On Entering Pentecost

 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability (Acts 1:1-4)

This is a pretty awe-inspiring scene that we hear about every year on Pentecost. It can be too easy to relegate the coming of the Holy Spirit to far-off times and places. However, God and the Spirit are not constrained. The Spirit of God blows on each of us throughout our life. Take some time to think about when and where and how that has happened to you.

As we enter the long season of Pentecost, I will be launching a new series, looking at women and men in the Bible who felt the power of the Spirit even in their ‘old age’. God finds and uses us in any quarter of life. The gifts we’ve been cultivating throughout life can still be fruitful and a blessing to others—even (esp.) those younger.

In May of 2025, Mark Roberts of the De Pree Institute wrote, “The desire to make a difference for the next generations is built into our mental, emotional, and spiritual DNA. It also shows up in Scripture. For example, we read in Psalm 71:17-18: O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. The psalm writer’s desire to proclaim God’s might “to all the generations to come” is a classic example of generativity.” (Generativity, Roberts notes, “could be described as a deep desire to leave a legacy for the future, not just a financial legacy, but a legacy of excellence, example, empowerment, and encouragement.”) 

I think that is what many of us are seeking, a way to leave a legacy of hope, especially in a deeply troubled and fractured world. Psalm 71:14-15 promises, As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long… The aged persons in the Bible can teach us how to build and leave and share that legacy of faith, hope and love.

Various studies and authors note that the last third of life is a time of releasing and sharing what we have accumulated. That is not just material things, although we may be divesting ourselves from much of that. It is a desire to share the marvelous deeds of God in our lives. To give our testimony so that the next generation can be inspired.

Western society may look at the 60’s and beyond as a time when the ‘old folks’ are put out to pasture. Sometimes it can feel like we are subtly being pushed aside in ministry. It is good to make room for the younger generation, certainly. They need to take their place in the life of the parish and community, AND, we can empower them.

Many societies have a more intimate and caring relationship with their elders. They understand there is much that can be learned from white haired women and men because elders are keepers of knowledge and heritage. Elders are to be listened to, honored, and learned from. Elders have time to sit and tell the stories of the past so it is not lost and so it is learned from. When we look at the lives and faith of Bible women, and men, who are known to have lived a long life, we can find inspiration for ways to encourage and empower others without seeming to force our faith and reminiscences on them. We can sit at their feet and learn how we are empowered by the Holy Spirit and able to encourage and empower others, of all ages.

Each month we will look at a pair of Biblical elders, hear their story, ponder how the Spirit of God worked in their lives, consider how we relate and can be inspired by their witness to allow the Spirit to move in our lives.

Next week, we’ll start with Elizabeth and Zechariah with the basic question of “Do I think God can still talk to me when I’m old?”  

Parables in Pentecost: Yeast

 Scripture

During the Season of Pentecost, we are looking at the Parables Jesus told. 

He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’ (Matthew 13:33, also Luke 13:20-21)

Conversation starters  

Jesus says, The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast which leavens not just bits of the dough, but all the dough. The yeast Jesus would have been pointing to was more like sourdough than the neat little packets of dry yeast we can use today.

Sourdough is a living organism, as anyone who has kept a starter can tell you. You must feed it and use it regularly or it will die and become moldy. In the 1970’s and 80’s it was popular to share “Herman bread” along with a container of the starter so the recipient can make more and share with others, etc. The tricky part was that unless you had a lot of friends—you became buried in the starter. It is great fun to make the delicious bread and share it, though.  

Even the dry yeast we use now, unlike baking powder or baking soda, leavens the mixture slowly. Yeast needs sugar to work optimally and flour to build nice texture for the air bubbles it creates. This takes time. The dough needs to rise before you can form it. Then it takes time to rise again before you can bake it.

Yeast is also used in wine and beer making. That process is even slower. It can take years for the yeast to turn the sugars in the fruit and/or malt and wheat into a delicious beverage.

Like yeast, our faith takes time to develop and grow. Sometimes we need one another as sugar to jump start a new phase. At other times, we are happily growing and building our own part of the kingdom to nourish others.

Have you ever made yeast bread? What was it like?

How is the slow process of making yeast bread (or wine or beer) like your spiritual life? Who is the sugar and flour in your life?

Action Item

Make a Herman starter to grow and share.

Parables in Pentecost: Light under a Basket

 

This summer, and through the season of Pentecost, we’ll be looking at the Parables of Jesus. As noted last week, Br. Luke Ditewig (SSJE) notes, “A playful perspective honors mystery. There is so much we do not know, and that’s ok. There is always more than we can know about the other. There is more than we will know about ourselves. There is so much more about God than we know now. There is always more.”

I suggest you read the parable itself, perhaps in each of the Gospel versions (when it’s in more than one Gospel) and/or in more than one translation. The ‘Conversation Starters’ are questions and ideas to get you thinking about the parable and your faith. They can also be a way to start a conversation with others. ‘Action items’ are crafts or activities that you may want to do with, or without, young children or grandchildren. Play and song are ways we don’t always equate with prayer and devotion. They are ways to connect on a deep level. Give yourself permission to try some fun this summer.

Scripture

14‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16) See also Mark 4:21-22 and Luke 8:16-17, 11:33-36.

Conversation starters

Seems silly to think of putting a candle under a basket, doesn’t it? You could start a fire, and you wouldn’t get much light from the candle.

Jesus says, You are the light of the world. We are not supposed to hide our light—our talents and love. But we do sometimes do just that. Have you ever pretended you didn’t know the answer at school or in a group? Why might we do that? Is it harder to ‘let our light shine’ in a group of friends or strangers?

