Happy
Birthday!
Pentecost is
one of my favorite holidays of the year, and even more so now that this
building celebrates its birthday on the same holiday. Happy 102nd birthday, Athabasca
United!
It’s the day
we reflect on the third, most mysterious and most elusive member of the
Trinity, the Spirit. It’s not a
comfortable topic for some, surprisingly enough. We squirm and wonder if we have to start
rolling on the floor or speak in tongues.
As a person who has been in the United Church since I was a child,
there’s no way I want to talk in words that even I can’t understand. And it’s easy for me to get puffed up with
pride that I’m not like those people, you know, the ones who let their
religious experience get all emotional, loud and demonstrative. I’ve got enough British and Scottish strict
Presbyterian and stiff upper lip to shy away from such a display.
Spirit is
dangerous, it is spontaneous, and it is impulsive. We’re not always comfortable with it, and for
good reason. There are times when too
much spontaneity can get us into trouble.
There are times when an impulse can lead us into dangerous situations. Sometimes our ideas or urges can be
problematic to say the least. If I
indulged in chocolate every time I had a craving, I would be heading for
serious trouble with my health. A little
self-discipline can be important in such a situation!
Someone once
suggested that you can tell which of the three aspects of the Trinity a
congregation feels most comfortable with.
A congregation that is most comfortable with God, will have an
intellectual understanding of their religion and their faith community will be
filled with discussion groups and book studies.
A congregation that focusses on Jesus will talk about having a personal
relationship with Jesus that is intimate and emotional, and they will want to
know if you are saved.
A
congregation that puts the Spirit central to their faith will be comfortable
with speaking in tongues and healings, and their worship will be very active
and participatory. I saw a preacher in
one of those congregations act out Jonathan’s sneaking up on the Philistines
and he actually got down on his hands and knees and snuck across the
stage. All three groups tend to think
that they are better than the others, and that they really ‘get’ the message of
what it means to be a Christian.
Maybe it’s
time to remember that we are all works in progress, groaning inwardly some of
us, and outwardly too. Maybe it’s time
to remember that we are waiting with patience for things that we can’t quite
explain, but that is what living in hope is all about. Maybe it’s time to wonder if there are times
that we can celebrate the spontaneity of the Spirit, but with the wisdom of God
and the compassion of Jesus. Maybe it’s
time to learn from each other and people from many different Christian
traditions to try to heal our understanding of what it means to be Christian in
a world where many people fear that idea of being a faith-filled people, being
religious. Maybe it’s time to explore
being spiritual, and claiming that part of our faith.
I do believe
that we can be pilgrims on a journey, doing our best to practise hope and
patience and love with each other, remembering that we are none of us perfect,
and that we can all encourage each other and learn from each other. When we come together in that way, we find
God’s healing presence is with us in ways we least expect. God is still speaking to us, is still healing
us, and is still creating us.
Some might
think that the United Church is not a denomination that honors the Spirit much,
but if you happen to go to Conference next week in Slave Lake, you might be
surprised.
When Jean
and I go as your delegates to Conference, the understanding of is that we will
be touched by the Spirit and discern what is needed for the many choices that
we face.
Our Song of
Faith says this about the Spirit:
We sing of God the Spirit, who from the beginning has swept over
the face of creation, animating all energy and matter and moving in the human
heart.
We sing of
God the Spirit, faithful and untameable, who is active in the world.
The
Spirit challenges us to celebrate the holy not only in what is familiar, but
also in that which seems foreign.
We sing of the Spirit, who speaks our prayers of
deepest longing and enfolds our concerns and confessions, transforming us and
the world.
We
offer worship as an outpouring of gratitude and awe and a practice of opening
ourselves to God’s still, small voice of comfort, to God’s rushing whirlwind of
challenge.
Through
word, music, art, and sacrament, in community and in solitude, God changes our
lives, our relationships, and our world.
The
church has not always lived up to its vision.
It requires the Spirit to reorient it, helping it to live an
emerging faith while
honouring tradition, challenging it to
live by grace rather than entitlement, for we are called to be a blessing to
the earth.
Grateful
for God’s loving action, we cannot keep from singing.