Trying Something New
One of the earliest Dr. Seuss books I remember hearing and reading is Green Eggs and Ham. Like so many Dr. Seuss stories the repetition of words and the fun drawings made it easy to learn and fun to listen to over and over.
For those of you who don’t know the story, there is a character named Sam-I-Am who spends all his time begging, pleading, cajoling, and otherwise relentlessly trying to get another yellow character with a tall black hat whose name we never learn to try Green Eggs and Ham. We can understand the other character’s reluctance to eat Green Eggs, and Ham that is also green. Some people don’t like to eat green vegetables like broccoli or spinach even though they’re very good for us. But at least they’re supposed to be green. It’s something else to be urged to try something new that doesn’t look or sound right to us.
October 12, 2014
Isaiah 43:18-21, Trying Something New
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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Eggs are supposed to be golden yellow and white, not green, and eating green ham doesn’t sound appealing to most of us. Anyway, no matter how many different ways Sam-I-Am asks, no matter how many different places he suggests (here, there, a house, a box, a car, a tree, a train, in the dark, in the rain or on a boat) or how many different dining companions he offers (a mouse, a fox, or even a goat), the answer is always, “I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.” And he refuses to try them.
How we feel about the portrayal of this character with the black hat may reflect our own personality. Some of us may admire his self-knowledge, steadfastness, and refusal to be pressured into eating a meal high in cholesterol, fat, and sodium. Others may regard him as stubborn, close-minded, and frankly boring because he’s so set in his ways he’s not willing to try something new. The funny thing is everything we like in life whether a type of food, a style of music, or a friend – at some point was new to us and something we’d never tried or experienced before.
If we never tried something new we’d all still be trying to survive on breast milk or baby food and we’d still be wearing diapers. We’d never have learned how to drive a car or play a musical instrument or a sport or how to cook or knit.
There’s a restaurant Jill and I frequently go to when we’re in Maine called Thai Me and we almost always order the exact same thing every time we go. A couple times I’ve ordered something else, but I’ve never liked it as much as the chicken pineapple so I basically get it every time. Human beings often habituate that way. Once we find something we like, we simply do it over and over and we don’t like to disrupt our routine to try something new only to be disappointed because we don’t like it as much as what we already know.
There was a couple who lived on a hillside in rural West Virginia and the husband had a big old bass with only one string and he’d play that one note for hours and drive his wife crazy. Finally one time they went to town and a trio was playing on guitar, drums, and a bass with more than one string and the bass player was amazing and produced all kinds of sounds neither of them had ever heard before. The wife asked her husband, “Why don’t you try to learn how to play like that?” The husband replied dismissively, “Shucks, I found my note, that boy’s still looking for his.” There may be some comfort in the familiar, but there may be a whole lot more possibilities in something new. But too often we can be like Mr. One Note. If we have a favorite flavor of ice cream and decide to try something new and it isn’t as good, we’re disappointed. So we have our favorite beach, ice cream, restaurant and even parking place, pew and style of worship and we don’t like to deviate from them or for people to take our place.
One day, a man went to a church for the first time. He got there early, parked his car and got out. Another car pulled up nearby and the driver said, “I always park there! You took my place!” The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A person from the church approached him and stated, “That’s my seat! You took my place!” The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, “That’s where I always sit! You took my place!” The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still said nothing. Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance changed. Scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet and there were wounds on his head. Someone from the congregation asked him, “What happened to you?” The visitor replied, as a tear fell from his eye, “I took your place!” That’s something worth remembering if we find someone in “our place” at BBC.
In life, we can even get used to circumstances that aren’t as comfortable, good, and familiar as our favorite pew at church or our favorite ice cream place. Yet even the difficult can become familiar so that a change or something new is not welcomed, or we can grow so hopeless that we simply don’t believe a situation is going to get better.
In Isaiah 43, the people of Israel are feeling hopeless because their nation was conquered, the temple in Jerusalem was ransacked and destroyed, and they’re in exile in a foreign land with unfamiliar customs and food, and a different language. The Lord is telling the people of Israel that just as their ancestors were led out of slavery in Egypt through the wilderness to a new place to live, the time will come when God will lead them from their time of exile in Babylon back home. God speaks through the prophet saying, “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 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. 20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.”