In Jesus’ time, there weren’t electric lights, so candles or oil lamps had to be put on some sort of ‘lamp stand’ so they could be seen and give light. Even then, there wasn’t much light from just one or two lamps or candles. Imagine trying to do work with just the light of one candle. You could see better if there were more candles, couldn’t you?

Have you ever had to use candles, or even just a flashlight, for light during a power outage or when camping? Jesus says, let your light shine. We can shine more effectively when there are more of us working together. What is one creative thing you could do with someone else to shine more brightly?

Action Items

Try this experiment: Get 5 candles (votive size is OK) and 4 glasses of different sizes. Light all five candles and cover four of them with a glass. Try to guess which will stay lit the longest.

Or: Try this with a group. Everyone gets a glow stick. Light them and tell everyone to try and hide their glow. Then repeat in pairs and teams. 

End by singing This Little Light of Mine

Pentecost 2024

 If you have been following the Thy Kingdom Come devotions online or on the Women’s Ministry blog of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, you will have explored many definitions of God. The God who loves/saves/heals/creates, etc. Yesterday was The God Who Empowers with the familiar image of the Holy Spirit as a dove (done by the Rev. Chris Duffett for TKC).

On Pentecost, the followers of the Risen Christ experienced a different manifestation of the Spirit. Flames as of fire appeared and rested on each of them. That must have been a startling and awe-filled moment. It transformed a motley group of mostly uneducated men and women into fearless evangelists. Peter immediately went outside and started preaching. As we saw last week, this is the same man, who less than two months earlier had denied knowing Jesus.

John Wesley tells in his journal of his experience with the Spirit. “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Have you ever experienced the Holy Spirit in your heart? Do you relate more to dove or fire or warmed heart or something else.  

In the Gospel for today, (John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15) Jesus tells his disciples, When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you…When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 

The Greek word translated as ‘Advocate’ is parakletos means someone who pleads a case (advocate or intercessor). It can also mean a helper or assistant, or someone who comes along side us. The Holy Spirit not only advocates for us, but is on our side and with us always. At Pentecost the Advocate/ Companion/ Helper (Holy Spirit) came to the followers powerfully and they began to tell what they knew about Jsus. However, as Jesus noted, it was not simply men and women speaking, but God’s Spirit was giving them the words to say.

Can you remember a time when you didn’t know what to say in a situation and then when you opened your mouth, you were inspired?

Next week starts “Ordinary Time,” the long church season between Pentecost and Advent. I’ll be looking at some of Jesus’ Parables to see what they might teach us about living in 2024.

June 4: Trinity Sunday: Psalm 8

 This is the First Sunday in the Season of Pentecost, the long church season which lasts until Advent. This year Advent begins November 26, so we have six months of the Season of Pentecost. Often called “Ordinary Time,” the Season of Pentecost gives us time to catch our breath after the big church seasons of Christmas, Lent, and Easter. It is a time to let our roots sink deeper into our faith and listen for the whisper of God in our lives. During all the “High Holy Days,” we can get caught up in the drama and miss seeing God in the everyday, normal activities. It can be easy to expect God to show up with angels and earth-shattering announcements. And we may be disappointed if God doesn’t do so. We may forget God is just as much present in the daily routine.

To start off the Season of Pentecost, we return to the very beginning of the Bible and hear the Creation Story. God sings every part of creation into being when the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Light and Dark, waters and vegetation, land creatures and fishes are all formed and pronounced Good. Finally, God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. At the end of the sixth day of creation, God saw everything that [God] had made, and indeed, it was very good.

Hildegard of Bingen, one of my favorite mystics, said, “Through this world God encircles and strengthens humankind. Through and through, great power is ours, such that all creation, in all things stands by us.” We are one with creation and all creation is one with and in us. Amazing!

The First Sunday of Pentecost is also Trinity Sunday. The Gospel and Epistle mention the three Persons of the Trinity. In the Gospel (Matthew 28:16-20), Jesus reiterates humanity’s charge for creation saying, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Second Corinthians (2 Corinthians 13:11-13) notes that it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit that we carry out our calling to be stewards of all creation—from the least atom to the most giant whale and furthest star.

The mandate to ‘make disciples’ and the stewardship of all creation are both ways humanity is a co-creator with God. Hildegard defines the Trinity beautifully. “Who is the Trinity? You are music. You are life. Source of everything, creator of everything, angelic hosts sing your praise. Wonderfully radiant, deep, mysterious. You are alive in everything, and yet you are unknown to us.” God, alive in everything, invites us to work with God to return to the goodness of the original creation.

Psalm 8 notes that although humanity is little lower than the angels; you adorn him with glory and honor; You give him mastery over the works of your hands; you put all things under his feet. We have God-given stewardship from the earliest creation, yet it is God whose name is wonderful everywhere on earth! As new scientific discoveries take us further into deep space, like this image from the James Webb Telescope of galaxies unfathomable light years away; and into inner space of atoms, we find ourselves amazed and humbled by the diversity of God’s creation. Our lives are interlinked with all of it, which is totally amazing and ought to leave us speechless in awe. God intersects our lives on the most minute levels and on the grandest levels.

How can we respond to this revelation as we enter the long season of Pentecost? Where is God in your life at this moment?

How can we be more aware of God who, as Hildegard says, is “source and creator of everything,” and who “encircles and strengthens humankind”?  

