Looking Ahead to August 27, 2023 --13th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 16A

 The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Exodus 1:8-2:10
• Psalm 124 (Read Responsively from VU p.848)

The Sermon title is Creative Disobedience

A picture of some controversy
from earlier this summer

Early Thoughts:What do you do when the rules are unfair? What do you do when the government is not acting in the best interests of the whole community?

Pharaoh felt threatened. The Israelite/Hebrew people were very numerous. What if they took power or joined with a foreign power? Imperial societies often worry about revolts by those who are not in power. Pharaoh's first response was to increase the hardships faced by the people, to turn them into slaves. (Which seems an odd choice -- we are worried these people might revolt, let's oppress them and give them more reason to revolt -- but maybe that is just me, after all the British acted similarly in a variety of places, as did the white rulers of South Africa.) Then Pharaoh decided that if the problem was too many strong Hebrews (particularly men) the obvious solution was partial genocide.

First it was the midwives job to commit infanticide at the moment of birth. All male babies should die. The midwives know that this is wrong so they refuse to do it. To cover themselves they tell a story about how robust the Hebrew women were. So then a general rule goes out: see a male Hebrew child and drown them in the Nile. We are not told what the response of the general populace was to this rule.

Enter a family from the house of Levi. A son is born to them. Not wanting her child to be slain his mother (traditionally called Yocheved) fashions a small boat/basket and gives her son to the Nile. Technically she follows Pharaoh's rule, with a bit of a twist. The basket boat is discovered by Pharaoh's daughter who quickly figures out what is going on here. However she is moved by pity and instead of following her gather's genocidal command she arranges for the child to be raised and protected and cared for. The child becomes her adopted son, a boy named Moses. As the faith story continues he plays a pretty important role.

Many of us have heard the story of the baby in the basket since we were toddlers. But it was not until I was an adult that I fully recognized the importance of disobedience in the story. Without the disobedience of the midwives, of Yocheved, of Pharaoh's daughter, the story would not be possible. When one is in the midst of a tyrannical, genocidal, oppressive system the faithful response is disobedience.

Within Canadian constitutional thought we have the idea of "peace, order and good government". Within our religious tradition, our Presbyterian forebears, working from the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 14;40, spoke of doing things "decently and in good order". Many times church people have pulled up Paul's words from Romans 13 about submitting to authorities. Few of us were raised to be rule-breakers. But are we also sometimes called to be disobedient?

I think so. The challenge is to know when and how. I think of the idea of non-violent non-co-operation espoused by Ghandi in India and in the US Civil Rights protests of the 20th Century. These were acts of disobedience that helped make significant changes in the world.

A few forms of this have shown up
in my Facebook feed over the years

What are the criteria we use to determine when we need to engage in acts of disobedience? In a world where we are taught as children the importance of following the law how do we know when to intentionally challenge that law?

In the course of the pandemic this question has come up more than once as people protested what they saw as government over-reach with masking requirements or gathering limits or vaccination requirements. Many of those protestors saw themselves in the same category as the Civil Rights protestors of the 1950's and '60's. Others saw those protestors as working against the common well-being of the society.

For me the way we approach the question of disobedience is rarely about one specific rule. It is about  the big picture. AS people of faith our first loyalty is not to a specific government. Our first loyalty is to God. As Christians we are called to participate in the growth of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus proclaimed. Our call is to obey the law of love, the rules that work for the full and abundant life for all of GOd's beloved children. When other rules or laws impede the ability for all of God's beloved children to have full and abundant life we may well be called to disobey. 

At times to disobey (without doing damage or violence to others) may well be a duty. That is a challenge for many of us. After all it is now how we were raise.

Can we be creatively (and non-violently that may be critically important for followers of Christ) disobedient when God calls us to be? Can we help weaken the powers of oppression and death by refusing to follow their rules?
--Gord

Looking Forward to July 16, 2023 -- 7th Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 10A

 The Scripture Reading this week is Matthew 13:1-23

The Sermon title is Spread the Seed

Source

Early Thoughts: Can we be intentionally wasteful? Can we scatter seed willy nilly or do we have to be careful and prudent, only sowing seeds we are assured will grow well?

The farmer in this parable always fascinates me. Seed is a valuable commodity. Often in human history it was grain saved from the food bin so that it can be planted the next year. An experimental farmer may have carefully cross-bred plants and saved the seeds to continue the experiment next year. In the modern era seed is something that has to be purchased, particularly the bio-engineered seeds for plants that are resistant to specific pests or herbicides. 

