“He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.” Mark 6:1-6

We are talking about the phrase “OK, Boomer”, and digging deeper into the reasons for why people from different generations do not always agree with one another. And, we are asking the question: “Why do people resist change?” Well, here is the third of four possible reasons:

3. People fear a departure from the status quo

By definition, implementing change is a departure from what we all refer to as the “status quo” — “the way it’s always been done.” What sits beneath the phrase “we have always done it this way” is the fight for all of us to maintain “homeostasis – or a stable state of equilibrium. As human beings we choose to be in balance – to be in a calm state – in other words, we prefer to be in equilibrium. By nature we resist change – because it puts us out of balance – and into a state of dis-equilibrium. As such, change makes us uncomfortable – which is why we seek the “status quo” – because it feels better.

Jesus represented a change from the usual teaching the people had been receiving in the synagogue. They experienced a wisdom and an intuitive insight they hadn’t heard before when Jesus spoke. And initially it was exciting. But then it sunk in – this was Jesus, the one they had known since he was a child. And for Jesus to break out of that “model” was too much – it disturbed their status quo. But, isn’t that the power of Jesus – that he turns the thinking and the working of the world upside down? Jesus does not represent the status quo in this world, because he preaches and teaches power through weakness, wisdom through folly, and love instead of judgment. Jesus hopes to disturb our thinking so that we do not rely on worldly solutions – but rely on the love, mercy and Grace of Jesus – who seeks to redefine our status quo by putting G-d first, and everything else second.

Pastor Dave

“Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶ She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” ²⁹ Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰ Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” ³¹ And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² He looked all around to see who had done it. ³³ But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Mark 5:25-34

We are talking about the phrase “OK, Boomer”, and digging deeper into the reasons for why people from different generations do not always agree with one another. And, we are asking the question: “Why do people resist change?” Well, here is the second of four possible reasons:

 2. People feel overwhelmed or stressed during times of change, and many often feel overwhelmed and stressed every day.

Fatigue can be a killjoy for change. Fatigue and stress can be a serious health concern. But, what is fatigue? We can experience fatigue in three different dimensions: mental fatigue, physical fatigue, and emotional fatigue. Mental fatigue is what we feel after exerting ourselves cognitively, using our brains to solve tasks. We can experience mental fatigue doing simple, repetitive tasks, or more complex tasks like writing a paper or completing an exam. We often experience physical fatigue doing tasks that really tire us out, like running a marathon, or doing heavy labor. Physical fatigue comes from the depletion of stored energy to power our limbs. Emotional exhaustion is perhaps most difficult to define because it often affects us physically and mentally as well. It is the fatigue that stems from stress as well as social demands, like when you have to smile even though you are not happy. When we gather together as the people of G-d, or even in a business meeting, we may be a gathering of people who are fatigued and stressed just from life. This can be one of the reasons people may resist change — simply because they’re tired. And when people are tired, they tend to be cranky, angry, and irritable (though this never happens in the church, right?). When this is the case, leaders have to be understanding of people’s complaints and attentive to their stress levels throughout the change process. And when we can move the reasoning for change away from the part of the brain that deals with emotion, and confront it with facts and reasoning, then we may find people will be more accepting of change.

The woman with the bleeding disorder was tired and at her wits end. She was desperate for change – and in particular a change in her luck and in her health. She was physically fatigued for she had suffered for so many years. She was mentally fatigued because she had worked through all the people she thought might help her, and she was still sick. And she was emotionally fatigued because she was at her wits end. And so she turned to Jesus. She had heard of his ability to change people’s lives, and she figured she had nothing to lose. We shouldn’t wait until we are so mentally, physically, or emotionally fatigued that we turn to Jesus out of desperation. Instead, like the woman who heard about Jesus, we should take the time now to investigate his love, mercy and grace – and we shouldn’t let anything stand in our way. Jesus is waiting for us to finally decide we do not need to face this life alone. And when we go to Jesus in faith, he too will say to us “Your faith has saved your, and will make the difference in this life, and in the age to come.”

Pastor Dave