Psalm 8 1 O Lord our Governor, how exalted is your Name in all the world! 2 Out of the mouths of infants and children your majesty is praised above the heavens. 3 You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, to quell the enemy and the avenger. 4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you have set in their courses, 5 What is man that you should be mindful of him? The son of man that you should seek him out? 6 You have made him but little lower than the angels; you adorn him with glory and honor; 7 You give him mastery over the works of your hands; you put all things under his feet: 8 All sheep and oxen, even the wild beasts of the field, 9 The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea. 10 O Lord our Governor, how exalted is your Name in all the world! (Book of Common Prayer)

Our Lord and Ruler, your name is wonderful everywhere on earth! You let your glory be seen in the heavens above. With praises from children and from tiny infants, you have built a fortress. It makes your enemies silent, and all who turn against you are left speechless. I often think of the heavens your hands have made, and of the moon and stars you put in place. Then I ask, “Why do you care about us humans? Why are you concerned for us weaklings?” You made us a little lower than you yourself, and you have crowned us with glory and honor. You let us rule everything your hands have made. And you put all of it under our power— The sheep and the cattle, and every wild animal, The birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and all ocean creatures. Our Lord and Ruler, your name is wonderful everywhere on earth! (Contemporary English Version)

Pentecost: Psalm 104

 Today is the Day of Pentecost, sometimes called the Birthday of the Church. The church remembers the coming of the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus. Acts 2:1-4 says, When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. The Gospel reading from John 20:19-23 gives the account of a post-Resurrection giving of the Spirit to the apostles. Jesus commissions them saying, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

This image, entitled Pentecost by Jen Norton shows the Day of Pentecost. Unlike most, and returning to a very early tradition, it shows Mary in the center.

It's not just those first followers that receive the Spirit. As the Epistle (1 Corinthians 12:3b-13) says, all gifts come from God’s Spirit and in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. We are all inheritors and bearers of God’s Spirit to do God’s work.

The Psalm for today is a portion of Psalm 104. God’s works are extolled and then the Psalmist exalts, You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth. Looking around the world today, we could make a laundry list of things that need to be renewed. From violence to climate to injustice to simply the latest disaster on the evening news, there is a lot that seems amiss in the world.

The good news is: God has sent forth God’s Spirit to renew all.

The good news is: God has given humanity that Spirit.

The good news is: we are each empowered by God’s Spirit.

The news we may not want to hear is that, in and with God’s Spirit we are the ones who can renew the face of the earth. The Epistle notes, there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. We are each called to use our gifts for the common good.

We don’t have the same gifts, but each of us has gifts from the Spirit that can be used to further God’s Love and bring about renewal. This isn’t anything we can do on our own or in our own power. Only because of and in and through God’s Spirit can this happen. Because God is active in the world through the Spirit we can respond with the Psalmist, I will sing to Adonai as long as I live, sing praise to my God all my life…Bless Adonai, my soul! Halleluyah!

What God-given gift do you use to renew your part of the earth?

What can you do to encourage others to use their God-given gifts?

Psalm 104:25-35,37 25 O Lord, how manifold are your works! in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 26 Yonder is the great and wide sea  with its living things too many to number, creatures both small and great. 27 There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it. 28 All of them look to you  to give them their food in due season. 29 You give it to them; they gather it; you open your hand, and they are filled with good things. 30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; you take away their breath, and they die and return to their dust. 31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth. 32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; may the Lord rejoice in all his works. 33 He looks at the earth and it trembles; he touches the mountains and they smoke. 34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will praise my God while I have my being. 35 May these words of mine please him; I will rejoice in the Lord. 37 Bless the Lord, O my soul. Hallelujah! (Book of Common Prayer)

What variety there is in your works, Adonai! How many [of them there are]! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creations. Look at the sea, so great, so wide! It teems with countless creatures, living beings, both large and small. The ships are there, sailing to and fro; Livyatan, which you formed to play there. All of them look to you to give them their food when they need it. When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are well satisfied. If you hide your face, they vanish; if you hold back their breath, they perish and return to their dust. If you send out your breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. May the glory of Adonai last forever! May Adonai rejoice in his works! When he looks at the earth, it trembles; when he touches the mountains, they pour out smoke. I will sing to Adonai as long as I live, sing praise to my God all my life. May my musings be pleasing to him; I will rejoice in Adonai. Bless Adonai, my soul! Halleluyah! (Complete Jewish Bible)

 

Pentecost: Photini

 Since the beginning of June, and the beginning of the church season of Pentecost (or Ordinary Time) we’ve been looking at the stories of some Bible women and how God met them in the ordinariness of their daily lives. God meets us there, too.

Today we'll meet the Samaritan Woman. Photini is the name given by the Orthodox Church to her. The story is in John 4. Most of us know the story. Jesus is going through Samaria on his way to Jerusalem and stops at Sychar. This is traditionally the site of a well which the patriarch Jacob dug centuries earlier. Jesus sits down near the well while the disciples go into the city to get food. All this is quite surprising and uncomfortable for the disciples. To say Jews and Samaritans disliked each other would be an understatement. There were deep differences in their worship and way of life. Each despised the other. But Jesus decides to travel through Samaria and pauses at a Samaritan town. I wonder if we sometimes find ourselves traveling through areas we don't really like and forget that God is there, too. 

Photini comes to draw water later in the day than most of the town’s women. We can speculate about her reasons and most likely it has to do with her lifestyle. She admits to having five husbands and to currently living with a man not her husband.

The act of getting water from the well was a daily necessity before running water. A lot of community building would happen as the women gathered, visited, and got their water. Photini was outside of that circle. She came later to the well. And because she did, in that very ordinary, daily task, her life was changed.

Jesus asks her for water and a conversation ensues with Photini challenging Jesus several times. She decides he is a prophet and continues, ‘I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ (John 4:25)

Jesus’ response changes everything. Even though he rarely admits the Messianic ‘secret,’ he tells Photini—a woman and a Samaritan, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ (John 4:26) Amazed and transformed, Photini leaves her water jar and runs to tell everyone in Sychar the amazing news that Messiah is sitting at their well.

