I remember my favorite pair of jeans from my childhood. They were actually green and had large holes at each knee. I thought they looked very cool and that I looked very cool when I had them on. But they finally wore out so much that I had to quit wearing them.
Worn out clothing is the metaphor behind a portion of our reading from Hebrews today. The writer of Hebrews actually quotes from Psalm 102:25-27 in speaking about God: “(The earth and the heavens) will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing; like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same…” (Hebrews 1:11-12). These words are very reassuring. The knowledge that God will remain even after creation has worn out lets us see that we will never be alone. Civilizations may come and go, planets may cease to whirl in space, suns may go dark, but God is still there, still sovereign. Like my favorite jeans the earth may become worn beyond use, but still God is!
But the flip side of this statement is also true. Our lives are subject to the ebb and flow of time, to the march of years, but God is not. The one who created us is immune to the various factors that dictate the number of our days. “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8), and not just God’s word, but God’s very self. God continues on long after creation. David Bowie’s line from the song “Changes” is a bit cryptic, but nonetheless apt. “Time may change me,” he sings, “but I can’t trace time.” We come and go, he seems to say, but time continues on. And the writer of Hebrews would surely add that God, who stands outside of time, cannot be fully comprehended or “traced” either.
It all comes back to God, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Redeemer, the one who is and always shall be. Flowers may fade, grass may wither, time may roll on until creation itself becomes like a worn out garment, and yet God remains.
Prayer: Thank you God for the wonders of creation. And though the world itself may dissolve and time cease to flow, we rejoice that you remain steadfast in your love for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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