It’s kind of funny that many Christians can be among the people least interested in trying something new because the Bible clearly and repeatedly teaches that God is in the business of doing new things. We see this from the first book of the Bible to the last. Genesis begins with the God doing something new – creating the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. When it comes to becoming a Christian it’s about having a new birth, a new heart and spirit and a new life.
Last week I was visiting in the home of a family who has been coming to BBC and I was explaining our view of baptism. One of the verses I mentioned was Romans 6:4 which says, “Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” We shouldn’t be the same old ornery self we were before we asked Christ into our life because 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” The Gospel group The Cathedrals do a fun version of the song “He Made A Change” which says in the refrain,
“He made a change He made a change in the way that I’m walking
He made a change He made a change in the way that I’m talking
Old things pass away, behold everything’s new
He made a change He made a change in the life that I’m living
I’m born again, set free, finally forgiven
If He can make a change in me, He can make a change in you.”
Part of the change and newness of following Christ is that God leads us into discomfort and effort not ease, relaxation and being taken care of and waited on for the rest of our lives. Some people will not want you to change. Your change may threaten them. But God created us to change and grow. So grow and change anyway. In Ephesians 4:24, we’re told “clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Isaiah 43 was speaking about new things to the Israelites who were refugees in an unfamiliar land. This week I received an email about someone else who was a refugee here in the United States over 70 years ago. This is what it said, “Doug, I am wondering if you receive a copy of the American Baptist Historical Society newsletter. In this fall’s copy, there is an article on Christian Friendliness and I believe it is your grandfather who is mentioned in the article about a happening in 1942. It reads: “Missionary Matilda Utecht from Rhode Island reported the story of a specific refugee she aided: ‘Paul, in his letter to the Colossians chooses these words, “Use wisdom in dealing with outsiders, making the most of your opportunities.” We’ve been tested at that point this summer. One of our refugee girls had her first vacation, two weeks with pay, but where could an eighteen year old Jewish girl, who had been in America only a short time, go. We did not know so packed our suit cases and went to Ocean Park (Maine – where a couple dozen BBC folks are this weekend). The weather was perfect but that was not the best part of it. Reverend Scalise, a Baptist pastor born in Italy, was there and made so deep an impression at the Sunday service that she wanted to hear him again.
Utecht went on to report that “the Bible was a new and thrilling book” for this refugee, and that she went home with a new Bible “which she had picked out herself to learn not only her side of it but ours as well…We are hoping it may mean much for her.” Three generations of my family have been blessed in Ocean Park with messages of three generations of Scalises. Here is an example of yet another who was blessed. Thank you for hearing and heeding God’s call (Lorna Hansen).” I thought that was cool.
Just as Sam-I-Am wants to share Green Eggs and Ham because he believes they are good for his friend and he’ll like them, so we too might find the Bible to be a “new and thrilling book” if we give it a chance. And if we already feel that way about it, then like Sam-I-Am we want to share it others for whom it is new. When was the last time you memorized a new Bible verse that helped strengthen and sustain you?
Trying something new doesn’t come easy for a lot of us including those of us who have been in the church for a long time. We like what we like and we want everyone else to like what we like too. The old saying about the seven last words of the church being “We’ve never done it that way before” is sadly true of too many congregations. It’s like the joke that asks, “How many Baptists does it take to change a light bulb?” “Change?” In the church, music is an area where trying something new is challenging as well and disagreements over music can be quite emotional. Yet throughout the hymnal of the Bible, the Book of Psalms, we’re encouraged over and over to “sing a new song to the Lord.” Psalm 96 which we used as the call to worship begins by telling us, “O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.”
Psalm 40:3 which we used earlier says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” The reason why new songs are important is because God has not just done things in the past for other people, as great as those things were, but we’re also to sing about what the Lord is doing today and in our lives. Wouldn’t it be a great homework assignment if we all tried to write a song of praise to our God that reflects our experience? Maybe some of you will give that a try – just the lyrics, I don’t expect most of us to write the music. We can write a new song like Psalm 98:1 which begins, “Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” There is even a specific verse in the Bible for people like us who live on the coast, Isaiah 42:10 (ESV). “Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.” That’s us!