The rest of the people are impressed enough to ask Jesus to stay for a couple days. Then they agree with her saying, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.’ (John 4:42) I wonder how Photini felt when they dismissed her witness so cavalierly. Was she angry or resigned to ‘that’s the way it is’?

Photini had an unexpected encounter with God at the well and it changed her. God is always surprising God’s people. God meets Elizabeth in her barrenness, Bathsheba in her bath, Ruth and Naomi in their friendship…the list goes on and on.

Has there been a time in your life when you’ve felt the presence of God as you do some mundane, daily job?

Do you find it hard to recognize God in the day-to-day?

Pentecost: Mary of Nazareth

 We are in the season of Pentecost, or Ordinary Time. We’ll be looking at the lives of several Bible women as examples of ways to discover the Holy in the Ordinary. Women in the Bible, like the men, had their lives ‘interrupted’ by God. There responses are varied, just like ours. Whenever we are confronted by some change, or trauma, or disaster we react based on our life experiences, our family training, and our own state of woundedness or wholeness.

All of us have been forced into dealing with change and even trauma over the past couple years. Not only have we collectively dealt with COVID, but we have faced social justice inequities and tragic death, including horrific mass shootings. Where is God in the pain and fear and anger and despair?

This week and next we’ll look at Mary and Elizabeth from the New Testament. They had their lives completely overturned by God. At first glance, God’s action seems wonderful—the promise of a baby. However, the lives of each of these women was turned upside down by that simple thing.

Most of us know about Mary, so we’ll start with her. We find her story in Luke 1:26f. The angel Gabriel comes to her and gives her astonishing news, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:31-33) Mary is astonished and asks “How?” Gabriel responds by telling her about Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy.

Mary’s submissive response of Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word has been held up as the epitome of trusting in God. Indeed, Mary does offer herself fully to the work of God. In doing so, she risks everything. She risks her reputation, the reputation of her family, and repudiation by Joseph which could have led to her being stoned. We know from Matthew 1:18-25 that her fiancé Joseph did struggle with the unexpected news.

This teenage girl courageously says ‘yes’ to God’s call. We hesitate to do the same sometimes. I know I weigh the pros and cons before doing anything. Being open to God’s action is not something that can be measured by lists or rational planning. It requires simple trust and willingness. It requires living in a prayer-filled expectancy. In the December 19, 2021 Episcopal Café meditation Laurie Gudim asks, “Where are the wombs that will hold our hearts until the womb of new life makes itself known within us?” She ends by stating, “We are the wombs purified and opened through prayer.”  

Mary found the Holy in an unexpected announcement and the overturning of her life’s plans. By saying ‘yes’ Mary became Theotokos, the God bearer. She became the actual womb in which God was birthed. She lived the reality of being, and birthing, prophetic hope. This icon is called Theotokos of Vladamir. 

We too are part of bearing, indeed birthing, the Word of God into the world. Our prophetic voices will be different than Mary or Elizabeth or other Bible women. Yet, if we look deep within our story, we may very well find times when we heard and said ‘yes’ to speaking God’s word in our lives and actions. Of course, God acts even when we aren’t aware of it too. Sometimes it is in looking back that we see when and how God was at work. It may have been through a difficult time or a time of transition.

Think about the times in your life when you were aware of being part of God’s work. Consider the circumstances—was God present with and through you even though it may have been a transitional or traumatic time?

Try to be aware of God’s presence in the little things each day, and in the major traumas and fears you encounter. Next week we'll look at Elizabeth who also had her life changed by an unexpected pregnancy. 

Pentecost: Flaming Bushes

 We have entered the church season of Pentecost—the time between the Day of Pentecost (June 5 this year) and Advent I (Nov. 27 this year). Sometimes this is called ‘Ordinary Time’ because there aren’t any special feast days like Christmas or Easter.

On this blog throughout Ordinary Time, we’ll be looking at several women in the Bible and considering what they might teach us about living in the Ordinary Time we are in—which in some ways is rather extra-ordinary. All times are in fact extraordinary because they are filled with God. Elizabeth Barrett Browning reminds us:

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries

We can get stuck in the sameness of daily routine and ordinary things and forget to even look for the flaming bushes around us. Taking time to learn from women of the Bible may help us identify places in our own lives that are both dry and dead, and that are alive with the promise and hope of the Spirit of Life!

Kit Lonergan in the June 1 Day 50 meditation  on Matthew 8 (healing of the demoniacs in the tombs) says, “I, however, have a different response to the tomb. The tomb isn’t just where the dead are buried, but where I keep all the broken pieces that I’d rather not let into the light just yet. The fear I can hold. The “what if” questions. The shame. The recollections of things done and left undone, and the foreboding of future transgressions going forward. The quiet persistent voices that tell me that I am not worthy of the light, should those boulders be rolled away from the entrance…But [those in the tombs] beg Jesus to allow them to leave the tombs. It is both a liberating thought and a terrifying one. What would it mean for us leave the tomb empty, to move into the light of new life? What would it mean to let go of the claim the tomb has on us, people with experience of loss, disappointment, and death? What might we see emanating from the tomb rather than the creations of our own making?”

Looking at the women of the Bible gives us a way to leave behind the tombs of our old ways of thinking and acting. By seeing how God acted in their lives, we are invited to live more fully into the people of faith we are called to be.

