Nothing is Permanent… but the steadfast Love of Jesus

Transition, transition, transition – that is on everyone’s lips recently; and it's not only about the seasons.  As I wait on God’s direction for my ministry, I am in transition.  The Minneapolis Area Synod (ELCA) is also in transition; Bishop-elect Ann Svennungsen, first woman to be elected bishop in Minnesota, will be installed in May '12. 

Transition can be painful or difficult, yet transition is modeled perfectly for us in nature.  I was going to describe the transition of seasons, but I’ll spare that pain for Minnesotans.  As human beings we are always in transition.  Childbirth is painful they tell me – yes, how would I know?  Like most babies, I am sure I cried when I came into the world.  Then there is all the developmental transition: from breast milk to solids; from gums to teeth; from the luxury of being carried around to walking on our own; from the convenience of diapers to the pain of potty training, with all the accidents in-between; from a life of leisure to kinder garden, then pre-school, then elementary, and homework, tests, activities,… “Why, why, why?” shout the teenagers;  I remember talking to confirmants at Hope about what they would like to change, and one said, “If only we could be less busy!”  Transition affects us all!

Transition makes us uncomfortable and upsets our balance and harmony.  Transition inflicts pain.  When in transition we often only see these emotions, and don’t know the merit or the joy until the transition is over, if at all we do.  Transition from having a father/ mother to becoming fatherless/motherless is painful, and I don’t know if we ever fully get over it.  We may accept the change but remain hurt and pained by it.

As Christians our whole life on earth is one big transition.  Gospel singer, Jim Reeves reminds us: “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through…”.  While we are here, however, we do need to make plans, but all the time knowing that “we plan our ways but God directs our steps” (Proverbs 16:9).  In his litany, “A time for… (this) and a time for… (that)…”, the Preacher in The Book of Ecclesiastes (chapter 3), tells us that nothing is permanent; all is changing.  In the Sixties, the Byrds sang a rendition of the Ecclesiastes passage for modern day, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (aka “To Everything There is a Season”).   Everyone seemed to get that “Times they are a Changing” (Bob Dylan’s song from the Sixties too), and both these songs became music hits in their time. 

So from our own lives and times, from nature and from the witness of Scripture we know that transition is a given – pain and all.  However, we also know from Scripture – and I hope our lives – that “The Steadfast Love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning ...” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)