Chaos to Creativity
2 Corinthians 4: 1, 7-18
Psalm 6 & 38
Jane Doe was thirty-years old when she found herself right smack in the middle of an extended emotional time that had been brought on by grief and anxiety. Her older brother and his wife had been killed in a car accident a year and a half before, her father had died suddenly and she found herself responsible for the care of her chronically ill mother. Jane was a stay-at- home mom with a 2 year old and 4 ½ year old and her self-employed husband was traveling more than he seemed to be at home. She couldn’t sleep very well or for very long. She was exhausted all the time and hated the thought of having to get into bed at night – but yet she couldn’t seem to pull herself out of it in the morning. She cried at the drop of a hat and worried about all that was happening, all that might happen and probably never would happen. She worried about how much she was worrying. She felt as if she was moving through life in a dull coma or on the edge of emotional chaos.
The good news however, was that Jane was aware enough of her emotional, spiritual and physical state and realized that she needed help. She tried to take care of herself in a variety of ways – none of which worked in the beginning - however she persevered and through the help of a therapy, faith and creativity found a way out of the desert that had become her life. Through therapy she began to reframe how she viewed her life and the tragedies that had befallen her. Her therapist suggested she try to express herself in a creative fashion and Jane slowly reopened the part of her inner self that had been locked up and tried her hand at some creative activities. She had been introduced to those art forms when she was young – but gave up every time she was made to feel as if she just wasn’t good enough. Finally, for Jane, it was dance that helped her move along her desert path and eventually dance became a source of strength, confidence and an expression of her faith. Her faith which once had been dormant became stronger with the understanding and assurance that God was with her and would do new things with her life. Though she did not yet understand it – she was moving along the way in the desert and was being fed by streams of living water which helped create that “new thing” which gave her hope and restored her purpose.
Isaiah 43: 19 says “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
This spiritual path using the creative tools that each one of us have been blessed with - can be an instrument for anyone going through very difficult times – or just encountering the normal stressful times that befall everyone of us who is breathing. This is an encouragement to rediscover the creative gifts that you have been given – and use them to practice your faith.
We believe that God is the Creator who created the heavens and the earth and all this is within in it – including humankind - which is us right here and right now. This act of creation by God is said to be good and holy. Therefore if creativity is a healthy wonderful expression of God –and we are part of that expression – then we are a part in the ongoing process of creation. We are the hands and feet of God in this world and since creation didn’t just stop at the end of the book of Revelation – we are to be God’s instruments of Creativity in this world.
God is still at work as the Holy spirit hovers around the face of the earth moving within people’s hearts, minds and spirits nudging them, stirring things up inside. The expression of that creativity pours forth from people in an endless stream of practices and forms such as music, art, drama, writing, speaking, designing, teaching - and sometimes those creative practices come from the difficult, depressed and emotional times of our lives. Those creative expressions are healing gifts from God no matter what state we are in.
It is often speculated that King David was an emotional or depressed person. The Psalms are most often attributed to him; listen to the emotion and the angst in Psalm 6 – which is a lament. A cry of his heart…..
Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?
I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.
The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping…
The Lord has heard my supplication
My enemies shall be ashamed….
The Psalms express the "heartbeat" of God’s people. Listen to Psalm 38:
O LORD your arrows have pierced me and your hand has come down upon me.
There is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin.
My guilt has overwhelmed me…………. like a burden too heavy to bear.
I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.
My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.
I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
O my God …do not be far from me: make haste to help me; O Lord, my salvation.
And as deep and painful as those may sound – they are the creative expression of the Psalmist’s inner state and faith. They are beautiful creative expressions that now no longer lay bottled up inside him – but were released into a poetic and prayerful form. The Psalmist would also say this;
Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd….. I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters…he restores my soul.”
From Psalm 51 Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me (and)
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
You could write a lament or a prayer of praise………one or more of you may just have a prayer or a poem or Psalm waiting to spring forth from you. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
We who are followers of Jesus Christ are in the business of creation, rebirth, transformation and new life. God is working within us and through us – often in surprising and unexpected ways.
The text this morning came from 2 Corinthians 4: “Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body……With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus.
Could there be anything more creative and more surprising than the resurrection of Jesus? From death came new life……from chaos came creativity……rebirth and transformation are the foundation of our faith and so there is always hope.
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I would like to be your creativity coach this morning and this summer – as well as your pastor. I want to encourage you to find the creative expression that God calls you to do. What is holy ground for you…..what is it that helps you find your way through the desert? Can you perceive it? And can you see it as a healthy tool and a way to practice your faith that will give you emotional and spiritual strength?
There are many and multiple creative ways to express and practice your own faith. Each of you is gifted…
Maybe it’s music?
Playing, singing, composing or writing your own music? Learning a new instrument? Dusting off that old one that is tucked away somewhere in your house? Listening deeply and carefully to the unbelievable creative variety of music. Classical, country, blues, jazz, alternative, rock, Christian music, gospel.
Maybe it’s dancing or moving to music? Ballet, tap, swing dancing?
Maybe it’s acting? Performing a drama, a comedy, a tragedy, a love story?
Maybe it’s writing a drama?
Or drawing? Or painting with oils or water colors? Working with clay or pottery?
Making crafts? Sewing?
Maybe its photography and you have an eye and a heart that pays such close attention to the world around you that you can capture that timeless moment on film?
Maybe it’s gardening? Getting your hands into God’s good earth and making something beautiful or healthy grow from it? Maybe you design garden spaces where you or others come to sit and listen with a cup of tea?
Maybe you write? A book, an article, a poem, a prayer, or your own Psalm which is the cry or the joy of your heart?
The possibilities are endless and there is a nugget or a whole chunk of possibility within each one of you. If you hear voices from your past still trying to tell you that you just aren’t good enough to be doing those things – try to listen to a new voice and remember this:
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence said that this text is a promise for us. A promise. She says:
“God will do a new thing. No matter how wonderful things seem to us today, God will do a new thing. No matter how tired we may be tomorrow, God will do a new thing. No matter how mundane the routine, or sleepless the night, or painful the argument, God will do a new thing. And it isn’t clear what that will be; there is no promise to fix or mend or put more hours in the day. There is only the promise to make a way in the wilderness, a river in the desert—if we will look for it.” [1]
In September, we began our church year talking about ways we practice our faith and everyone had the opportunity to receive a book from the Practicing Our Faith series. As we enter into this summer time may you continue to always find ways to practice your faith. May the summer be holy time – a time of renewal – transformation – and creativity.
God will do a new thing with you. Don’t listen to the voices that say “you can’t”. This is a promise from God to you. God will do a new thing within you. Now it springs up: do you not perceive it?
Amen.
Rev. Deborah J. Blanchard
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