Over the course of this series, we’ll look at pairs of women who exemplify opposite, and yet faithful, responses to God’s love and work in their lives. Next week we will meet Mary of Nazareth and on the 26^th we’ll find out how Elizabeth’s response to God’s action was both different and equally faith-filled.

Pentecost

 On Pentecost we are told that the women were present in the upper room, as well as the disciples and over 100 others. Like the men, they were gifted with the Holy Spirit.

Like our fore-mothers, women (and men) are gifted and sent out to be the hands and feet of God and to share God’s love and good news. Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is fond of saying “If it’s not about Love, it’s not about God.”

On this Pentecost Sunday, I am reminded of Henri Nouwen’s words, “To pray…to listen to the voice of the One who call us the ‘Beloved,’ is to learn that that voice excludes no one.” Everyone in the upper room was included on the first Pentecost. Everyone was sent out to share the Good News of God’s love. We are also empowered to share the Good News and to remember that No One is excluded.

During the season of Pentecost, as we ‘meet’ some Bible women, we’ll be seeing how their lives reflected God’s love, even in difficult and even dangerous circumstances. We’ll see how God included each of them in the never-ending saga of love.

“Come Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your people. Kindle in us the fire of your love.”

Word Made Flesh

 In this last of the Pentecost series about Words and Story, I come to the beautiful words at the beginning of the Gospel of John. The Word was made flesh and lived among us.

The way we can work to build the Beloved Community, which is the Kingdom of God, is in and through the Love of God made Incarnate in Jesus Christ. The full expression of God’s love, seeking the lost and bringing all back into the fold, is in the Story of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of the carpenter from Nazareth 2000 years ago. God’s all-consuming Love was seen in that one Man. We make that Love incarnate daily in our Words and Actions.

Where do we start?

We can start by thanking God for God’s Love, and then thanking God for our similarities and differences. We can learn, as James Blay said in the D365 devotional on June 11, “Gratitude is a part of the story of God’s kingdom. Because God is good to us, we should always find ways to show how grateful we are for the goodness of God. Part of our expressions of gratitude goes beyond just saying thanks. We need to show gratitude for God’s goodness and grace in the way we treat one another. We cannot be grateful to God while at the same time being mean and hateful to others.”

Blay goes on to say, “Give thanks to God because God is good; show thanks to God by being good to others, especially those who are different from you. When we speak and act out our gratitude, the story of the kingdom of God becomes good news to all who hear and experience it. Think about ways you can speak and act out gratitude as you go about your day, then do it.”  

I need to remember that my Words come from my personal Story, which isn’t the same as anyone else’s. Their Story is just as valid and they may give me new insights to consider. I must remember that my words have the power to harm or to heal, to sooth or to sear. It is too easy to want to have the final word and prove we are right, better, wiser…than to pause and listen to what someone else is really saying from their hear. This image is a reminder of the importance of and danger in how we use our Words.

Personally, I process things via the written word. As I noted at the beginning, this series has been as much a seeking of clarity for me, as of interest to my readers. I find that I can sometimes get more deeply into someone’s story by telling that story. So, for the next few weeks, I’ll be offering imagined vignettes of men, women, and children who were affected, and/or are still affected, by the actions (or inaction) of us and our ancestors be they white or POC.

I end this series with a Franciscan Benediction:

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tear
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen-So be it Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer-Amen

Words: Impact

 The Fifty Days of Easter are past, and Pentecost was celebrated last Sunday. As we move into what is often called “Ordinary Time”, we may let the grand events of Easter and Pentecost slip into the background. It’s “Ordinary Time” after all, right, when everything rolls along in a settled pattern? In fact, this time is anything but Ordinary. It’s when the real work of Kingdom building happens. It’s time planting and nurturing new growth of Love and Life and Hope to usher in the new Creation. In his Pentecost sermon, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church, called for a Revolution of Love to reshape the world.  

How might we be love as we start to emerge into a world traumatized by so many deaths, so much inequality, so much trauma? What will “Ordinary Time” look like as we move out of our COVID restrictions and begin to move about in a world that is trying to be the same as before a year of upheaval? Can we really go back to “the way things were before”, to the “normal” that existed in 2019? Do we want to put on the blinders that kept us happily oblivious of the inequities and injustices that have be highlighted in the past 15 months? Or do we want to work for a new creation?

Maybe it starts with simply being aware of what message(s) we are conveying with our Words… Words can be spoken in anger, or to demean, or to suppress, or to inflict hurt. Words can also mend, restore, encourage, bless, and offer hope.

I found myself struggling with the onslaught of rhetoric that was prevalent even before COVID. I hear the many voices that challenge one another and cause division with great sorrow. There is so much good that could be done if we could pause and remember that our Words have great impact. As the image from Facebook says, “Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can only be forgiven, not forgotten.”

Christian singer Leanna Crawford has a recent hit called Mean Girls. She sings, Mean girls don't remember what they said/ Well, it's funny 'cause I can't seem to forget/ Their whispers opened up the door/ To a world called insecure…Stick and stones may break my bones/ But no one ever warned me about words. (527) Leanna Crawford - Mean Girls (Official Music Video) - YouTube

It is so true that simple words can leave scars. We can antagonize just by the way we phrase a response, or by the tone of voice. Like the ‘mean girls’ we may not even know that we’ve hurt someone. As the picture notes, “We must think before we speak.”

Offering hope and love in our words means we have to be intentional about what and how we speak (or write). We have to pause and ask if God is speaking through our words, through the way we respond to each Facebook post, or to the clerk in the store, or the person cutting us off in traffic. It means we need to stay connected to the One who is all Love. Jesus said Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. The pressures of daily life can make us snappy or snippy. Taking time with God can reconnect us to Love. In her song, Leanna Crawford sings, Lord, I need to you find me and remind me that my worth/ Is worth so much more than their words.

