Cycles of Renewal
Every season in the life of faith has both endings and beginnings. We might like to think of renewal as something bright and sudden, like a springtime of the soul that arrives fully formed. But the scriptures often remind us that renewal is cyclical, unfolding in stages, and sometimes coming from places that seem worn down or uncertain.
This week we hear from the prophet Haggai who speaks to this truth. His words come to the Jewish people in a time of rebuilding, after the return from exile in Babylon, when the Temple in Jerusalem lay in ruins. The people had grown discouraged. The memory of the former Temple, with all its glory and beauty, lingered in their minds. The new foundation seemed small, incomplete, and fragile. But Haggai delivers a word of hope from God: the glory of the new house will surpass that of the old, and in this place God will grant peace.
It is a promise that renewal is not about restoring what was, but about participating in what God is creating now. The people’s task is not to replicate the past, but to trust that God’s presence is still in their midst, even when the work feels unfinished.
We can recognize ourselves in that scene. Our lives, and our congregation, move through their own cycles of renewal. Buildings age, ministries shift, and communities change shape over time. We remember what once was with affection, but the Holy Spirit continually invites us to notice what new thing God is bringing to life. Renewal does not erase what came before; it honors it by allowing God to breathe fresh purpose into it.
“Sing to the Lord a new song,” the psalmist proclaims, celebrating that God is still acting, still creating, still redeeming. The psalm’s joy is not confined to human hearts, it includes the whole of creation: the sea roaring, the rivers clapping, the hills singing together. Renewal is not only personal or institutional; it is woven into the very rhythm of the world. God’s renewing work is both cosmic and close to home.
Jesus takes that same understanding to another level when he speaks of resurrection. When the Sadducees question him about life after death, Jesus shifts the conversation away from human categories. He reminds them that God is the God of the living, a God whose life and love cannot be contained by death. In that sense, resurrection is not only a future promise but a present reality: it is the ongoing renewal of life in God’s presence.
Each of these passages invites us to see our own seasons of change in light of God’s continual creativity. Renewal rarely looks the way we expect. It comes through persistence, trust, and hope in the One who makes all things new. It may come through a fresh ministry idea, a deepened prayer life, or a renewed sense of community after a time of weariness. Sometimes it comes simply in the quiet assurance that the Holy Spirit is still moving, even when we cannot see the result.
As a congregation, we might take heart in knowing that every effort toward renewal, every moment of rebuilding, every new beginning, is part of a larger story of God’s faithfulness. The same God who spoke through Haggai to a weary people continues to speak to us: “Take courage, for I am with you.”
Renewal, then, is not about chasing something new for its own sake. It is about opening our hearts again to God’s presence, trusting that divine life is already at work in us and through us. Just as the people of Jerusaleml stood before a foundation yet unfinished, so we also stand in hope. The work continues, and God’s peace continues to unfold, cycle after cycle, season after season.
Kevin+
