Some Things Never Change

If one word could describe our times, it would be the word change. We certainly are living in a time of enormous change. Many folks would prefer things to remain the same. But as Dr. Leonard Sweet of the Theological School at Drew University once said in a seminar when dealing with the challenges of our time, “Change is inevitable. Life is characterized by constant change. Anything that is not undergoing change is already dead!” Now there’s a statement that gets our attention!

Great changes in recent years are in electronic communications with computer technology and smart phones leading the way. We rely on such technology to communicate around the world in a matter of seconds. Some of us use e-mail as a primary means of communication. Some text, tweet, and blog to communicate with others.

I received an interesting article via e-mail listing ten suggestions from a 1950’s Home Economics textbook intended for high school girls. These suggestions were offered to help them prepare for married life. Here are two:

1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead to have a delicious meal—on time. This is a way of letting him know you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.
2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. Be a little gay and a little more interesting.

There was an updated version for the modern woman included. Here are the comparable suggestions for more modern times:

1. Have dinner plans ready: Make reservations ahead of time. If your day becomes hectic leave him a voice mail message regarding where you’d like to eat and a time to meet him there.
2. Prepare yourself: Spend some time shopping; buy something new; it will make you feel better. Pay attention to personal details like regular appointments with your hair stylist and manicurist. Use your credit card.

The article concluded with these words: “My, how times have changed!”

How many of you remember when Sears was called, Sears Roebuck and Company? In a 1906 copy of their catalog, (which was referred to as a “Wish Book”), some of the hottest selling children’s toys were a single speed bike, a metal wheel that you rolled with a stick, and a variety of cute dolls. Today we have multi-speed aerodynamic bicycles and dolls that can walk, talk, laugh, cry, and even wet their pants. The most popular toys are now electronic devices, like Wii and hand held games that operate by battery powered microchips. Yes, how times have changed!

Today’s world continues to be characterized by rapid change. Nothing seems to remain the same. Change is often hard on us. It can be threatening, frightening, and even intimidating. Psychologists tell us that there is just one way that we can adjust to change, and that is to have some “fixed points” in life that will provide stability. We need some fixed points that we can rely on – some eternal truths that we can trust and believe in, and commit to. That my friends, is precisely what our faith has to offer! Now I’m certainly in favor of positive change, but I also want to cling to some things that don’t change so I can have some stability in my life don’t you? If you share that thought, then I have good news for you today. There are some things that never change! Let me explain what I mean.

First there are fixed points in God’s creative order. For example, navigators can always count on the North Star. Builders can rely on plumb lines. Scientists can rely on square roots. Musicians depend on set notes. The noted author Lloyd C. Douglas once told of visiting an old friend, an elderly and highly respected musician and professor. He greeted him with the question, “Well, professor, what’s the good news today?” Without hesitation the elderly musician went to a suspended tuning fork and struck it with a soft mallet. Then he said, “That, Lloyd is ‘A’. It was ‘A’ yesterday and it will be ‘A” tomorrow’. It will be ‘A’ next week and a thousand years from now. The soprano may sing off key, the tenor may miss a high note, and the piano may get out of tune, but that,” he said striking the turning fork again , “is ‘A’ And that, my friend, is the good news for today.” Some things by God’s design are constant and unchanging.

Secondly there are also some fixed points that form the foundation of faith. The prophet Malachi told the people of his day of God’s steadfast and unchanging nature, even in the midst of a changing order. He said to them: “For I, the Lord your God do not change!” (3:6) We find the same thing said in an even more powerful way in the New Testament book of Hebrews: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” These words remind us of the timeless and timely message from scriptures that serves as the foundation of our faith.

As Christians, Jesus, through his life and teachings, helps us discover the fixed points. The most important lesson we learn from him is about the depth of God’s abiding love. This eternal truth is expressed in the most popular passage of scripture in the New Testament: John 3:16… “God so loved the world that he gave his only son…” The basic truth that forms our faith is an everlasting truth. “God’s steadfast love endures forever.” The love revealed in the life of Jesus Christ is constant, dependable, and eternal.

The Apostle Paul expressed an unchanging “fixed point” that forms the foundation of the Christian faith this way: “Now abide faith, hope, and love, these three. But the greatest of these is love…” “Love,” he went on to say, “never ends.” ( See I Corinthians13)

A grandmother came to visit her young grandchild, Suzie, one Sunday afternoon. Their conversation included Suzie telling her grandma about the Bible stories she was learning in Sunday school. Grandma listened patiently as the child told of some the great stories of the Biblical faith. Finally, her Grandma asked, “Suzie, what have you learned from these stories?” The child thought for a moment and then said, “I’ve learned that no matter how bad things are, that in God’s stories, things always work out good.” We should say “Amen” to Suzie’s affirming insight. The ultimate truth – the major fixed point of faith is that in God’s time, all things work for good for those who trust in him.

Some things never change. Christ-like, servant self-giving love is still the mark of Christian discipleship. God’s love revealed through Christ still transforms us and enables to face these changing times with certainty. There are fixed points for faith formation and as we hold fast to them they will bring stability to our lives in a changing world. And we can move forward in confidence to face the changes are that are still to come. The things that truly matter in life never change. Thanks be to God!



This sermon was preach by Rev. R. Franklin Gillis, Jr., August 22, 2010
at the Hermitage at Cedarfield, a United Methodist retirement community of the Virginia Conference.