With such a valuable commodity one might think it most prudent to plant pretty carefully, to make sure the seed goes evenly into ground that has been well-prepared. That way one has a better chance of a good harvest, food to eat, money to spend, come the end of the season. This is not the picture we get from Jesus' story.

This farmer, it appears, scatters the seed and lets it fall where it will. Not just in the carefully tilled ground but on the path, on rocky ground where the soil is thin, where there are already weeds growing. At first glance this seems wasteful, careless, possibly even profligate. But is there something that calls us to pay attention?

Normally when we talk about this parable we follow the Gospel writers and talk about the seeds and ask ourselves where we are growing. Or sometimes we might think of ourselves as the soil and ask what kind of growing conditions we provide. Both are very useful lines of inquiry. However parables are tools that allow a great variety of interpretive choices. There is never only one way to understand these stories. So this year I find myself asking how we are (or are not) or could be or maybe even should be like the farmer.

Maybe we are too careful. Maybe we try to hard to plan down to the last detail, to ensure success, to only try something when we are sure it will be like seed landing on the good rich soil. Are we prepared to try something, to invest energy and resources on something when it might be seed eaten by birds, or choked out by weeds, or grow quickly then die because it is not sustainable?

It does seem like a waste of resources to take that risk. When we think our resources and our time are limited we want to invest them wisely, to try our best to get a good return on investment. Surely anyone will tell you that is wise and prudent.

But Jesus never says a word about this farmer. Jesus never comments on the apparent wastefulness and carelessness. Maybe the farmer was in an area where good and bad soil were so interwoven there was no way to avoid the waste. Maybe the farmer wasn't paying close attention. Or maybe the farmer was sowing based on faith and trust. Jesus says nothing to condemn or commend the farmer. But the story would not exist without the farmer, the story is as much about the farmer as it is about the seeds.

In 1 Corinthians Paul says "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth" (1 Cor 3:6-7). Now indeed in this passage Paul is talking more about the need for unity over tribalism but I think it holds here too. We are not called to make all the growth happen, God is in charge of that. We are called to sow seeds and let them fall where they may. Maybe we need to be less careful. Maybe we need to act more and plan less.

Many church congregations are at or approaching the point where a new way forward has to be found, just to remain sustainable. We can not know exactly which new way forward is the best, that is usually something we only see in hindsight. We may not even know where the good soil is. So perhaps we can toss seeds around profligately, carelessly and rely on faith and trust that growth will occur?  Peter Pan taught me that if we add a bit of dust we may even be able to fly -- 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning.
--Gord

Deepening our Spirituality... (Newsletter Piece)

You are having a conversation with a friend. Part way through they ask “why do you go to church?”. How do you respond? Does the answer include something about having your soul/spirit fed? Is that part of what the church offers to you?

I sincerely hope so.

Bold Discipleship. Daring Justice. Deep Spirituality. Those are three things the General Council has chosen as guideposts for our life together as a denomination, and have encouraged local congregations to take those guideposts for their own lives together. It is my belief and hope that all three interact and feed each other in a positive feedback loop. Some people are energized more by an encouragement to be bold as they grow in disciples. Some people like the challenge of being daring as they seek a new, more just world. And sometimes what we truly need is to go deep into our spiritual sides (and yes I believe we all have a spiritual side) and sense the presence of the Holy in our lives.

The witness of many saints and Saints over the centuries has been that deep spirituality feeds how we live out our faith. Deep spirituality helps us draw from a well of strength and hope beyond ourselves. It reminds us that there is a bigger picture than the one in front of us. So how do we go deeper into our spiritual selves? How do we tap into the deep well of God’s presence?

There are, of course, a multitude of answers to that question. And what works for me will not necessarily what works for you. So if we are to be a community that encourages deep spirituality how do we do that?

I’ll come back to that question. But first I want to tell you about one of my favourite courses in seminary. In my final year there was a course offered by one of the professors at the Anglican College of Emmanuel and St. Chad called “Spiritual Formation”. As I read the descriptor I realized that it was indeed a course I really should take. I found that I had not had much formal or intentional exposure to practices that would deepen my spirituality as I was growing up. Certainly I had found things that worked for me (often involving being by myself outside by a body of water) but I had never had a chance to really explore spiritual practices. So I took the course. And I was so glad for having done it.

