A Different Kind of King

Sunday, November 26, 2006
Reign of Christ Sunday

John 18:33-38a

Have you ever met a king before? Can you picture a member of some royal family, all dressed up in fine silks and bright colors, with a crown of gold studded with emeralds and rubies on their head? Perhaps trumpets announced his arrival and all bowed as he walked past. Maybe there were attendants surrounding the king, protecting him from any angry commoner or subject as he sat upon his huge throne raised above the level of the common folk.

Such an image is not an everyday occurrence for us in the United States. We are not ruled by a king; in fact, our forebearers were trying to escape the rule of a king. But we are still familiar with royal language. We’ve seen the royal family of England on tv or read about them in the newspaper. As a matter of fact, my childhood scrapbook contains a newspaper clipping of Prince William on his first day of preschool because it was also my first day of preschool. At the top of this page in my scrapbook there’s a photograph of me standing outside Little Preschoolers wearing a plaid jumper and carrying a little backpack, and at the bottom of the page there’s a photograph of Princess Diana walking Prince William into his preschool.

If you haven’t followed the real life royal family, then perhaps you’ve at least seen kings and queens, princes and princesses in movies and read about them in books. They are always dignified, sophisticated, regal. They have crown jewels and golden scepters and they rule their kingdoms with absolute power and authority. What they say goes – no questions asked and no hesitation. And everything they do is interesting. Scandal and lies in a royal family are worthy of a major motion picture, while death and deceit in other lives are just part of an ordinary day. Yes, the title of king brings authority. Authority brings power. Power brings intrigue. And soon all are watching.

This morning we are watching Pilate in his exchange with Jesus. Pilate is an earthy fellow. He knows how the world works. The strong rule the weak; the powerful judge the actions of the not so powerful; status can be used for intimidation, investigation and interrogation. Pilate knows that this weak, beaten man before him is no ruler in his world. Pilate knows that he holds the power of life and death over this prisoner of the Jews. He also knows that this power has been given to him by the chief priests who didn’t want to deal decisively with this intriguing man.

Pilate also knows something about kings. Caesar was to be honored, even worshipped, as supremely powerful. Ultimately, Caesar held the power of life and death over all persons, including Pilate, within his wide realm. Pilate knew that Caesar’s authority rested upon his own shoulders. What he didn’t get was that authority and power of another kind rested on Jesus’ shoulders.

It was easy to miss. During the preceding night, Jesus had been betrayed by Judas and arrested in the garden by soldiers and officers of the chief priest. Simon Peter cut off a soldier’s ear, only to get berated by Jesus. Later on that night he would deny Jesus. Betrayal, blood, denial – sounds like the making of a royal family scandal. Yet, Jesus did not react as one would have expected a king to react. Jesus was bound and taken to the high priests for questioning. In the early morning, Jesus was removed from the house of the high priest Caiaphas and taken to the headquarters of the Roman occupation force for interrogation by the governor of the province of Judea.

And Jesus didn’t shout out that he wanted his advisors and councilors notified, that he wouldn’t say a word until his lawyer was present, that all cameras must be removed. Jesus silently obeyed and was transported around and through the Roman system. So it’s easy to see why Pilate is confused about Jesus’ status as a king. He certainly didn’t look like or react like anyone with power and authority.

But that’s because Jesus’ power and authority are different. His life hasn’t looked like that of a king. If Pilate is trying to find evidence of Jesus being a king, he has his work cut out for him.

• Jesus wasn’t born in the midst of a grand celebration, a prince who would one day take the throne. He wasn’t lifted high for all to see as lion cub Prince Simba’s birth was honored by all of the animal kingdom in the opening scene of The Lion King. Jesus was born in a lowly stable behind an inn with not even a spare room for a pregnant woman and her husband. His first days were not spent in receptions but on the run in the cover of the night.
• Jesus didn’t receive the royal treatment as a child – golden rattles, tutors and nannies watching over him, stories being written about his first day of preschool. No, he ran around causing his own mother to search wildly for him and he had a thing or two to teach his own teachers.
• Jesus didn’t keep company with all the VIPs of the nations and towns. His schedule wasn’t full of appearances and speeches and benefit dinners. Instead he dined spur of the moment with sinners and tax collectors and lepers and fishermen – those at the very bottom of the hierarchy of society, those with whom a king should never have to associate himself.
• Jesus wasn’t the marshall of any special parades … well there was that one, but even then he was riding on the back of a donkey. It wasn’t really a grand entrance.
  

And so Pilate asks, “Are you the king of the Jews?” because he’s heard some of the rumors about his life. Plus, this man is before him and he’s got to figure out what to do with him.

