Sunday: 5th Sunday after the Epiphany
Reading: Isaiah 6:1-13, Psalm 138, 1Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
Preacher: Susan Tamborini Czolgosz

Introductions....search committee, unique view that I treasure....Peter asked me to be with you today during this in between time and prior to his beginning as rector to share with you my thoughts about transitions.
Long ago in an undergraduate class on developmental psychology, I remember a research project that my professor was involved in. He was part of a behavioral health study of children. He watched children through a one- way mirror. These children were focused on mastering a task. And obviously, the more they did it, the more comfortable and confident they felt. Once the task was mastered, they plateaued. When a new unknown task was introduced that they were expected to master quickly, it caused crisis in the children. Their behavior regressed to levels previous to the initial mastery of the first task (arguing, hitting, etc.).

Then when supportive guidance was given, they turned from their regressive behavior, attained mastery of the higher level task and entered a new plateau. The behavioral path they followed was one of orientation, disorientation to reorientation. Of course, what we've learned beyond this study of children is that adults develop in the same way. The path to growth is not smooth, not linear. It is a process of disorientation, regression and backward slides. If accompanied by support that offers security, guidance, faith, hope and social connection, we weather the transition, reorient and move to a new level.

Today's cluster of readings evidences the grand drama of the gospel from human need and disorientation to transformative divine response to a new life. The drama begins in the reality of human need and the inability of humans to resolve that need themselves. Isaiah and Luke offer an admission of powerlessness in the face of sin. For Isaiah, the coal had touched his lips and sin was blotted out. For Simon Peter, it was compassion and a confident recognition of what his future would hold - "from now on you will be catching people." The response of God overwhelms and cancels out the trouble. This God is an answering God, attentive with mercy, care, kindness, confidence and challenge. Such divine answering has consequences. Isaiah is "sent." Simon Peter and the disciples "follow."

These interceding acts of God are witness to what we can offer one another in times of need and in times of disorientation. The Jewish notion of this is "hesed." Hesed are those characteristics of God that people can mirror to one another - kindness, love, mercy, understanding, "sticktoativeness." Hesed is a deeply spiritual understanding of our role in witnessing God to one another. Hesed says: Do not be afraid, I go with you always, I will give you life. Hesed says: as I am blessed, so too I am blessing to you.

In your time of transition, in one way or another you have all said the words of Isaiah - Here I Am. You have said: Here I Am, Peter! And Peter has said to you: Here I Am, congregation! And now, together, you are being summoned and sent and will follow together in ministry.
Yet church paradigms have changed. There was a time when rector transitions were less disorienting. Off-the-shelf ministry approaches were universally applied. There were simple programmatic paths to success. There was low mobility among church members and clergy alike. Now ministry is much more localized, customized, specialized and complex. And our higher stress culture is not one in which many people can survive a long period of tumult in their primary resource for emotional and spiritual stability.
And so, you chose an interesting path. Through much serious and thoughtful study and intentional, prayerful discernment you and Peter chose what on the surface might appear to be a smoother path of transition - moving from the known in Jim to the known in Peter. The temptation is to believe that upon Peter's arrival tomorrow you will be reorienting. I am here to assert that you are actually stepping into disorientation. The transition is not completed tomorrow with Peter's arrival as Rector; it is only just beginning.

This new life you are entering tomorrow requires leaving something behind. It is the reality of human life: to gain something, you always lose something. Moving forward means letting go. There's no getting around this disorientation. The heart and soul need time to catch up to what the mind understands. Transition is a time of loss. A change. An uncertain period. A disorientation before reorientation can take root. This transition is not a function of having the right information, it is an exploration of building new trust, a new relationship. Your willingness to say: "Here I Am, Peter" implies a capacity to move forward and do the work of letting go.
This work of letting go requires what you have learned from today's scriptures. You are to offer one another and offer Peter hesed. By drawing on our own experiences of God's grace, your own experiences of God's blessings, your own experiences of God's redemption in your lives and drawing on the history of this place, and on the ministries of this place you will find resources for hesed. Through hesed, the wondrous transformative power of God that makes all things new will be at loving work here, guiding you through the disorientation; supporting you in the making of new relationships, reorienting your lives and renewing your ministries, deepening faith and hope, preparing you to go out into a world desperate for your love and care. Hesed --- Be a blessing to one another in this time of disorientation.

I close with a prayer-poem by the Jesuit writer, William Byron, SJ:
Here I Am Lord,
I'm really not sure why
Let my focus fix my mind on you.
Lord, let me see the future through the eyes of my heart.
Lift my heart to see ahead,
And let my single-heartedness - grounded in you - stay the course.
Over land and over sea,
Through tunnels of discouragement,
Through this setback and that reversal,
On the heights, in the depths,
On the bricks, in the pits,
Wherever I happen to be on the growing edge of life,
Keep me pointed, Lord, toward a future full of hope.

Keep me pointed, Lord, toward a future full of hope.
I know this means that I will be pointed toward you. I also know it means that you are always pointed (not pointed at, but positioned) towards me....
I pray for the Spirit-driven dreams that keep me moving ahead ----- toward you.