Even in heaven, we’re going to have to keep learning new songs. Revelation 5:9 (ESV) states, “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” One of our church members Rosiane De Oliveira who works full-time at Cape Cod Hospital as a Portuguese interpreter and teaches Human Communication at Cape Cod Community College had a fun article in Friday’s Cape Cod Times about the humorous situations and challenges that can arise when one is communicating in a new language. In heaven that is something, I strongly suspect, we’re all going to have to get used to.
In our church, this has been a year with many new things and that is going to continue in 2015. If you were to look at the last church Pictorial Directory from just a few years ago, there were 11 staff members with photos on two pages and by January only Chris, Mary, and myself will remain. Trying new things can be hard and involves uncertainty, the unknown and an element of risk. Trying something new is also exciting, stimulating and can allow us to experience God and have the Lord use us in new ways to bless others. One new thing we did this year at BBC was to cancel our 8:00 Worship Service on the Sunday of the Pan Mass Challenge bike ride on August 3. That was new and it was different. This past Thursday, I received a lovely letter that said in part, “Dear Pastor Doug, As a 14 year PMC cyclist, I wanted to thank you and the BBC community for coming out to support PMC 2014. I’m sure, like all of our supporters the BBC team made a difference for many cyclists, but for me, the BBC community was pivotal.
I am the daughter of Buzz and Ginny Bowers, members of the church, who have had health challenges, particularly, this summer. I dedicated this ride to them, in addition to those for whom I ride in honor or memory. Saturday’s ride this year was a challenge with a capital ‘C.’ With temperatures in the 60’s and torrential rain in the second half, it took all of my physical, emotional, and psychological energy. I started out Sunday and realized that my legs were “spent,” that I had drained all my energy and adrenaline the day before. It was going to be a long and lonely ride and mentally, I was a little defeated. I knew I would get to the Brewster water stop at Nickerson State Park to see my sister and nephew, both long time volunteers. But I knew that getting to Provincetown was going to be very difficult, if not impossible. I pedaled yet I hate to admit it, my mind was filling with my doubts and fears.
And then… unlike other years, I saw the large BBC sign and your members support. I felt the love and support of my parents through their church. You and your members were pivotal for me, to remind me that I had my faith in the Lord to help dismiss my fears and doubts. Cancer doesn’t quit, and I was not going to either.
Thank you and your wonderful supportive parishioners – you touched more lives than mine, more than you know. I am so very grateful for your support during the PMC…what a wonderful way to reach out with your love and support. God bless you and the congregants of Brewster Baptist Church, Linda” (I’m happy to say that Linda is here with her parents Buzz and Ginny who on Monday celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary).
At the end of Green Eggs and Ham the tall yellow character with the black hat finally gives in and consents to trying them so Sam-I-Am will finally leave him alone. And after all the fuss and refusals and protests and objections…much to his surprise… he discovers that in trying something new he has found something new that he likes very much. Every tradition we treasure was once something new that had to be tried. That’s true in our personal lives and families as well as in our church. Be open to trying something new because if you’re not, you might miss out on what the Lord wants to do for and in and with and through you. Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-Am for the reminder to be open to trying something new.
Blessing
Revelation 21:1-4, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
Trying Something New Isaiah 43:18-21
- Would you describe yourself as a person who has a routine and prefers the familiar or do you see yourself as being more spontaneous and enjoying new and unfamiliar experiences? What do you think people who know you would say?
- Are you more likely to go to the same locations (beach, restaurant, when walking, ice cream place) or to try new ones?
- If someone were to ask you, “What is new in your spiritual life or in your walk with Christ?” how would you answer that question?
- God says through the prophet Isaiah, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” What can cause us not to perceive or see the new things God is doing in our life or in the world?
- What can we do with God’s help to perceive the new things the Lord is doing or may wish to do in the world or in us?
- Spiritually speaking, the Bible has a lot to say about “new things” including a new heart, a new spirit, even a new heaven and a new earth. What does that tell us?