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17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 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. 19 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. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant that 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. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 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. 23 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. 24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 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. (Isaiah 65:17-25 NRSV)
When we were young, or especially in some areas of Texas, some games or activities required two magical words, especially if it would benefit us, we would say, "Do-Over!" That meant that everything we had tried (and usually failed) would be allowed to be done anew because we had said those two words. A do-over was to allow a new attempt. The game was usually tops or marbles. Kids, you might need to awaken great-grandpa and see if he remembers such games. Tops was a more dangerous game for a wooden pear-shaped toy with a pointed metal tip that spun when thrown and unwound by a string. The object of the game was that whomever threw first had to make the top spin within a marked area of the ground. The second thrower would attempt to make the first top stop spinning to make the spinning first top leave the designated area, thus making the second thrower the winner. The more able top thrower could sharpen his metal tip and aim the top in such a way that it would split the spinning top in half, thus winning the game and causing the owner of that broken top to have to buy another one. Many could be the reasons one of the players to cry out, "Do-over!" In most games the reasons a house rule such as a do-over could be used may have been one of four: 1) Interference. Someone could have placed his foot or a stray marble or a gust of wind, interfered with the shot while in motion. 2). Accidental movement: If a player's sleeve or hand accidentally nudged a marble or motion of the top before shooting. 3). Misfire or slip: Sometimes a thumb slipped off the shooter (the larger marble used to try to move marbles out of the area) and it moved only a few inches instead of a real shot. 4)Uneven ground or Obstruction: On dirt or playground surfaces, if the marble hit a rock, root or other obstruction that wasn't part of the playing field, a do-over could be employed.
The prophet Isaiah, as he cried and prayed to the Lord about His people Israel, heard God say that God was about to do a do-over. And one where the entire game would start over with new marbles and new tops. Make that newer and better and stronger marbles and tops! And this would be a cause for great rejoicing. The current land of lament and weeping would become a land of joy and delight. Weeping would cease as would the cry of distress. God paints a picture of this new creation with vivid, earthy details. "No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime." Death will lose its tyrannical power, especially its cruelest manifestation—the death of children and the premature cutting short of life. People will live full lives, experiencing the years they were meant to have without disease, violence, or tragedy stealing them away prematurely. "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." This addresses the injustice of exploitation—working hard only to have others steal the fruit of your labor. In God's new creation, the connection between effort and reward is restored. You build, you live there. You plant, you eat. No oppression, no theft, no exploitation. The dignity of work is honored and the laborer enjoys what their hands have made.
The promise extends to relationships and community: "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." Work will be meaningful, not futile. Children will be born into blessing, not disaster. Families will flourish without the constant dread that disaster lurks around every corner. "Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear." God's responsiveness reaches its fullness—prayer doesn't go unanswered, cries for help don't echo in emptiness. God hears and answers before we even finish asking, so intimate and immediate is His connection with His people. This is the restoration of the communion humanity lost in Eden, where God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Prayer becomes conversation, and distance between Creator and creation disappears.
The climax of this vision is cosmic peace: "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." The predator-prey relationship that has defined nature since the fall will be transformed. Violence, whether animal or human, will cease. Even ancient enemies—wolf and lamb—will feed side by side in harmony. The serpent, representing evil itself, will be reduced to eating dust, stripped of its power to poison and destroy. God's holy mountain—representing His full reign over all creation—will be characterized not by violence and destruction but by peace and flourishing. This is the world God always intended, the creation interrupted by sin but now restored beyond its original glory. This vision should shape how we live now—not waiting passively for God to fix everything someday, but working actively for justice, peace, and flourishing wherever we have influence, knowing that every act of mercy, every pursuit of justice, every moment of peace we create is a small preview of the world God is making. We live as people of hope, anchored not in optimism about human progress but in certainty about God's promises.
I just read today about a 63 year old woman who had two years to llve, the bank had foreclosed on her family farm, and that could not kill her dream of seeing the Pacific Ocean. She lived in Minot Maine, and she was 4,000 miles away from the Pacific Ocean. She needed a Do-Over with a capital D and O. So, she bought in 1954 an old worn out horse for $75 and despite advanced heart and liver disease, she defied her doctor's recommendation that she check into the county's chairty home and wait for the end; she mounted her horse and took off firmly believing in the kindess of Americans to help her along the long journey before her. To make the story more interesting the horse she bought was named Tarzan. And she brought along her scruffy terrier, Depeche Toi. So, without a map and a plan, off she rode. Slowly but surely with a mindset of unshakeable determination, and a profound faith in Americans who might help her out.
The rest was a remarkable journey in American history. For a year and a half, Annie Wilkins, rode straight into a nation that was being transformed by modernity. The Interstate Highway System was rapidly making its way criscrossing the nation as car ownership had nearly tripled and television was rewiring American culture; and all of this as she rode at 3 miles per hour. America stopped for her as she pushed through blizzards in Pennsylvania; forded swollen rivers and clung to the shoulders of narrow highways as cars sped past her at terrifying speeds. And everywhere she went, people opened their hearts. Farmers opened their barns for her for shelter; families invited her to dinner tables; gas stations owners gave her food; and strangers became friends to her within hours. Word of her journey was shared by newspapers and she was a minor celebrity. The renowed artist Andrew Wyeth sketched Tarzan and she was a guest on Art Linkletter's TV show, and Groucho Marx chatted with her. Job offers came her way - a position with a Kentucky gas station, a permanent home at a New Jersey riding stable and even a marriage proposal from a Wyoming rancher; but on she rode westward. In 1955, she made it to the Pacific Ocean in California. Her Do-Over helped her outlive her prognosis and proved that even in a rapidly modernizing America, kindness still moved at the speed of a human connection. Annie lived another 25 years, dying in 1980 at the age of 89. The questions of her life include what would happen if we still stopped for strangers in need? What kindnesses are we missing because we move too fast to notice who needs help? Annie Willkins bet her life that Americans would be kind to a stranger who had nothing to offer but her company and her story; and thousands of people proved her right. She taught us that generosity isn't naive -- it's revolutionary. And sometimes the most radical act is simply believing that people are good, then giving them the chance to prove it.
PRAYER: Father of the Do-Over, make in us new hearts, minds and spirits that can see the good that is still within us and within others. Grant us wisdom to trust You and to do for You what Jesus taught us to share food, water, clothing, company and hope. We can be a do-over people with Your help; in Christ Jesus' strong name we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. OUR CALL TO ACTION: Help someone with a do-over today; showing them that God's grace is sufficient to help someone try again.
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me! Show someone the joy of do-overs that count.
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