Like Eliza Doolittle in the 1960’s musical My Fair Lady, I get frustrated with all the Words! Words! Words! I'm so sick of words! I get words all day through; First from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?...Show me… Eliza is challenging her suitor, Freddy, to act. In the world right now, it can feel like no one is taking any action because each of us is so busy pushing our own agenda, no matter what that might be. Too often we can’t even agree that the ‘other side’ has anything good or important to add to the discussion. We repeat misinformation to discredit those we disagree with, or we cover our own insecurities with lots of words that are rationalizations or our own narrow viewpoint.

When I feel overwhelmed, I sense the Spirit nudging me to be more gentle with my own words. I can be more aware and change the Words I use. The image in this post is a reminder that I need to pause more often to ask the five questions:
Is it True?
Is it Helpful?
Is it Inspiring?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind?

I would suggest another question: Does it express God’s Love?

When we can turn from the loud voices around us and seek some quiet to listen to and for God, we get a new perspective. In the May 21 ThyKingdom Come reflection, the author noted, “When we do come to God. Or when we return to God…Or when we see in each other a love that holds and sustains us. And when we know we are loved, the only real response is silence. There is a place beyond words, where the heart rests in peace, in the knowledge of being known and loved. Not all of us experience such love in our lives.  Some of us have been very damaged by life’s injustices. But the love we receive from Jesus, the love that is from God, is secure. It is waiting for us the other side of words. We only need to turn.

I today with this prayer from the May 21 Thy Kingdom Come reflection. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be exploring how Words define our Story, our Culture and where Listening might take us.

Loving God, our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you. Hold me, for the storms are raging and the waves crash over. Be my rest and my security. And even though human touch and human love is so beautiful and so longed for, help me to know today that it comes from you and, like everything that is good and beautiful, will return to you in the silence of your eternal and never changing love. Be with me as I hold myself and hold others in your embrace. Amen.

Joseph of Arimathea at Pentecost

 During the 50 Days of Easter, my blog will be musings by Joseph of Arimathea on the amazing happenings of the time between Easter and Pentecost--between the Resurrection and the Coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. Enter with me into this imagined series of recollections by Joseph. (The image today is Pentecost by Canadian artist Gisele Bauche.) Religious Art Gallery - by Gisele Bauche (spiritualityandart.ca)

The streets of Jerusalem filled with foreigners over the days following the amazing Ascension of Jesus of Nazareth. They came for the major Jewish feast of Shavuot, 50 days after the Passover. Over the centuries it had become one of the important festivals of the faith when Jews from all over the world tried to come to Jerusalem. (Passover and Sukkot were the other feasts men were to attend in Jerusalem at least once in your life.) Shavuot is the celebration remembering, most importantly, the giving of Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai during the Exodus when we became the People of God. Many people celebrated by bringing the first fruits of their early wheat harvest as gifts to the Temple.

I had not really been counting the days since Passover because so many other new things had been revealed. Usually, I prepared by reading the Book of Ruth to commemorate the kingship of David and how his lineage traced back to the beginning. Then on the Eve of Shavout I would join the other leaders in a synagogue or in the Temple taking turns reading through the entire five books of Torah.

When I realized that Shavuot was near, I was surprised when Matthew mentioned that Jesus was of the lineage of David. He suggested that we read the Book of Ruth and then recite the Lord’s lineage until this time.

“Yes!” I didn’t usually speak first in the assembly because I felt rather like a late-comer to the group. “I am happy to take a turn at reading if someone else will recite the lineage forward to Jesus of Nazareth.”

And so it was that we began. The evening stretched into the dark night as we read the story of how a foreign woman became the grandmother of a King, and recited the names of the ancestors of David. Every so often someone would ask me to tell more about one of the men mentioned. I was glad to share what I knew. It made me feel more a part of the group than before.

Matthew took up the recitation of Jesus’ lineage from David to the present and I leaned forward to hear all the familiar names in a new light. 

"It is wonderful when we see how God's saving work stretched from the beginning of time until this new creation," I stated. 

Everyone nodded. As often happened Mary of Magdala began to chant a psalm. We all joined in. I felt closer to these men and women, and to God than I had felt in all my years serving on the Council and worshiping in the Temple.   

As we were praying and singing psalms, something amazing happened. There was suddenly a giant gust of wind that banged the shutters backward and rushed into the room. Before anyone could respond, we felt enveloped in warmth. In shock we all saw what looked like flickering flames dancing in the air over each person.

Our songs of praise in Hebrew became songs of praise in many other languages. I recognized Greek and Egyptian and heard myself speaking in the Celtic language, which had long eluded me despite my trading with the people in distant Britain.  

Each of us reacted in a different way to this amazing occurrence. Peter leaned out the window to shout into the street. The Mary’s were in tears and dancing together while singing in a trio of languages. James and John began laughing like boys, while Andrew and Matthew joined Peter at the window.

It was cacophony, but beautiful. I sat bemused, feeling wrapped in the warmth and surrounded by a love I had never experienced before. I wanted to run and dance and sing like a child and I wanted to just sit in the embrace of the love.

Eventually I heard shouts from the street.

“They are drunk.”

“Shame to be drunk so early on Shavout.”

Peter laughed and responded, “Men of Jerusalem, we are not drunk as you suppose. It is only nine in the morning! This is what was promised to our forefathers. The prophet Joel said, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young will see visions. Your elders will dream dreams. Even upon my servants, men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy."