In that course given a chance to try a variety of forms of prayer and reflect on them. We discussed other practices like fasting or creating a “rule of life”. It was there that I was first introduced to walking the labyrinth. In a school setting with a lot of heavy thinking it was a place that gave us the tools to spend time with God, because we need to do that to recharge ourselves and be able to take on the other tasks of life.

Some of what we did in that course touched me deeply. Some of it didn’t. But the important thing was that it helped me learn more clearly what works for me, and gave me other things to try from time to time. I think that is one of the roles the church can play in our lives. Not to tell us what we must do to deepen our walk with God, but to help us explore what works for us, to give us options and experiences that help us sort out what touches our soul. (Which partially answers the question I asked above.)

There are other things we can do as a community to help each other develop a deeper spirituality. We can give each other permission to share what works for us – and what doesn’t – in a place where we won’t be judged. One of the things about spiritual practices or spiritual disciplines is that often they look very ‘unproductive’, some might even accuse us of wasting time. As a community that believes these things to be important we can give each other permission to ‘waste time’ in such ways. We can offer space. We have a labyrinth that people can walk. We have a sanctuary where people can come and sit and think/reflect/pray (or ponder the stained glass windows). There are many ways we, as a community, can help each other feed our spirits.

To be a faith community is to be a place where spiritsare nourished. Some people do that by working on tasks. Some do it by walking the labyrinth or experiencing a sound bath. Some do it in quiet reflection, some do it out loud and talking. Sometimes we do any of the above at different times. There is no one right way to feed our spiritual side. What works best for you?
Gord

PS: As I was writing this I pulled out the folder from my old Spiritual Formation course. Looking over it I wondered if there might be interest in the fall for a group of us to get together and talk about/try on different spiritual practices. Let me know.

Looking Ahead to July 9, 2023 --6th Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 9A

The Scripture Reading this week is Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

The Sermon title is What Yoke Do You Wear?

Early Thoughts: We all carry a yoke (or two or three). We all have burdens. Some of them are physical, some are emotional, some are real, some are created by our imaginations. What do we do when they become too much to bear? How intentional are we in choosing which burdens or yokes we will continue to carry and which ones we will get rid of (or not even pick up in the first place)?

Life is a series of choices. Sometimes we need to say yes. Sometimes we need to say no. Those choices might lead us to feel overwhelmed, they may lead to more relaxation. They might make us exhausted, they might help us feel refreshed.

What choices does Jesus encourage us to make?

There are two distinct sections to this week's readings, and yet I think they are linked together.  First we have what is really the end of a story about John the Baptist. In these verses Jesus points out that some people will always find a reason to complain. John was too ascetic, Jesus is not ascetic enough. But really both made the choices they made as a way to lead people to a new understanding of God and God's relationship to the world. Do we need to follow John's asceticism, to deny ourselves things we enjoy? Sometimes. Do we need to follow Jesus' example and risk being accused of being gluttons (or maybe even accused of straying into hedonism)? Sometimes.  Maybe both in moderation and at the right time? How do we make the choices?

(Actually the Scripture reference should be 11:28)

The second section (skipping over some challenging words about woes to the unrepentant -- Matthew's gospel has some difficult images of judgement and punishment at times) includes a very well known passage about heavy burdens and easy yokes. Indeed, when we dedicated the bench which sits in front of St. Paul's we used these words and dedicated the bench to those seeking comfort and refreshment.

At first glance it seems the two sections are wholly unrelated. But I think they are all about choices.

Jesus does not say that following his path would always be restful. Indeed it would sometimes be very challenging. Sometimes it would feel like a heavy burden to be going against so much 'common sense' and lifting up a new way of being in the world. Jesus does say that we can come to Jesus and find a resting place, a time we can set the burden down.

Among other meanings, a yoke is a tool used to help two animals (often oxen) work together to share the load. Together the oxen can pull a heavier load. Jesus encourages us to pick up his yoke. I think he is encouraging us to take up the second side of a yoke with Jesus placing the other side on his own neck. We find rest in Jesus because Jesus is sharing the load -- if we choose to let him.

Jesus does ask us to take up a yoke, to take up some burdens. But not all the burdens we carry (literally or metaphorically) are ones that Jesus asks us to pick up. Jesus also invites us to pay down the burdens we do not need to carry, to see the wisdom revealed by God (in a variety of ways) and know when to be ascetic and when to be a glutton. 

But we do not do it alone. We do not need to use our strength alone. Sometimes we can put our burdens down, have a rest, and then decide which ones we are supposed to pick back up and continue the journey.

