ROMANS 12:2 - Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We struggled, most of us, to decide last week, “Do we dare WORSHIP together on Sunday, or not?” That was LAST Sunday, March 15. And there were only a handful of presumed positive cases in the Metroplex.
This week, it is already a forgone conclusion, “If we don’t gather to WORSHIP this week, how do we still stay CONNECTED as a worshipping community?” That’s for THIS Sunday, March 22. And almost 5,000 cases have now been diagnosed nationwide.
There is already a New Normal. A week ago we might have wondered if we were overreacting. In the space of a week, the verdict is clear. Do not gather together. Anywhere. In groups of 10 or more. Stay home as much as possible. This may last six weeks. Or even eight. Or even longer …
So one of the aspects of a New Normal that we seek is, “How do we still WORSHIP together?” A virus cannot and will not stop us.
We might not be able to AVOID COVID-19. But we can certainly circumvent the novel coronavirus. All we need to is change to a New Normal.
I know. CHANGE. That nasty words that families of all kinds avoid as much as possible.
CHANGE brings new challenges.
CHANGE means making annoying adjustments.
CHANGE reminds us that we aren’t getting any younger.
CHANGE brings into question those old, familiar patterns that, while not perfect, were at least … familiar. Predictable.
Still, the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12: 2 Do not conform … be transformed … renew your mind. Test and understand what God’s will is. Then. Do that. God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.
All too often, in a church, our ministries so easily fall into the trap of CONFORMING.
We do it the way we have always done it. Which is a form of conforming.
We do it the way we’ve seen other churches do it. That is a form of conforming.
We do it in a way that keeps others from complaining. That too, is a form of conforming.
Then. A crisis hits. A tragedy occurs. A virus strikes. And we are forced with a dilemma. Continue conforming, even when it can be self-defeating, even self-destructive. Or allow God to lead us and guide us. Allow God to use these difficult moments to TRANSFORM us. Yes, to CHANGE us.
It can be said that I am too quick to embrace CHANGE. Even change that may be unwise. It might be said that I see every opportunity as an opportunity to be TRANSFORMED. Even those moments that are not transforming.
But it can also be said that I am continually wondering, asking, praying about … what is the WILL of GOD. Not my will. Not your will. But the WILL of GOD.
Just because I wonder about that, ask about that, and pray about that, though, doesn’t mean I am any more willing to actually follow through. And DO. God’s will.
Somewhere along the way, CHANGE is tough for all of us. Especially when it is a CHANGE that is forced upon us. Not one we have chosen willingly. And this CHANGE, this virus, this self-quarantine. Has been forced upon us.
And yet.
It is still an opportunity. To ask and discern. What is the WILL of GOD?
WORSHIP: Now that we can’t worship in a way that conforms to our expectations. What now is the WILL of GOD for us?
COMMUNICATION: Now that we can’t always COMMUNICATE in the way that we used to. What now is the WILL of GOD for us?
CARE: Now that we can’t do pastoral care by checking who is present and absent in worship. What now is the WILL of GOD for us?
OUTREACH: Now that the Food Pantry is on hiatus, and we can’t reach out to our neighbors through the most familiar and blessed way we have … What now is the WILL of GOD for us?
GENEROSITY: If that tried and true method of passing the plate during worship, a method that wasn’t working well for us already, is now no longer available to us … What is the WILL of GOD for us now?
Listen to the Apostle Paul’s words from Romans 12 again. About how to create a New Normal. This time through the version called, “The Message”:
1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ORDINARY LIFE — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and PLACE IT BEFORE GOD as an OFFERING. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily RECOGNIZE what he wants from you, and quickly RESPOND to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
There may never be a better time to do what is the will of God. Take our everyday, ordinary life, that is now turned upside down. And place it before God as an offering. And see. What God does with us.
Lord, help me find a New Normal. Here, my Friend, my Companion, is my life. Help me RECOGNIZE what you want. And RESPOND to what you want. Make that. My new normal. Amen.
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