Peter went on to tell the crowd about Jesus. I listened, astonished by the courage and clarity with which he spoke. Less than two moon rises ago, this man had been in hiding like a terrified rabbit. Now, he was not even intimidated by the glowering presence of members of the Council who appeared in the crowd.

Surely this was the work of God. I shook my head and took a deep breath, realizing I was part of that work, too. I wondered what I would do. Certainly, I was no longer an accepted member of the Sanhedrin. 

"Maybe I will take a more active role in my tin trading business with the Celts in far-off Britain," I mused to myself, content for now to just sit and feel the Love of God surrounding me and everyone in the room. 

Note from Cindy: Joseph of Arimathea has fascinated me for a long time. Legend says that he did indeed go to Britain, and so say that he took the Holy Grail (the chalice from the Last Supper) to Glastonbury. Thanks for coming along on this imaginary journey with Joseph of Arimathea through these 50 days of Easter. Next week, a new series will start.  

Pentecost: Come Holy Spirit

Today is Pentecost. It's been 50 days since Easter. It was an Easter that didn’t look usual for many of us. No Easter dresses to show off. No glorious music and cascades of flowers. No crowds of congregants. This week the US passed the sad milestone of over 100,000 deaths from COVID19. This weekend, the Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites us to remember these lives, and to join in the ecumenical service on Pentecost..   

Some of us are back in church, but others continue to participate from home. Life still isn’t what we used to call ‘normal’. Even if you are returning to church, it may look different with more distance, less hugs, and lots of masks. We are in the middle of a huge change in how we live our lives. It may be permanent, or it may be only temporary. No one really knows. However, we can still pray "Come Holy Spirit", and know that God will respond. In fact, God is responding every day!

  

For the disciples, Pentecost marked a huge change in their life. Their ‘norm’ of being followers of a popular rabbi had ended abruptly when he was arrested and crucified. They went into hiding. But then…the normal expectations of life and death were altered. Fifty days earlier they were stunned that Jesus rose from the dead. In the ensuing days, there had been times when Jesus was with them. Then he ascended and disappeared from their sight. Now they gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Pentecost. 

The very beginning of the Acts of the Apostles gives us a summary of the events. Luke says, In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ (Acts 1:1-5)

After Jesus ascended, they returned to Jerusalem…constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. (Acts 1:12-14)

At the Feast of Pentecost, the Jewish festival occurring 50 days after Passover, these followers were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Acts 2:1-4)

Once again, their lives were shaken and changed. Yet God was manifestly present in the seeming chaos.

The COVID-tide (a phrase coined by Bishop Mark VanKoevering of the Diocese of Lexington) has shaken and changed a lot of things in our neatly ordered worlds. Those over a certain age are urged to stay home. Everyone is encouraged, or mandated, to wear a face mask, gatherings over a certain size are discouraged or even prohibited. Many of our churches are still closed, or opening with low attendance and new protocols in place.

Yet God is completely present in this unsettling and chaotic time. 
I see God in the spring beauty and the bird song.
I see God in the hands of the healthcare workers and food pantry volunteers.
I see God in the virtual worship services.
I see God in the caring phone calls, email, cards, and even Facebook posts that so many are doing.
I see God in the handmade face masks provided to homeless and to others who might not otherwise have one.
I see God…so many places.
And I need to look for God in more places!

Next week, we’ll start a series looking for God in the statements of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8*. Indeed, there is a time for every purpose under heaven. I’ll admit this series is a way for me to see God in more ways and places. Looking at these various ‘seasons’ may help me (us) see God more and more clearly--even through our masks! Join me, and we can explore this idea together for the next several weeks in the Season of Pentecost.  


*For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Pentecost: God meets us

On this day of Pentecost, we remember how God affirmed his work among all who believe by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. It is only through God that we can “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Through the Easter season we’ve looked at the ways God calls and empowers us individually to live into the fullness of our story, which is part of God’s grand story. At my daughter’s house there is a lovely crocheted throw. It started out as a skein of yarn and a needle. For a long time, it didn’t look like anything, then gradually the pattern started to emerge. So it is with us, we think there is no pattern to our life, and then we take time to look back and realize that there is indeed a design starting to form. It’s the beauty that God saw in us from the beginning!

Jesus promises that God will be with us. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)

Where can you see God’s story intersecting your story? Is it in the way God provides a job or money? Do you see God in the ways you love your family and they love you?

The Collect in the Book of Common Prayer for Pentecost says: “Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

Ask God how you can be part of preaching the Gospel. A quote often attributed to St. Francis says, “Preach the Gospel always, if necessary, use words”. Think about what ways you preach the Good News through your life and actions.

Next week starts what is sometimes called ‘Ordinary Time’-the season of Pentecost, which extends until the First Sunday in Advent. It’s a time of growing and deepening our spirits in God. It’s an important season in the cycle of the church seasons. Let’s take time to deepen our faith roots this summer. Join me on this blog for sharing some thoughts and ideas as I try to see the new pattern God is working in my life as we look at some of the women of faith recognized by the Episcopal Church as seminal workers in the Kingdom. 

Pentecost: Not Alone

We’ve been looking at how God is working in and through us to make us diamonds and masterpieces. As we noted last week, it’s not necessarily the big and grand things that make the most difference. It can be the small things we do because we are women and men of faith.

At the Daughters of the King Assembly I spoke about last week; the keynote speaker was Deborah Smith Douglas. She is an author, speaker, spiritual advisor, and deeply faith-filled woman. Her topic was Deepening Prayer. Douglas reminded us all that in our faith journey, we are never alone.

She said, we are always in the company of the saints who have gone before. Some of these are well known women or men. Others are the everyday people who lived a life of faith and in doing so, changed their corner of the world. In fact, many of those considered saints, like Julian of Norwich or Mother Teresa had no aspirations for sainthood.

