272 Words

November 17, 2013

(A homily offered in honor of the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address)

Isaiah 65:17-25

Four score and ten years ago our forebears brought forth on this property a new congregation conceived in hope and dedicated to the glory of God. Now we stand in the fading dawn of a new millennia facing a fragile future with faith in a new heaven and new earth as our still sure foundation.

We gather in this house of memory – space they imagined and built, which we received and steward. But so much more than this house, we are stewards, with them, of the mysteries of God.

As we celebrate with gratitude the new things that God is doing in our midst, let us not forget the former things but renew them. Moreover, let us pass this inheritance to a new generation by word and deed such that they, too, know in their hearts that God is always already at work in their lives and the life of this broken world. By our witness, in word and work, may they know that they are beloved. By our witness, may the world note and remember what God is doing even in the broken places.

Though this brokenness shadows our every step, God is, has been, and will always be doing this new thing – creating a new heaven and a new earth. Be glad and rejoice in it for a light shines that shall overcome the darkness!

In our rejoicing, we work with God such that what was conceived and dedicated here 90 years ago continues to have new life, and to be a source of light and life for all. We shall not labor in vain; our eyes shall see glory.