And Jesus replies to Pilate’s question in his typical fashion – with another question: “Why are you asking me about this? Have you heard what the others have been saying?”

Pilate is quick to deny any relation with the Jews. He tries a different question: “What have you done?” Perhaps he thinks he can sort this whole thing out by at least finding out what it is that Jesus has done to cause this uproar.

And Jesus declares “My kingdom is not from here.” The kinds of things you associate with a king are not the things I have done in my life. For I’m not concerned with having jurisdiction over provinces and soldiers. My concerns lie elsewhere. You may think that because I am here in this place I would be ruling here. But that’s not it at all. You see my kingdom is not from here. My people and I may be located here right now, but my kingdom gains it’s power from above, from God my Father.

And in his answer and its expanded meaning we see that Jesus is different than any king Pilate knows and any king we might know, and therefore his kingdom is different also. Jesus’ kingdom exists in the tension – the tension of his kingdom being “already” possible but “not yet” realized; the tension of his kingdom being made strong by its weak and marginalized members; the tension of his kingdom existing with more questions than answers. For all will be reversed in his kingdom by the power of the Word. And one day, this kingdom will be here on earth. One day this kingdom will come in this place in the way that it is in heaven.

And with Christ as King, the weak will become strong, the marginalized and oppressed will be lifted up and truth will reign. With Christ as King, we are all heirs … children of the King … part of the royal family. Like the children this morning, we get to wear a crown, too. And that means we can approach the throne of the king … because Christ’s throne is not one of brute force, high and mighty above the commoners; but of mercy and grace and strength, on exactly the same level as the people.

And all these things sound good, and they are good, but they are far from being normal and safe. Like the four children in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe realize, the king is not always safe. In the book, four children are transported to another world, Narnia, through the back of an old wardrobe; there the children hear about the perpetual winter that exists in Narnia due to the evil White Witch. Only Aslan can put things right; for Aslan is the King; he’s the Lord of the whole wood, the King of the Beasts, and the great lion. The children are excited to hear that someone can stop the White Witch but are frightened by the description of Aslan, the great lion. One child asks, “Then he isn’t safe?” Their host, Mr. Beaver, replies “Safe? Who said anything about being safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you.”

Like the lion Aslan, Christ is good and Christ is not safe; but Christ is King and Christ reigns. And because Christ reigns as a different kind of king over a different kind of kingdom, we are called to be a different kind of people. We get some of the same privileges as the king – a relationship with the Father, a claim as royal heir. But as part of the royal family, we also inherit some responsibilities: serving others, loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us, being salt and light in a world where it’s not always easy to be salt and light … in general, we must enact the ways of the kingdom that is not from here and only give power to Christ.

Because there is only One who reigns in power over all – Jesus the Christ. Remember that as we head into a season of waiting expectantly for Christmas. Remember that it’s not the advertisers or the media or the shopping centers or the best deals or Black Friday that reign supreme. It is Christ and Christ alone.

So, come these next weeks to worship – to sing and praise and lament and pray and be in community with fellow believers as always, but come also, children of the King, to a kingdom that is not from here, a kingdom that is not maintained by the rules of this world; come to see and discover a different kind of King anew, so you may live as a different kind of people.

In the name of the One who reigns in power, forever and ever; Amen.

Why My Life Will Never Be Boring

There was a session meeting at church tonight. An incident in church on Sunday (which I missed because I was still at Continuing Education) led to an intense discussion about proper conduct in church and how to handle those whose behavior is absolutely inappropriate (ie loud cursing during the sermon and the Lord’s Supper).

It was decided that the pastoral staff (which includes myself and the male pastor) and two other male congregation members would be in charge of addressing future outbursts. At this point, a session member asked if she could make a motion to fatten me up first …

Where do I belong?

I have the week off for continuing education – it doesn’t make much sense to me that a seminary student doing an internship gets continuing education leave, but it’s part of my terms of call for my internship, so I’m taking it.

I’m back on the seminary campus and it’s weird.

I don’t belong with my classmates anymore. They are starting to think about what they want to do after graduation and filling out paperwork for searching for a call. Some are starting to get senioritis.

I don’t belong with the class below me yet either. They are in classes I’ve already taken and they still have ords looming before them (I’ve passed all of mine – yeah!). Next year they will be my classmates and we’ll graduate together.

I’m starting to realize that I belong or rather identify more with the class that just graduated, with the people who are in their first calls and figuring things out as they go along. One of the great things about my internship is that I’m treated more like an associate pastor than an intern. And so I’m figuring things out as I go along and get to know these people, this pastor, and this church more and more.