Mother Teresa, it has been learned from her letters, even doubted her own faith. She wrote, “Where is my faith? – even deep down, right in, there is nothing but emptiness & darkness. – My God – how painful is this unknown pain. It pains without ceasing. – I have no faith. – I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart - & make me suffer untold agony. So many unanswered questions live within me – I am afraid to uncover them – because of the blasphemy – If there be God, - please forgive me.” - Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light

A long list of others who doubted their faith could be compiled. The Psalms are full of David’s wavering faith and fears. Psalm 42 is just one of many.

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
   so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
   for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
   the face of God?
My tears have been my food
   day and night,
while people say to me continually,
   ‘Where is your God?’

These things I remember,
   as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,*    and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
   a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
   therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
   from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
   at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
   have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
   and at night his song is with me,
   a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, my rock,
   ‘Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
   because the enemy oppresses me?’
As with a deadly wound in my body,
   my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
   ‘Where is your God?’

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.

David feels like he has been abandoned by God. People are even asking, “Where is your God?” He says “My tears have been my food day and night” and “my soul is cast down within me”. Yet ultimately, he is able to say that he will, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”

Doubt doesn’t make our spiritual ancestors, or ourselves, any less suited to act on God’s call in our lives. Deborah Smith Douglas told the women at the recent retreat that we are part of the company of those who walk with and act for God now and in the past. She reminded the women that God rarely choses those with ‘clean hands’ or ‘pure blood’ to “come follow me”. Jesus chose fishermen and women to be his disciples. Over the centuries, God has used harlots, adulterers, murderers, cowards, and other widely assorted men and women. God uses you and me, too. 

This coming weekend, I will be leading a retreat that will look at 5 women of the Bible. Mary (Mother of Jesus), Mary Magdalene, Esther, Ruth, and Judith have been maligned, glorified, or ignored by history. We’ll see who they really were and what their lives can teach us about our lives of faith in the 21^st Century.

If Mother Teresa, John of the Cross, 'Doubting' Thomas, and many others throughout the centuries can wonder about their faith and calling, we do not need to lose heart when we have our own questions. As Douglas noted last weekend, we are not alone. We can find community with our fore-bearers through gratitude, intercession, drawing near to God, and simply loving God and our neighbor.

Do you ever think you are unworthy because you have doubts?

What do you do when you feel alone and far from God?

Next week, we’ll start a series based on the women we will discuss at the Aug. 17-18 weekend. For those readers who might be at the meeting, this will be a chance for further learning. Others may find it interesting to discuss with friends in book or Bible study groups. 

Pentecost: Committment

Over the course of this Pentecost series, we’ve considered how living a life of discipleship characterized by the action of the Holy Spirit might change our expectations, our work focus, and even our interaction with the societal norms around us. It’s all about growth in the season of Pentecost and living into the Great Commandment to ‘love God, love neighbor, love self’ to 'turn the world upside down'.

We’ve been borrowing from Laurie Brock’s last 50 Day meditation as we go along. She notes, “Living Jesus' love requires commitment, courage, and work.” What sort of commitment and courage might she be referring to?

When we look at the lives of the disciples after that first Pentecost we see men (and women) who were avidly sharing the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. What do we, too often, see now among the followers of Christ? Divisions, hypocrisy, intolerance—all cited in a recent study by LifeWay research.

"A full 72 percent of the people interviewed said they think the church 'is full of hypocrites," said LifeWay Research director Ed Stetzer…But the problem is compounded by a widespread notion of religious tolerance that says religious and spiritual truth is a matter of personal opinion…A majority of unchurched Americans (79 percent) think that Christianity today is more about organized religion than about loving God and loving people; 86 percent believe they can have a good relationship with God without being involved in church…There will always be the stumbling block of the cross. Yet our study shows that many are tripping over the church before they hear the message of the cross."

However, “64 percent of the respondents think ‘the Christian religion is a relevant and viable religion for today,’…We think religion is a topic that is off-limits in polite conversation, but unchurched people say they would enjoy conversations about spiritual matters," Stetzer noted. 

How has the commitment of Peter and John, Mary and Priscilla turned into something that isn’t talked about in ‘polite company’? How did we get so concerned about the church furnishings that we forget to speak love, sometimes even to those within our doors, much less beyond them? Is there a way to reclaim the Spirit-driven fire that stands up to councils and governors to proclaim what we believe? 

Perhaps we first need to reconnect with the God who is in charge of the world. God who cares deeply about each one of us on the earth. When we can believe ourselves loved and cared for by such a God, we can say “Namaste” to each other. The word is a greeting often used in India that means “I bow to the God within you” or “the Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you”. This acknowledgement that we are each and every one part of one Body means we have to act differently.

In the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul notes, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?... For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (I Corinthians 3:16-17) A little earlier in the chapter he notes, “we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (I Corinthians 3:9)

Each of us is responsible for each other creation on the planet. To live, and love, as if this is really true requires, as Brock says, commitment, courage, and work. We need to be courageous enough to stand up to the destruction of community. Whether that is within our churches, our communities, at the border, or internationally, we have to offer love not hate and division. We have to work to rebuild what is broken in relationships, and to be committed to living a life that shows God’s love. Maybe that means listening to someone you disagree with, or helping a stranger get a lunch, or standing with someone in need

.

Only in and with courageous love, by a commitment to doing God’s work of reconciliation can we fulfill Jesus commandment, “love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Then perhaps others will see that there is 'meat' to living a Christian life-a life that by definition is at odds with the world. 

The good news is God believes “you can do it” as we’ll see next week.