The phrase above is an interesting one. "Never been done before!" That phrase can be taken in so many ways. I wonder how God would want us to view it? Here are some thoughts!
When I hear this phrase I think of two Scriptures. They are Scriptures about the blessings and the struggles of ministry, and they make me think of how we (the Church) must boldly reflect our leader, Jesus.
The first Scripture is Luke 4:17-18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free and that the year of the Lord's favor has come." What a great word for the New Year! Newness ... hope ... salvation ... growth ... God's 'new thing' promised by the prophets! These things have never been done before, and they are happening because of the presence, power and proclamation of the Messiah! Look at the words in this Scripture. Jesus announces that God's plan for us and His people involves God's Spirit, God's anointing, God's euangelion (Gospel or Good News in the Greek), God releasing the captives, God giving sight to the blind, God freeing the oppressed and God saying that this is the year of the Lord's favor. Jesus proclaims that these things will happen, with or without us, because God said they would happen. I am sure that people hearing these words said ... "This has never been done before!"
Before I share the second Scripture, let me say this little phrase can (and has) been used differently than Jesus would have meant it. I have heard this phrase in conversation about new ministries. Those conversations were (more often than not) more negative than positive. These little words have been used as an excuse for inaction. We can't or shouldn't do this because "It has never been done before." Some said it about Celebrate Recovery in January of 2013. Some say it today when new ideas come forward, even when those ideas embrace and apply unity, grace, and all of those words in Jesus' statement ... like God's Spirit, anointing, Good News, freedom, release from oppression or God's favor. Many want to dwell in how bad things are and are about to become. My question for those who feel this way is ... "Do you want to live in the 'year of fear, anxiety, negativity and isolation' or do you want to live in the year of boldness, trust, hope and unity?'" I can't answer that question for you, but I know my answer.
The second Scripture is one that challenges the Church. Luke 14:15-24 recounts a great banquet to which many guests were invited. But the invited guests were all caught up in their own stuff. The Scripture says they "all began to make excuses." Business, work and personal matters bring the invited guests to 'beg off' and ignore the invitation of the master. The master was angry and told his servants to go out and invite the poor, crippled, blind and lame. Then he said, "Go to the roads and country lanes and invite these people too, so that my house will be filled." I wonder if these two Scriptures overlap in some way? Because one could say about both, "That's never been done before?" And we can observe that the poor, lost, isolated and marginalized do get the invitation. We can also observe that the invited who made excuses lose their invitation. Sounds harsh, but that is what the parable says!
I met with a group of fellow workers and friends yesterday. We talked about Scripture. We shared how God's word caused us to rethink how all of us do church. We shared the command to "love one another" and Jesus' call (his last prayer) for unity. We put in place some plans that will (God willing) come to fruition in the 2nd quarter of 2022. They are challenging plans that will involve work, sacrifice, discomfort, patience, tolerance and lots of grace (sounds like what Jesus gives me every day!). When these plans begin to unfold some of you will say, "That has never been done before!" And that statement will have two basic meanings. Some will express it as an excuse for inaction. They will fear the difficulty and the loss of our control over the whole thing. Others will make the statement with hope and expectation.
I'll just say this. We (the Church) can no longer preach the message of love and unity as ideals that will only happen in heaven. Jesus didn't command these things to be lived-out in the 'land over yonder.' He invites us to a banquet in which He calls His faithful to leave their excuses, their resistance to His call, their isolationism and their pride at the door. He calls for His house to be full. "Love as I have loved you (John 13:34)." "I in them and You in me, that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know You sent Me (John 17:23)." I will make sure you get an invitation to this banquet. You must decide for yourself 1) whether you will come to the banquet and 2) how you will mean the phrase, "That's never been done before." I look forward to gathering at the table with you! Randy
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