MANAGING OR LEADING CHANGE?

Isaiah 65:17-25; Luke 21:5-19

Newsflash:  change is coming!

At whatever level you want to think about it,

change is coming:

change in the weather and in the seasons,

change in your studies or your class rank,

changes at work,

change in your haircolor or the number of hairs on your head.

It's in the somewhat cooler air.

It's in the liturgical calendar which is gearing us up for Advent.

It's alive and well in this very congregation,

as we elect new elders

and begin to plan our budget for the coming year. 

Change is impacting everyone around us. 

Babies are born,

and loved ones die before we are ready.

Marriage or work oftentimes mean a move as well.

Careers are ended with the stroke of an outsource.

There are also changes that happen to us

and go on within us, aren't there?

A bump or a lump that wasn't there yesterday.

Our bodies grow stronger, or they grow weaker.

A marriage that may not be as fulfilling as it was at first.

Sometimes a thought or an idea is all that it takes

to make life dramatically different

than it was just a second ago.

We don't always welcome it,

we don't always like it,

but for every second that we take in oxygen,

we live with it. 

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The ever-present and unpredictable nature of change

is what made me laugh out loud the other day.

I was listening to NPR,

and heard the most hilarious concept I've heard in awhile:

Change management. //

What a laugh!

That someone in our postmodern, fast-food, internet world

actually had the chutzpah to think that change could be managed.

I guess that cracks me up so much

because the idea of management

implies that there's some amount of control.

And when you think about all the changes in life,

big and small,

how much control do we actually have over them?

Not much.

Giving in to the rich fantasy that we can manage change

does nothing more than allow change to manage us.

Peter Drucker was the one being interviewed on NPR.

He also laughed at the notion of being able to manage change.

But he said something that made me think about it in a new way.

Though we cannot dream of managing change, Drucker said,

we can lead change.

Drucker said

that leading change is quite a different thing

from thinking that it can be managed.

And I believe that even and especially for Christians,

those are two different things as well.

Instead of deceiving ourselves into believing

that we can exert any control over changes in our lives,

leading change helps us to see that,

at the least,

people of faith can be prepared to roll gracefully with the punches.

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This is what Jesus is sharing with the disciples

in today's reading from Luke.

Look how the passage starts out.

The disciples were talking with Jesus and each other about theTemple -

how beautiful it was, how ornately decorated,

and even how beautifully furnished it was

because of gifts people had given to worship God.

They just knew

that something that wonderful would be here forever!

But Jesus reminded them that,

as beautiful and meaningful as that temple was,

not even it would be left standing.

I suspect that he was warning them in a way against idolatry,

reminding them that everything - even the temple -

will wither and fade except for the word of God.

But what's the first thing they want to know:

When?!

When will that happen?

How long do I have to plan?

Will this be something for me or my children to worry about?

They wanted to start managing that change right then

before they even knew for sure what the change would be.

I can relate to that, can't you?

All of us good boy scouts and girl scouts like to be prepared.

"Don't surprise me, Jesus," they might say.

"Just tell me what to expect and I'll get ready for it."

But that's not how it worked for the disciples,

and I know that it still doesn't work that way for you and me.

The way Jesus responded to them, though,

was like teaching them to fish instead of giving them a fish.

Instead of telling them precisely what they wanted to know,

which he could well have chosen to do,

Jesus instead gave them tools

to help them deal with the change that was coming.

And for those of us

who are still set on thinking we can somehow manage change,

those same tools

can do more than just help us to lead change.

They can set us free.

The first thing Jesus says to his disciples,

and to us, is this:

Don't be led astray.

Stay on track.

It is so easy to get distracted!

A thousand and one good and worthy things can vie for our attention.

But when they distract us

from the One whom we worship and serve,

they're not nearly so good and worthy anymore.

Jesus doesn't mince words

when he says not to be led astray. 

Know the one in whom you believe,

and keep going in that direction.

It's not that someone may try to lead us the wrong direction.

That's a given - they will!

Our job, to coin a phrase, is this:

don't go there.

And then after he tells the disciples not to be led astray,

he tells them - and again, he tells us -

not to chase after false prophets.

Isn't "being led astray" the same as "chasing after false prophets?"

Not exactly. 

It's kind of like the difference between sins of omission

and sins of commission.

"Being led astray" is more passive,

kind of like saying "the devil made me do it."

One could in theory be led astray without actually intending to do so.

But "chasing after false prophets" is intentional.

Jesus is telling us not to take the lead

in going after something that doesn't ring true.

You've heard me say before,

and I predict you will hear me say again,

that idolatry is alive and well in our day.

It doesn't take more than a quick glance at our checkbook

or our calendar

to see who and what it is that we serve.

And if we are so intent upon managing change

that we will listen to anyone who sounds like they have a clue,

then we are not only being intentional

about chasing after false prophets.

We are also worshiping the wrong god.

And then, as usual,

Jesus saves the best one for last.

Don't be terrified.

Easy for him to say!

If we are to be leaders in change, Jesus says,

we have to throw fear out the window.

And we can do exactly that //

because we know that the direction

is coming from someone far greater than ourselves.

Jesus goes on to tell the disciples

about some of the difficult things that lie ahead for them.

It's a case of bad news-worse-news-great news.

The bad news

is that some difficult and indeed dreadful things are going to happen.

The worse news

is that there won't be a quick ending to them.

But the great news

is that none of those things will have the last word.

The God who created us and the God who loves us

gets the last word.

Once again,

instead of deluding ourselves with the idea that we're in control,

we can choose instead to be fearless //

because we know who really is in control.

It doesn't mean that we'll be spared the hardships

that come along with change.

What it does mean //

is that, with God's grace, 

we will have what it takes to stand firm.

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Even though it's not easy,

not easily endured,

and not even over quickly,

there is a purpose in our lives for change.

The prophet Isaiah tells us

that the changes that we go through

are all moving us toward the creation of a new heaven and earth.

And what a fabulous creation it will be!

We're not just going through change for change's sake,

but change for God's sake. 

Enduring the inevitable changes in life

means that we're coming closer

to becoming the good creation that God intends us to be.

Just knowing that

might even help us to welcome change when we see it.

C.S. Lewis had this to say

about the changes God brings about in our lives.

He said:

'Imagine yourself as a living house.

God comes in to rebuild that house.

At first, perhaps you can understand what God is doing.

He is getting the drains right

and stopping the leaks in the roof

and so on:

you knew that those jobs needed doing,

and so you are not surprised.

But presently God starts knocking the house about

in a way that hurts abominably

and does not seem to make sense.

What on earth is God up to?

The explanation

is that God is building quite a different house

than the one you thought of?

You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage;

but God is building a palace.

God intends to come and live in it himself."

There are quite a few of us cottages

that are being made into palaces.

It's not always easy,

and it's certainly not always popular.

But as long as we are able and willing to go with the flow -

not because it's the path of least resistance,

but because of Who's in charge -

then we can lead through the changes

and help others along the way.

Amen.