What weighs you down? What burdens can you drop? What are you being invited to pick up and share the load?
--Gord

Looking Forward to July 2, 2023 -- 5th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 9A

 The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Genesis 18:1-8
• Matthew 10:40-42

The Sermon title is Welcome!

Early Thoughts: Many centuries ago the writer of Hebrews wrote these words: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2). Near the end of the last century I read a book called Practicing Our Faith which outlines 12 practices, or habits, or ways of being, that are key parts of living out our faith (and as I type this I am wondering if I should give that book another read -- maybe a study group potential?) and one of those practices is hospitality. While I was looking through my bookshelves this morning I came across another book, Hospitality, the Sacred Art. It has chapters like "Hospitality as Transformation", "Hospitality to Family: Offering Full Presence to Those Closest to Us", Hospitality to Strangers: Pursuing Kinship Rather Than Estrangement", and "Hospitality to Enemies: Extending Generosity through Non-Retaliation". In my browsing around I even found a blog post I wrote on hospitality 13 years ago.

Which is a bit of a long winded way to affirm that I think that hospitality is really important in our life together.  This week's passages reaffirm that hospitality is one of those things commanded, commended, and modeled in our Scripture story.

Abraham sees three strangers coming by his tent and immediately makes them feel welcome. I have always thought that this story is one that the writer of Hebrews had in his head for the verse quoted above. At any rate Abraham knows that in the wilderness one needs to welcome the stranger. It is a matter not only of good manners but of survival. Those who are not welcomed and supported in the wilderness may find themselves in mortal peril.

In these few verses from Matthew's gospel Jesus commends the acts of hospitality, even a simple act like offering a cup of cold water. These verse come at the end of Jesus' discourse to the apostles as he prepares to send them out to teach and heal and preach. He has warned them that they will not always be welcomed. He has warned them that the message they carry might cause dissension. And then he tells them to recognize what has happened when they are indeed welcomed. Later in Matthew's gospel Jesus will tell a parable about sheep and goats and includes the line "whatever you did for the least of these [siblings] of mine you did for me". That parable itself contains multiple references to acts of hospitality.

When we decided to be an Affirming Ministry we were making a decision about how we practice hospitality. We made a commitment to be a place where folk are welcomed and supported as they wander through the wilderness parts of their lives (and as they wander through the less-wild {more civilized?} parts of their lives). Hopefully we will live that welcome out in big and in small ways. And hopefully we will continue to offer hospitality based on need and presence, not on membership in a community. Some groups only welcome those who belong or who fit the 'right' criteria. Some places have signs on their doors saying things like "washrooms for customers only". Jesus invites, commands, challenges us to practice a far more radical form of hospitality. We have committed to do so. How will we live into that commitment?
--Gord

PS: It occurs to me as I type this that this Saturday, the day before we will hear these passages read in worship the Canada Day parade will pass by our doorstep. And there are folks who will be handing out freezies and water, who will have the door open for people who need to use the washroom or possibly need to step in out of the sun for a moment. We already know how to live out radical hospitality.

Looking Ahead to June 25, 2023 -- 4th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 7A

 The Scripture Reading this week is Matthew 10:24-39

The Sermon title is Choose a Side

Early Thoughts: Sometimes we play it safe. Sometimes we try to keep the peace. Sometimes we shy away from controversy.

In this week's reading Jesus tells us we shouldn't do that.

Near the end of the 1st century of the Common Era (also known as the Christian Era, still sometimes referred to as AD [Anno Domini, Year of the Lord]) John of Patmos wrote down an account of his vision (or visions) in the book we call Revelation. In chapters 2 and 3 of that book we have letters to 7 churches in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Re-reading Jesus' words in Matthew this morning I was drawn to think of the letters to the Churches in Sardis and Laodicea. Both those churches are challenged on how they show their commitment to live as transformed people, followers of Christ. Multiple times over the last 20 years (or more) I have heard those words to Laodicea about being lukewarm applied to the United Church. To be fair I have also hear the United Church being accused of being too hot, to committed to certain causes. Sometimes it is hard to know how much heat is a good thing.

{Side note, for a while now I have been considering taking a few weeks to explore those letters to the 7 churches and see what wisdom they may hold for the modern church}

The challenge Jesus lays before us in these verses from Matthew 10 are not entirely comfortable. At least not for me, your response may vary. Does your vision of Jesus, the one we call Prince of Peace, include these words: 

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me,

Then there is the challenge to take up your cross, to risk execution and ostracism, as a way of proving your commitment to The Way. These are not comforting images. They challenge my natural tendency to just keep things at as even a keel as possible.