But what is it about this need to belong, to identify with others?

Reflections on being a “Real Life Pastor”

Some delayed reflections (because work and life has been busy lately) …

The pastor was out of the office on vacation from Thursday, October 19th through Monday, October 30th. During this time, there was also no administrative assistant in the office. I was in the office alone and functioning as pastor, secretary, and intern for 12 days.

There wasn’t one particular event that caused a pastoral dilemma; it was deciding how to spend my time when there were so many different things that needed to be done. It was a busy time in terms of building management and contractors. Phone calls, opening doors and gates, finding out about the projects, and being in the office during specific times each day ate up a lot of my time – much more than I would have predicted. It was an unusually busy week in terms of these things, but they were things with which I had to deal and manage and some weeks will be like that.

I was often surprised at how much of my day was already gone after I had only met with or talked to the contractor, answered the messages on the answering machine, and gone through the mail and email. Other normal weekly tasks continued to fill my days: volunteering at the outreach center on Tuesday morning, preparing for Bible Study and leading it on Wednesday evening, working with the Elementary Youth Group on Fridays, tutoring. Plus there were additional meetings those weeks. Add to that planning for worship and putting the bulletin together and I was left with little time for much else. Yet, I also wanted to make some pastoral visits and needed to write a sermon for worship on October 29th. To do both those things, I really needed to get out of the office. However, I felt stuck at the church and unable to get away to do such things. Therefore, I only made one pastoral care visit and wrote much of my sermon on Saturday.

This experience was invaluable and overall I loved it. It was definitely a taste of being a “real life pastor.” I really like being in a church and working as a pastor and this experience provided additional confirmation of my call to congregational ministry. It also made me reflect on how a pastor must continually assess and prioritize the things that need to be done each week. In such a profession, there will always be more to do and more that could be done than will fit in a work week. Time management skills are essential. I believe good boundaries are also a necessity. I could have come in on Thursday (my day off) and gotten some things done and visited some people, but I didn’t. It was tempting, but I had two friends in town who made sure I took the whole day off. I did what I could in 50 hours and the things that remained on my to do list would be addressed the next week.

So, at the end of the 12 days, I still wanted to be a pastor and I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life.

A Halloween Adventure Anecdote

I didn't have any plans for October 31st, so when Mrs. M invited me to dinner on Tuesday evening I accepted. I had been trying to call on Mrs. M for some time, but she's quite busy even though she lives in a retirement community and is in her 90s. I was to meet her at 4:30pm at her apartment. Then we would ride the tram over to the dining hall for 5pm dinner.

I arrived at 4:30 and found her place. I took a quick tour and met the dog before we caught the tram to the dining hall. Upon entering the dining hall, I saw about a dozen people from the church (lots of the older folk in the church live at this particular place). Mrs. M and I had dinner with three others from the church. During dinner, she mentions that there is a Halloween party that evening at 7pm and she would love to have me join her.

(Sidenote: the pastor had been out of the office on vacation for the past 12 days and October 31st was his first day back in the office. It had been a long day of catching up on things. I had only planned on visiting with Mrs. M until 6pm)

However, I figured "why not?" and told Mrs. M that I would stay for the Halloween party. Dinner did end around 6pm. At that time Mrs. M and I went back to her place to walk the dog and visit. I also helped her get into her Halloween costume - a spiderweb pinned to the back of her black sweater.

Now I didn't realize that I would be attending a Halloween party so I didn't have a costume. I had received a pirate's eye patch in a wonderful care package a few days earlier and this would have been the perfect time to wear it, but alas, it sat at home on my dining room table.

Around 7pm, Mrs. M and I catch the tram back to the main building where the party is. The room is all decorated. There is red punch and chocolate dirt desserts. There is a band playing and singing ... there are two members of the band ... they play the accordian and the trumpet ... it is hilarious. There is Halloween bingo and prizes ... it is rather tricky because the squares have such things as one bat, a bat by a pumpkin, or three bats in them ... difficult distinctions for older folk ... there are many false bingo alarms.

I leave the party around 8pm ... it continues until 9pm. I arrive home at my senior citizen condo community which also hosted a Halloween party. Their party is over and they are locking up the clubhouse. I am definitely living in the wrong senior community.

Idols Idols Everywhere

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Acts 17:16-34

I’m not much of a sports fan. I played some sports growing up – basketball for a few years on the city parks and rec team and then in junior high I was on the school basketball and track team. But it was never really my thing. Dance was more my thing and I would consider dance a sport.

