer most Americans who want to be vaccinated will have had the opportunity. There is an end to this pandemic in sight. And I believe that the vaccine was developed so fast because of the hand of God; after all, who gave the scientists their intelligence and skill?
I also believe that some of the new things we have had to do in 2020 will continue in 2021 and beyond because they have been effective. For one thing, doctors who have been doing telehealth visits, as well as their patients, have found it to be a good system, and it will probably continue to be used. For another, Zoom meetings may have become tedious, but they do offer a way for people to get together, from any distance or location. We can see each other as we talk and we can include more people who may not otherwise be able to attend. Churches have reported an increased number of people accessing their websites during the past year, and I believe that will be a trend that continues, as well as posting worship materials or recorded services online. We can reach a much greater number of people through the internet than we ever could in person.
We will also see a new government in 2021, as a new President takes office. It remains to be seen how well the President and Congress will work together, but we can hope that things will be less polarized and divisions will be less hostile. There are big issues and problems that need to be addressed, and it is important for the branches of government to cooperate with one another.
There are many things we cannot even begin to imagine that will be new in 2021. But we can be confident of one thing: God will be with us. God will have a plan for us. And God will walk with us, as God has walked with us through 2020. Were it not for my faith that God is with me, I think this year would have just defeated me, emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically. But because I know that God is God, and that God chooses to be in relationship with human beings, I can move forward with confidence and trust. We know that the New Year will bring challenges and failures and tests, as well as blessings and successes. But with God’s help, we will be able to meet those challenges courageously.