Are we ready to take a strong, loud, active stand in the world? Even if it causes some discomfort and conflict? Even if we feel we are taking a big risk? Can we stand in the light and proclaim from the rooftops?  Are we lukewarm or will we blow hot or cold?

What does it mean to choose God's side?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to June 18, 2023 -- 3rd Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 6A

 The Scripture Reading this week is Matthew 9:35-10:16

The Sermon title is Sharing the Story

Early Thoughts: Do we love to tell the story of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love?

Jesus sees that there is too much work for one person so he deputizes the inner circle to go out and share the work. They are to tell the story, proclaim the love, carry God wherever they go. They are to pack incredibly light and rely, as one might say, on the kindness of strangers.They are to seek out those who are 'worthy' (which I think might mean those who are amenable to the message that is being shared) and to avoid those who are 'not worthy' (after all why beat your head against a wall). 

At the end of the Gospel of Matthew the Risen Christ will appear to these same people on a mountain in Galilee and send them out again "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you", words that the church has held as instructions for all of us ever since.

So, like the original 12, we have been deputized. We have been sent out to share the story, to continue the tradition that is close to 2000 years old now.

What is the best way to do that?

The 1986 Apology

If we are honest, following this instruction has sometimes led the church to a bad place. In the era of colonization the church, in alliance with the kingdoms of Europe, saw this task of sharing the story as a part of "civilizing" the Indigenous peoples of Asia, Africa and the Americas. Our forebears mistook their version of the faith story as the only correct, or even the only possible, version of the faith story. 

At the General Council meeting in 1986 the United Church of Canada made an apology, and named that we had made that very mistake.

So how do we share the story, share the promise, share what feeds our spirits, and also respect that other people have their own story, their own spirituality? That may be the big question of how we do evangelism into the future.

If the church is going to survive, grow, thrive we need [at least] three things to happen: 1) we have to share the story, 2) the story will need touch the hearts of those who hear it, and 3) God will stir the hearts of the listeners to respond. We have no control over the last one. We have a good deal of control over the first two.

The church, us, has made mistakes in how we share the story in the past. We have to name that and learn from it. We have a story to share, a treasure in clay jars as Paul described it (we may be the clay jars in that image). We need to share the story, the promise, the hope. We also have to honour and respect the people with whom we are sharing the story. We can't assume that our understanding is the best or the only or the right one. We have to be ready to listen as we share. We have to be ready to celebrate what others have to share.

And then we trust that God is at work. Who knows what may happen next?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to June 11, 2023 -- Affirming Celebration

 At our Annual Meeting in March St. Paul's voted to become an Affirming Ministry and a member of Affirm United. We have chosen to make June 11 the day when we have our celebration of this decision and have our certificate formally presented. This means that going forward June 11 will be our Affirmiversary.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Isaiah 56:1-8
• Acts 10:9-16
• Galatians 3:26-29

The Sermon title is Outcast No More

Early Thoughts: What does it mean to say all are welcomed, all are included, all can choose to belong? Who are the outcasts in our communities?

Source

 

The story of faith is the story of our relationship with a God who wants to bring all people into God's family. The story of faith is also the story of communities who find many ways to make people outcasts. Years ago the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice". As people of faith, people who are growing in our understanding of how God would have us live in community, we too have to be willing to be bent towards justice.

As I consider this move toward justice, this desire of God to bring together all of God's family I find my head ringing with the words of the prophet known as Lady Gaga in the song Born This Way:

Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Whether you're broke or evergreen
You're black, white, beige, cholo descent
You're Lebanese, you're orient
Whether life's disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied, or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'Cause baby, you were born this way

No matter gay, straight, or bi
Lesbian, transgendered life
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born to survive
No matter black, white, or beige
Chola or orient made
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born to be brave!

I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself, and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way, yeah

We in the church have a ways to go. We in the wider world have a ways to go. We continue to build systems that create "in" and "out". God is calling us to a different vision. God is calling us to build a world where there are no outcasts. In Christ God invites all to come and explore what it means to be a beloved child of God. Who are we to deny the reality of that invitation?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to June 4, 2023

This is the first Sunday of the month and so we will be celebrating the sacrament of Communion;

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Matthew 28:16-20
• John 20:19-23

The Sermon title is Be the Church

Early Thoughts: We are called to be the church. Not called to go to church. Not called to support the church. Not called to say the right words of faith or sing the hymns. (Though those all may be good things in and of themselves) We are called to BE the church.