Now my younger brothers on the other hand, they were into sports, and still are. They played some basketball and baseball growing up, but mostly they played soccer, lots and lots of soccer. And they just loved and continue to love sports in general – following all the teams, memorizing all sorts of stats on their favorite players, blocking time on Saturday to watch the games.

I definitely can’t compete with either one of my brothers or Todd on that. But I do take an interest in some of the championship series, especially if the hometown team is competing for the top title. I guess I’m what one would call a fair weather fan. But I’m okay with that. And so I’ve been following the Major League Baseball World Series … because the Detroit Tigers were in it. And it was amazing that they were so good this year because in recent years they had done so poorly. I followed the World Series over the last week and a half and I was disappointed Friday night when the St. Louis Cardinals won the series in the fifth game and became the champions.

But I’m over it. I’ve moved on in life and I probably won’t care about Major League Baseball again until next fall and then, only if the Tigers are doing well. Yet for many Americans, the draw of sports does not start and stop so easily. For many Americans sports is an obsession – an idol constructed in the days of youth and pee wee teams and continued into adulthood; an idol that sits at the center of fanatics’ lives and rules schedules and dominates television and is so revered that it is worshipped.

And that idol is just one among many to choose from in today’s culture, for idols are grabbing our attention left and right. There’s the popular show American Idol on television which searches for the next great singer and lots of other shows that some fans follow more closely than their own lives. There’s the lure of academia – the classroom, learning and books – for others. There’s the idol of physical appearance, ability and image. And there’s the idol of high expectations and ideals, probably the idol with which I struggle the most. More idols are being added to the list every day; more images and representations of things and objects that if we are not careful could easily be turned into gods and worshipped.

Why is it that there are so many idols out there? … scattered among our cities and in the marketplace … taking up our time … eating up our money … taking over our lives … I would say it’s because we’re searching, searching for meaning in life, continuing a search that was begun long ago in Athens.

In today’s passage from Acts, Paul stands in the center of the city of Athens, the very heart of pagan culture and the very center of an intellectual university town; and he is unimpressed with what he sees. It is little more than a wasteland full of idols – so many idols that all of them are not even named. And the people of the city that Paul meets are searching, desperately searching for the next great idea and the latest cool thing and the up and coming idol.

And Paul stands in the middle of the crowd and addresses the people. First, flattering them – their impulse to worship is right even if the objects of their worship are wrong. Then, Paul presents the only true recipient of worship – God. He lays out the scandal of faith: unlike all those other gods the people are worshipping, the true God is not passive, only made of stone. The true God is living. And therefore, absolutely nothing deserves to be honored “before God,” as God’s people have been commanded in the First Commandment.

For the God whom Paul proclaims is not just another option for human devotion, not an accommodating God content to be one among many. The God who sent the Christ is still the Holy One of Israel, a jealous deity without rivals, an exclusive lover who tolerates no competition – money, ideals, institutions, sports, television, a jealous God who fiercely judges all idols made by hands or minds of humans.

Because God alone is to be worshipped and praised, honored and served. God alone deserves that level of devotion and enthusiasm. God alone is worthy. For God alone made the world and everything that is in it – the heavens and the earth; the sun, moon and stars; the waters teeming with fish and sea creatures of every kind; the sky swarming with colorful birds and butterflies; the land with its lush vegetation; the living creatures of every kind that creep and crawl along the ground; and us, humanity. The Lord of all creation is indeed worthy to be praised.

And not just because God so carefully crafted the world out of nothing. But because God didn’t stop there. The Lord of all the universe didn’t go away to hide after all that hard work; God began a relationship with humanity and ultimately came to earth as Jesus Christ.
God gave people a hunger for God, so they might grope for God and find God, even though God is never very far away from any one of us. For in God we come to life; in God we are motivated; in God we find meaning.

And as God’s children we gather as the body of Christ – this Sunday and every Sunday; as God’s beloved we gather as the church to worship the only One deserving worship. For the divine is not found in sports teams or the latest book or the highest ideal or the most popular television show – not any of the products of our own cunning and creation. It is found in God alone.

As we disperse we are called to place nothing on so high a pedestal that we are in danger of worshipping it. We can maintain an interest in any of a number of good things without worshipping them. For worship belongs to God alone. As God’s children, we are called to continue our worship beyond the songs and prayers of this morning, continue our worship when we exit the doors of the church at 11:30.

Many of you already do so. Some of you spend a morning or two a week volunteering at Operation Attack. Some of you serve as elders and work on committees to ensure that the work and mission of the church is accomplished. Some of you are committed to praying for the church and its members and friends. