Recount
Isaiah 63:7-9
Israel saved by God's own presence
63:7 I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, because of all that the LORD has done for us and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
63:8 For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not act deceitfully," and he became their savior
63:9 in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and pity it was he who redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
You know, I wasn’t going to write a “year end” sermon, planning instead that my Christmas Eve message would be my last for 2025. But then, I wandered through the December 28 lectionary passages, and Isaiah grabbed me again, so here we go…
Trito-Isaiah starts with, “I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord…” isn’t the end of the year a time when we “recount” the things that have happened to us throughout the year? And while we usually “recount” the good things, not all of us have such good memories, especially if the year brought an unexpected challenge, of some sort. Whatever you “recount,” I pray it is with praise, and maybe a prayer or two, for God’s goodness, or at least God’s abiding presence that steers us through the muck and mire that can be “real life.”
Personally, here are a few of my “recountings.” The first half of the year, I was serving as a part-time pastor at Faith Community UMC in Rochester, PA. Having stated that when I retired I was going to STAY retired, I did yield to a respected colleague (who was also a District Superintendent), and took this assignment for one year, commencing in the Summer of 2024. It was truly a blessed experience. At Faith Community I met some of the nicest, most deeply Christian people I have ever encountered, and it was a pleasure to be their pastor. I kept telling myself that this was a temporary appointment, and that I had to be careful to not “launch” things that might be a problem for my inevitable successor. I did my best to offer inspiration, knowledge, and a moral boost to a church deeply affected by the disaffiliation. And these people loved Dara and me in return. I think we received the better end of the deal, frankly. Still, I hope we made a difference, in some way.
Another thought just raced through my easily-distracted brain: as United Methodist clergy, ALL of our assignments are “temporary,” as we serve in an itinerant ministry, knowing full well that we WILL be moving on, and often sooner than we expect. We truly serve a “sojourning” style of ministry, which means we are at our best when we arrive, quickly ascertain how our gifts and grace “fits in” to the needs of the congregation, and then get at the work of offering the unique “vision” these may bring to that congregation. Since my average length of appointment was six years throughout my 37 years of ministry, at about the Fall of year five, I would begin my exit strategy, writing in the church newsletter about how this may be my “swan song,” and that we should begin to finish up our work together, and prepare for the one the Bishop and/or God (not to confuse the two) may send next.
One funny story: I wrote that newsletter article in the September 2008 edition of the church scandal sheet of First UMC, Sharon, PA, and a couple of weeks after it appeared, I attended the board of an ecumenical ministry in the Shenango Valley. It’s president—a female colleague from the AME church—grabbed me after the meeting and asked, “Hey, I read your newsletter article. Do you know something we DON’T?” (As a member of an itinerant ministry herself, she had quickly picked up the “moving on” vibe.) I assured her that it was just “planning ahead,” and that I had no official knowledge that I would be moving in 2009. As I was offering this assurance, my cell phone was vibrating. As you can guess, when I got to the parking lot and looked at the phone, it had been my D.S. calling, and I WAS going to be moving, but in January, not in July! Who said God has no sense of humor?
Back to recounting…After finishing up my work at Faith Community UMC in June, I “re-retired,” and honestly, this gave me a fresh appreciation for the freedom of this status, all over again! I wasn’t expecting this sudden sense of liberation. When I retired the first time from St. Paul’s, we were just emerging from COVID, and I was anxious about how strongly that great congregation would continue to recover from the pandemic. Our leadership team and church staff had truly been “all in” on guiding it through the crisis, and I felt good about where the church was, as I was stepping down, partly because of the wonderful team that would continue, and partly because God and/or the Bishop (not to confuse the two) had appointed as the new Lead Pastor. Believe me, there could have been no one better chosen, and I was thrilled. But I retired “on line” and I admit that with Annual Conference being via Zoom, the nice letter from the Bishop, a retirement pin in the mail, and an online photo of yours truly was a poor substitute for the usual “retirement service,” which I always enjoyed watching from the cheap seats. Now, “Retirement II: The Sequel” was a sweet experience, and I returned to my busy “curriculum” of activities I had written for myself early on.
In 2025, Dara and I took a couple of cruises, including a nine-day one to Hawaii in October, after which we spent two weeks with our daughter’s family in Kailua. I am writing this “bonus” sermon from my son’s sofa in Fairbanks, Alaska, where we have been spending two weeks with him over the holidays. Please don’t ask what we did wrong that our two adult children moved about as far from us as they could get, as we’re not the catalyst of their geography…at least I don’t THINK we are? We took a cruise to the Bahamas in the Spring of this year, and while in Port Canaveral, I did get to see a rocket launch, which has long been on my bucket list. And since it was a Falcon Nine launch, we also got to see the booster return and hear the sonic boom as it raced back through the atmosphere.
Another highlight for me was venturing more passionately into one of my many hobbies—astronomy. Using two “smart” telescopes, I spent many evenings at home and “on the road” chasing celestial objects and sharing the photos with friends and family via Facebook. I spend most of the night outdoors with my biggest smart telescope the night of the “blood moon” total lunar eclipse, and got some amazing photos. (One of my clergy friends told a visiting grandchild that they didn’t need to stay up for the eclipse as “my friend Jeff” will certainly have some good photos in the morning. Thankfully, I didn’t disappoint.) Toward the end of 2025, I was able to purchase a HUGE, vintage Schmidt Cassegrain optical telescope, which I have restored, and look forward to debuting in the warmer Spring weather. Currently, it is just impressive looking as it takes up much floor space in my cozy study. Stay tuned for some great solar system photos…
What about you? What things do you have to “recount” as you look back on 2025? And as you riminess, take care to link your memories to how you see God in all of it, as this is precisely what Third Isaiah is calling Israel to do. Having just passed through the time in the church year when we remember and celebrate God’s inbreaking into our world in Jesus Christ—“God WITH us”—may your recounting draw you closer to the goodness, guidance, and grace of God, Dear Ones! The prophet hopes that Israel will not move forward with much conniving or deceitfulness, but with faith and trust, instead. May our own “recounting” lead us to do likewise, trusting that the salvific element of Jesus Christ is about FAR more than a propitiation for sin, but a true “saving” of our days, our attitudes, our objectives, and our priorities. Frankly, we are all part of an “itinerant” ministry, and we are all sojourners in the basilea of God, so each year is another time, place, and opportunity to be ambassadors for Christ, AND to live lives worth recounting at year’s end.
As we get ready to inaugurate a new year, may it be true of us and the church we know and love, as Isaiah prays:
It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and pity it was he who redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Amen!
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