From the Senior Pastor
Out of the Blue
Pr. Randy Gehring
Imagine that you’re driving down the highway. You miss your exit. With a little tug in the pit of your stomach, you realize that you’re now heading somewhere new.
Imagine that you’re at a concert. A piece of music keeps surprising you with fresh chords and new sounds. The composer leads you somewhere you didn’t expect, and you can’t help but follow, curious to discover what comes next.
Imagine that you’ve gathered with a group of people for ballroom dancing. The music shifts; it’s time to change partners. You’re ready to sit this one out, but someone meets your eyes and holds out their hand. The moment is electric. You accept the wordless invitation and spin into motion.
Change is at hand. Something unexpected is happening, and we’re in the midst of it.
Out of the blue, something new is arriving like lightning: transformation, wonder, justice, joy. From generation to generation, God has been dreaming of this moment. Inevitably, it catches us by surprise, just like it surprised our ancestors in faith: Sarah, Abraham, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Mary, Joseph. God’s time is now. It’s here to reorient our expectations and to sweep us into a future of hope and promise, even if we didn’t expect it, even if it wasn’t part of our plans.
This November and December, we invite you to join the flow of an Advent season that sweeps us off our feet, carries us forward, and invites us to join God in God’s creative work. We’ll trace God’s plans for justice and peace with the genealogy of Jesus and the witness of the saints who followed him. We’ll be surprised by a thicket of new shoots from the stump of Jesse. We’ll find God beguiling us by inviting us to imagine something new, regardless of what came before. And if we’re worried about the future and afraid of letting go of the familiar outlines of our lives, God will meet us there too.
The highway has always extended past the familiar exit. The music is already written. The dance is underway. But the moment of change seems to come out of the blue, altering our expectations and creating a future we never thought possible.
It’s Advent, and change is coming out of the blue. What will God reveal to us this season?
Out of the Blue: The Basics © 2022 by Barn Geese Worship. Used by permission of Barn Geese Worship. Adapted by Pastor Randy Gehring.