Family Ministry has been repainting!

This week, the Family Ministry Team took on a big project: repainting our team room, our bathroom, and my office. They weren’t falling apart, the drywall wasn’t cracked, the trim wasn’t rotting—there was nothing structurally wrong. In fact, our office building is beautiful and well-maintained. It was just time for some new color, time to refresh our space. So, as a team, we selected our choices among paint samples, chose a day, and got to it. On Monday, we picked up our brushes, laid down drop cloths, and got started. We were looking for something brighter, happier, and something that felt like hope. It’s a new day! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

As the paint went on, I was struck by how much a simple coat of color changed everything. It didn’t change all the hard news in the headlines or change the concern I have about it, but it changed the way I felt in the room, and helped to shift my overall perspective. It made space for new life.

And it made me wonder: what color is our faith these days? Robins egg blue? Buttercup yellow? Heritage Red? Eggshell white? Agreeable Gray?

And second, how long has that paint been there?

I think that sometimes our faith can feel a little bit like a dulled wall. It’s functional and we are used to it, but it has lost some vibrancy. It is a color that can be worn down by time and wear. Maybe there is a little cobweb in the corner or some glue residue on it. It can be hard to keep it clean and vibrant, especially with all the horrific events that have occurred. From the turmoil and violence that has filled the headlines, we pray, Lord have mercy. God help us—this world feels like it’s closing in with darkness.

And in the face of such tragedy or discouragement, our faith can fade. Not fail, perhaps. But fade. Like paint exposed to too much sun or too much sorrow. It no longer reflects the joy we once felt. It can begin to look more like resignation than resurrection.

But we are a resurrection people. That’s not easy to hold onto, but we need to remember that. As in Pastor Scott’s sermon, we are called to be salt and light in the world. We are a people with a living hope, hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord broke down every wall that humankind runs up against: sin, death, and the devil. Making all life new, giving us a new lens, and a new hope.

I haven’t tried it, but maybe we can ask for a new and fresh coat of paint for our faith. Maybe we don’t want Desert Brown anymore and we would like a brighter, lighter, or softer color. Maybe we would like a darker green to enclose us in new life. Maybe we want a mixture of colors that form a whole vision of new. Perhaps in prayer, we can invite the Holy Spirit’s renewing work, asking for a fresh coat of the color we need to live with a renewed sense of faith.

Martin Luther struggled with heaviness. He lived in a hard time and had a dangerous path. He understood the need for renewal. However, instead of paint, he meant grace. He wrote in the Small Catechism that baptism “indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die... and that the new person should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” Through the Holy Spirit, God makes us new.

Not once, not just when we were baptized, not just at Confirmation or the mountaintop moments of life. But every single day, the Spirit gives us a fresh coat of mercy. Every single day we are repainted in the colors of Christ. That is the Holy Spirit working in us. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” This is happening on the inside, maybe we need to see a little bit of it on the outside!

When we finished our rooms, we were excited! It didn’t change the bad news or harsh reality, but it signified a new day, one where we acknowledge the great need for God to break into this world yes, and to look forward and build on the ways we contribute toward the renewing work of Christ, celebrate the growth in Family Ministry, the Holy Spirit’s work in the ministry we share, and the new life that is emerging. It was a fun time together and a breath of fresh air. We are a people of living hope, and our Lord changes lives. We get to be a part of people coming to know our Lord. So are you.

Yet, sometimes we get used to the wall that we see, but at a certain point, the possibility of hope is sometimes enough to begin. Maybe your soul could use a fresh coat too. Not because your foundation is broken—but because you’re weary. Maybe because the old color isn’t reflecting the joy of the gospel quite like it used to.

Here is the good news: God is the Master Painter.

God doesn’t discard us—God restores us.
God doesn’t cover over sin with thin whitewash—God forgives it fully.
God doesn’t ask us to repaint ourselves—God does the work, in confession and forgiveness, in scripture, in Holy Baptism, in Holy Communion, in our shared life together.

It’s worth trying! Sit still. Let the Spirit brush truth and love across your soul. Return to your baptism. Come to the Table. Open God’s Word. Invite the Holy Spirit’s renewing work in you.

And then, go out into this weary world with faith fresh and bright. Ready to be salt and ready to be light.

Peace,

Pastor Adrienne