How do we do that? What does it mean to be the church?

These passages this week both come from the end of their respective Gospels. After Easter Jesus give his disciples instructions. In both cases the instructions are about going out into the world. The Risen Christ does not tell his friends to sit around and tell each other the stories. He tells them to go out into the world, to share the story, to share the promise, to share the hope.

How will we be the church? Are are we the church today?

We gather together as a community of faith to remind ourselves of the story, the hope, the promise. We read the scriptures and sing the hymns and say the prayers. We reflect on how the old story intersects with our story. But in then end we gather together, we do all those things, to gain wisdom and strength so that we can be the church in the world.

Our lives, hopefully, are our testimony. How we live, how we interact with the world around us, how the world is different because we have passed through are signs of how we have chosen, as people of faith, to be the church in the world.

Like Peter and Andrew, Mary and Martha, and so many others over the centuries Jesus calls us to follow The Way. Like them Jesus also sends us out into the world. Teresa of Avila wrote a poem which begins "Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours," (read the full poem here -- this poem is referenced in #171 of More Voices). If we are to be faithful we have to go out and be the church.

Will you join me in being the church? Will you help me tell the story, share the promise, spread the hope, pass the peace in the world?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to May 28, 2023 -- Pentecost Sunday

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Numbers 11:24-30
• Acts 2:1-12

The Sermon title is Spirit-Infused Life

Early Thoughts: What would our live look like if we allowed ourselves to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit? How do and could we make a difference as people infused with the power of the Spirit?

Pentecost Sunday is commonly called the 'birthday of the church'. The story of the Holy Spirit breaking in to the Upper Room where the disciples have been staying (hiding? laying low?)and driving them out to proclaim the Good News (or Gospel) marks the beginning of a transition of the Jesus movement from a small group of followers to something that will eventually reach across the world. The Church begins, according to this story, not with Easter but the infusing of the Holy Spirit.

Blown out, driven by the Spirit, Peter and company can not contain themselves any longer. The hope which was born on Easter spills out and they have to tell everyone they meet. [It is totally unclear to me in this story if Peter and company speak all those various languages or if the Holy Spirit causes the words to be heard in a language that would be understood, regardless of what language is actually being spoken. Maybe Pentecost is the first recorded instance of a universal translator.] When the Spirit fills them to the brim it changes how they act, it transforms them.

A similar thing seems to happen in our story from Numbers. Here we have two examples. First the Spirit of God rests on the 70 elders of Israel and they prophesy while the Spirit is upon them -- but only then, they stop when the Spirit departs. Then there is the case of Eldad and Medad. It appears maybe they were supposed to be with the 70 in the first part of the reading but did not go -- maybe they missed the bus? Still the Spirit of God fills them and they begin to speak. Some think this is a problem. Some think Eldad and Medad are out of line.I wonder if Joshua sees it as a threat to Moses' authority? Moses sees it as a great gift. As one who knows what it is like to be touched with God's Spirit Moses, it appears, has different eyes and ears to understand the situation.

It seems that being filled with the Spirit is dangerous. It seems that it removes control from us. Sometimes the threat is felt by those who find themselves moved to do and say things they would not otherwise (I think of all those call stories in Scripture where the person being called express great reluctance to accept the call). Sometimes the community around them feels threatened and wants to do something to calm things down.

In The Last Battle, the final book of C.S. Lewis' Narnia cycle, we are reminded that Aslan, the great King from over the sea (who is clearly an allegory for Christ in the Narnia books) is "not a tame lion". Many times in the Narnia stories Aslan causes, orders, or leads people to act in ways very different from their first impulse. Not only is Aslan untamed, he causes people to act less tamely. When we embrace the Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity, when we allow them into our hearts and souls their wildness may infect us. We might become a little less domesticated. {That might not be a bad thing, it is often a little terrifying.}

Maybe there is a reason why wind and fire are two common symbols for the Holy Spirit.

I wonder if we too often play it safe. I wonder if we resist letting ourselves be overtaken by the Holy Spirit infusing our lives. I wonder if sometimes we are like Joshua and want to shut down those who have been inspired by the Spirit when we should be like Moses and see it as a great gift. Maybe we need to allow ourselves to be blown around a bit. Maybe we need to raise our sails and feel the winds of God today.
--Gord