Emergence

For most people the New Year is a time for reflection on the past twelve months and a time of anticipation of the twelve months to come. It is a time where we decide to discard old habits and beliefs and take up new ones. A common meme that runs around the internet around this time of year fondly (or disgustedly) bids farewell to the year past and welcomes a the year coming with gladness and joy. 

Question: 

In welcoming what’s coming, how do we decide what needs to be discarded and what needs to be kept? 

 

 

Exploration:

One of my favorite words is emergence. Emergence is the creation of something unexpected from an otherwise well-known system. Emergence is the systemic property behind the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in Boston can create a hurricane in the Pacific. Emergence is the revelation of complexity in what seems to be a simple system. 

This first Sunday of the year is known as Epiphany Sunday. It is the time when the church celebrates the arrival of the Magi at Christ’s birthplace. It is notable that they went to Jerusalem, to the seat of power, looking for a newborn king. And yet, the people there, those who were supposed to know about such things, had no clue what was happening. Their understanding of their world was simple - there was one king, Herod, and he held the reins of power. 

Convergence: 

Emergence and epiphany collide in the birth of Jesus. Where the official powers saw simplicity and secure control, Jesus emerged as a disruptive force. The epiphany of Jesus drew the Magi whose eyes were open and looking for newness to emerge. 

As we go forward into this new year let us hold on to those things that point us toward what is emerging, what is new, what leads us into epiphany. Discard everything else. We must be like the Magi, keeping our eyes open for signs of emergence. We must also be on the lookout for the Magi, those who come bearing news of vague possibility. Do not send them away to report back. Go with them and see the new thing for yourself so that you can be ready to participate in the emergence. God is always doing a new thing.