The Message, November 16, 2025: "A New Creation!" Isaiah 65:17-25

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
November 18, 2025

 

“A New Creation”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Isaiah 65:17-25

            Let me ask you … how many of you actually tune in to the morning news, or evening news, or nightly news anymore? How many of you have turned it off … tuned out … avoid it altogether?

            Of course, even if you have tuned out, we still get glimpses and snippets of the news everywhere. It is unavoidable. But many of the people that I talk with say that they cannot stand to watch the news. And why is that? It is because the news is distressing. It is heartbreaking. It is infuriating. It does not mean that we do not care. It may mean that we care too much.

            We do not want to see stories about wars, and refugees, and weeping widows and terrified children. Or worse.
            We do not want to see stories about homeless encampments being swept up and thrown away … as if making them disappear will solve the problem.
            We do not want to see stories of hungry families.
            We do not want to see stories about veterans losing their health benefits.
            We do not want to see stories about demonstrators being beaten and arrested for exercising their first amendment rights.
            We do not want to see stories about the LGBTQ+ community losing their rights to marry, or serve in the military … or exist altogether.
            We do not want to see stories about people being scooped up and disappeared in immigration raids.
            We do not want to see stories about today’s mass shooting.
            We do not want to see stories about hyper-partisan politics.

            We have stopped tuning in because the news of the day is just too overwhelming. We cannot bear to watch.

            Sadly, some of the feelings of heartbreak and fury are by design. The corporate news machine does not really care about reporting the news anymore. Rather, they do the bidding of their corporate bosses. Many of the “news” stories feel more like political ads. They are intended to move us, trigger us, and manipulate us into thinking and acting in a certain way. Because, as the saying goes … “United we stand, divided … we fall.”

            Divided … we fight. Divided … we hate. Divided … we get selfish. Divided … we stop talking. Divided … we start shouting and finger-pointing. Divided … we stop listening. Divided … we stop caring.

            And it is not a new phenomenon. This is not something that we have experienced in just the last few years. It is as old as humanity. “Hey … your stick is better than my stick. I want it! Your cave is better than my cave. I will take it from you!”

            What does any of this have to do with our passage today?

            Let us listen to the passage again. This time … close your eyes. Listen as the prophet did as he heard this vision of God’s shalom.

            "For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating, for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old person who does not live out a lifetime, for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat,
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord — and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
    but the serpent — its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord."

            It sounds wonderful, does it not. It sounds like … paradise. It IS God’s desire for us. It IS God’s design.

            In earlier sections of Isaiah, the Children of Israel had been complaining to God. They accused God of being absent. They accused God of being distant and disinterested. They blamed God for all of the horrible things that had been happening in their lives. “God … we are miserable … we are suffering … and it is all your fault!!”

            However, God did not reply by saying, “You are right. I am so sorry. I will try to be better; I will try to do better.” Not at all. In fact, here was God’s reply:

            “I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that did not call on my name. I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually,” (Isaiah 65:1-3a)

            God was essentially saying, “Listen, you brought some of this upon yourselves. You own some of this misery. You own some of this distress. You were following your own devises rather than following my Way. You have to start taking some responsibility.”

            But, as we heard in our passage for this morning, God did not abandon the Children of Israel. God did not say, “You are on your own.” As we heard last week, God is faithful. God is steadfast and true. God is still speaking. God is still leading. God is still loving.

            God said, “Return to me. Return to my Way. Reach into your hearts and minds and remember what I have said; remember what I have done. I created you. I loved you into being. You are in my image. Remember that. Embrace that. Live that. I am not done creating. And if you follow my Way, you will understand that you create with me.”

            In God’s vision of shalom, the implication is clear. The vision returns the faithful to the first act of Creation … a new heaven and new earth. But God is not going to wipe everything clean and start from scratch. The new creation will be in the hearts and minds of God’s beloved children.
            The new creation will be a world in which people listen to the Voice of God.
            The new creation will be a world in which people follow God’s Way and embrace God’s desire and design.
            The new creation will be a world in which the people know and experience the deep, deep peace of God.

            The former things will pass away. The old things … war, violence, and destruction will come to an end. The old things … greed, avarice, selfishness and oppression will pass away. They will not exist once God’s Kin-dom is realized.

            Greed, and avarice, and oppression will give way to gentleness, and generosity, and compassion. In God’s new creation, all people will have the opportunity to live well and comfortably. Those who might have used their skills to deceive or exploit others in the former world will use them to benefit others in God’s new creation.

            In God’s new creation, people will live together in a shared community in which people will care for one another as was God’s original design and desire.

            This vision of shalom is still God’s vision. And it is our vision. The news of the world is heartbreaking and overwhelming. God’s vision of shalom offers us hope. God’s vison of shalom gives us clear focus. And God’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth calls us to action. For the faithful … for those whose identity is grounded in God’s sovereignty … for those who seek to love and serve God … no goal short of the restoration of God’s Creation to its intended wholeness will satisfy.

            When we hear or speak the word “shalom” we understand it to be a greeting. It is a wish for “peace.” It is a blessing, “May you be well.” But as always, our modern understanding fails to grasp the deeper significance and understanding of the word among the ancient Hebrews. Because for them, shalom was much more then that.

            Its root word was shalam. Shalam was translated as “make it good,” “Make restitution,” “restore.” The ancient Hebrew understanding of shalam was to “make something whole.” It was not just a reference to a practical restoration of things or property that had been lost or stolen. In practice, shalam meant an overall sense of fullness and completeness in mind and body and estate. The ancient understanding of shalom went straight to the heart; it meant an inner completeness and tranquility.

            As we listen to these ancient words from Isaiah, we should hear them as our call to participate in the new creation. We should hear them as our call to work toward the fulfillment of God’s vision of shalom.

            Even in the midst of all of the pain and suffering in the world around us, we can focus upon those ways in which we experience God’s deep, deep peace and tranquility. In the face of the struggles and difficulties, we can offer our sincere gratitude for all of the ways that God has been steadfast and loving in our lives.

            And our commitment to God, our commitment to our neighbors means that our desire is that all would have the opportunity to experience peace, and security, and justice. Our commitment to living within a community of those faithful to God’s vision means that we will strive to offer the world the gift of hope. Our commitment to God’s vision means that we will yearn for that day when “the wolf and the lamb shall feed together.”

            Let us hear again the vision of shalom. Let us carry God’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth in our hearts. May it speak to us and guide us. May it encourage us and inspire us.

            May it be so. Amen.

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