The “New” Normal (Acts 2:42-47)

There’s an old joke about a couple greeting the pastor after worship on Sunday morning.  The man remarks to the pastor that the service was fine but wanted to know why he always said the same thing every time he came.  The pastor replied to the man, “Well, Mr. Jones it might help if you come to church more than twice a year.  There are Sundays besides Christmas and Easter.”  Those two stories—Christmas and Easter—don’t change . . . they are the same, year after year.  And, I will admit, as embedded as those stories are it gets a little frustrating in coming up with new ways of hearing those stories . . . of understanding those stories.  It seems as if they are on constant repeat in our journey of faith.  They are stories we can listen to without ever hearing.

And, yet, we tell them over and over again each year.  We hear the same old story once again this Easter season . . . the last meal with the disciples, the betrayal and arrest, the trial and beatings, the nailing to the cross—the crucifixion, death, and resurrection.  We hear—one more time, the stories of encounter with the risen Jesus.  We hear of the great relief . . . the wondrous joy . . . and, the hope it brings. 

We hear the story every year, and it makes me wonder . . . why?  Why do we have to hear the story one more time?  Don’t we get it . . . don’t we get it message . . . do we not understand?  Then I remember . . . I remember that the human race is a hard-headed and stubborn people who are quite comfortable with the way that things are.  Humanity likes business as usual . . . normalcy, and it is not quick to change.  Because of this, our patient God has put the stories on repeat . . . repeat until we get it and begin to change to be what God wants us to be.  We haven’t made it there yet after over 2,000 years . . . thankfully God is patient.

But I say this with great reassurance . . . there is hope.

I find it intriguing that the end of Lent and all the season of Easter has landed squarely in the COVID-19 Pandemic.  The pandemic has changed the world that we live in.  We have learned new terms . . . social distancing, quarantine, and contract tracking.  We have learned new ways of doing things . . . six feet apart, facemasks, constant washing of hands, and not constantly touching our faces.  We worship from home . . . share communion from home . . . and, we do this in the isolation of our homes.  This truly is not “business as usual” and it is far from what any of us would consider to be “normal”.

To say the least, it has been quite an adventure . . . and, as the leadership says, we are just ramping up as we begin to navigate how we are going to come out of our exodus to return to life as we once experienced.  It will be an adventure because what we left is not what we have to do in order to get on with life.  We are entering what some have called a “new normal”.  Life and the world have changed.

One of the quotes I have heard a lot recently is that “Maybe it’s time to find a new normal.”  Another quote I have heard a lot in the last couple of weeks says, “Things may never go back to normal.  You may need to create a new normal. And that’s okay.”  If we have learned anything about the impact of the pandemic it is that it has created change . . . that none of us can go back to the way that things used to be.  Which brings me to a Kristin Armstrong quote I like the best about this transitional time: “Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them.  They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits.  We can make our new normal any way we want.”

That tells me that there is hope.

Which brings me back to the patience of God . . . back to hearing the same old stories over and over again . . . maybe it is not as unusual as I think that this pandemic fell smack dab into the end of Lent and the season of Easter.  Whether it is coincidental or not, maybe God wants to get our attention about this idea of the “new normal”.  Certainly, in hearing the Easter story through the lens of our present situation in life makes us a little more receptive to the message we are hearing . . . especially in light of the reading this morning.

In our reading this morning we have jumped ahead in the story.  Typically, what we heard this morning would be a story about the birth of the church . . . a Pentecost story.  But here it pops up in the Easter cycle for us to consider . . . and I think it fits.  As much as I appreciate the stories of the disciples’ encounter with the risen Jesus, I appreciate even more the stories of what they did after the encounter.  The women ran back to share the news . . . the two disciples on the road to Emmaus ran back to share the news . . . encountering the risen Jesus requires some action, some movement.  What we see in our reading this morning is that action and movement.

Though our reading takes place after the Day of Pentecost with all of its spiritual movement, we get a picture of the beginning of the church.  We note how they devoted time to learning about their new-found faith and what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.  We see how they took time to fellowship and worship with one another, to regularly break bread, and to take care of one another.  We see how they accepted one another despite their differences and to love each other so that no one went without what was needed.  We see a sort of heavenly view of the church . . . a sort of utopian view in its purest sense . . . one for all, all for one mentality. The people have been moved by the risen Jesus, touched by the Spirit, and are now moving to live up to this new reality . . . this new way of life . . . this “new normal”.

Embolden by the risen Jesus, touched by the Spirit, I imagine that these followers of Jesus could not see how they could go back to what they had been doing . . . everything that Jesus had done, had spoken, and represented went against everything they knew and did not fit what they now knew.  So, they did purge the old, rethought priorities, and became intentional in doing things in new ways.  In the “new normal” they discovered the awesomeness of God . . . they were blessed . . . their numbers grew, but most of all they discovered great joy and happiness.  And, the coolest part of it all is that they are doing it together.

This is the Kingdom of God . . . this is the will of God . . . this is the call that all of God’s children have been challenged to live and fulfil daily . . . this represents the goal of following in the footsteps of Jesus.  It is what we all dream of . . . what we hope for as the followers of Jesus.  To get there, we have to be willing to step into the adventure of discovering a “new normal”.

Though the pandemic has been tough, we have gained a lot of new things that are worth hanging onto.  We have discovered God’s presence in the world around without all the busyness of life that was a constant in our lives before the pandemic.  We have found a deepening of faith as we have found more time to pause, study, pray, and worship without distraction of our busyness.  We have renewed connections with others . . . family and friends . . . as we reach out and touch others because we are concerned and care.  We have slowed down and it is good. 

We have recognized that a lot of what we were scurrying about in our busyness is not as important as we thought, and that what is important is others.  There have been changes in our lives and world, and they are not bad . . . they are good.  This “new normal” is not so bad.  The question is whether or not they will remain.  Experience and history point to them falling to the wayside as humanity eventually drops back into the way that things have always been.  As joyful and exciting was the birth of the church as described in the Book of Acts, if one reads to the end of it, it is not difficult to see how quickly it reverts to the old ways . . . the old normal.

It was not that long ago . . . on September 9^th, 2011 . . . that a tragic event riveted our nation to come together and be one.  We all rejoiced at its power to make us one . . . and yet, 19 years later—prior to the pandemic—we dropped the ball and have been as divisive of a nation as we have ever been.  Through this pandemic we have come together, as tenuous as that bond is, to care for one another.  We have been given the opportunity to walk into a “new normal” as the followers of Jesus . . . to build the Kingdom of God.

The choice is ours . . .

. . . if we choose to move forward towards God’s will, God will be with us.  If we choose not to attempt this adventure into a “new normal” . . . well, God will still be with us.  And, I imagine we will keep on hearing the same old stories.  God doesn’t give up and neither should we.  Alan W. Watts says, “The only way to make sense out of change in to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” God calls us to dance a new dance . . . shall we be willing?  Amen.