Courtenay Evans, “Our Eternal Caregiver”
See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.
In October of 2022 we had the incredible opportunity to travel to Turkey and Greece—about 24 of us from Christ Church. We walked in the footsteps of St. Paul- from visiting such places as Ephesus, Corinth, Thessaloniki and Philippi ….each and every site brought scripture a new meaning and this concrete reality that St. Paul was real, St. Paul really existed! When I returned home, I, of course, reflected on the places seen, but I also reflected deeply on how as a group, we all took care of each other. As we walked over cobblestones, I remember watching three pilgrims assisting another to ensure she would not fall; because of my various food intolerances, many kept checking in with me to ensure I was eating enough. Another member fell sick, and our chief nurse pilgrim and others flocked to her side.
In contrast however, I think of the unsettled reality of our world. The wars, the conflicts, the rifts within relationships. These days, from first glance at the daily headlines, it is hard to sense a real sense of care and love for one another like we experienced on our pilgrimage. The world seems more full of tears than joy; The world seems more full of divisions than connectedness and community. Mother Theresa once said, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
It is hard to find peace right now but knowing that God knows our sorrows; that Jesus being fully human and fully divine relates to our earthly trials and heartbreaks, has brought me at least a little sense of comfort.
In our comfortable words from Isaiah this evening, we are reminded to the fullest of God’s care and love for each and every one of us. God delights in His Creation; God delights in us. God only wants what is good for us. And with such tenderness, God will wipe away our sorrows. No more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. God will make things new: For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. This is the promise we are given.
Easter is now just around the corner, and may we be reminded of the promise that with our Lord’s resurrection, Jesus has overcome death and opened us to the gate of everlasting life. We have entered the gate of salvation where death has been conquered and life prevails. So as we feel despair amongst the shroud of darkness in our world tonight, may we find great comfort knowing that God came into the world in Jesus Christ in order to find us, to care for us, and to bring us home to him with a tenderness and love that is always everlasting.
We are being held in the tenderness of God’s hand and we can trust that The Lord is with us, nourishing and tending to our weary souls and wiping away our tears with a goodness and a mercy greater than we can even imagine. And as I think back to our trip to Turkey and Greece, I can’t help but believe that God, our divine caregiver, was and is working through all of us, loving us as we love each other, and granting us greater insight into the promise of this abundant life. Let us pray:
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn
but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the
strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that
all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of
Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and
glory, now and for ever. Amen.