The Earth rotates at 1,000 miles per hour at the equator. Our world seems to change even faster than that, and such rapid change affects us. Technology and mass media, relatively easy long-distance travel, advances in health, and the easing of barriers to global relationships have brought changes for which we do not always feel prepared.

We encounter various races and faith traditions, diverse ethnic and gender expressions, and fluctuating information about nutrition, health, and relationships. Some jobs disappear and others emerge with different qualifications required. No place is a complete refuge from all this change. Wow! What a strange land!

How do we sing the Lord’s song in our strange land? Psalm 137 expresses blame and anger toward those accused of causing the changes, but, as the prophets proclaim, we have our part in these changes and how we relate to them.

Attachment to the way things once were causes us to suffer. If we focus only on the way we lived and worshiped in the past and feel that changes have destroyed these old ways, we cannot move with courage and adventure into the future. Throughout the scriptural record of God’s activity amongst us, God is out ahead of us, leading us out of Ur, out of Egypt, out of Israel, out of the Roman Empire, and dispersing us into the world.

When we see the hand of God in the changes in our world, we can celebrate the continuing creativity of God. Jesus proclaims that the movement of God’s Spirit is toward a grand feast of abundant life and community for all people. So we sing praises to God’s creating Spirit for this creation, even when it is not yet fully revealed.