A New Breath

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.  Isaiah 65:17-19

Have you ever sat outside in your favorite spot and breathed deeply?  Have you closed your eyes and stilled your mind in prayer and silence?  When you’ve reached the point where there is an inner stillness have you opened your eyes?  At that moment everything is brighter, clearer, and stiller.  Everything is so alive and so full.  A newness has come over you, so that what was before beautiful is now the most holy and precious sight you have ever experienced.  A new heaven and a new earth has been born in that moment.  What was ordinary has become extraordinary.  The sights, sounds, and smell have moved you into a new heaven and a new earth.  You have awakened to the Holy that is in you leading you to experience the Holy that is all around you.

This passage from Isaiah pushes us beyond a wonder in the presence of God into transformation of the seat of power.  In Isaiah’s vision God’s law can remake the seat of power and transform the old into the new.  The seat of power, Jerusalem, will now be a joy and the people will be a delight.  God has allowed us this ability to see the new, to dream the possible.  When God is part of the decision-making process the earth is not as an object to be used and consumed but part of the Holy to be treasured and cherished?

Delight and Joy of my heart open within me the means to see and to live the new heaven and the new earth.  Amen.

Breathe and enjoy the silence,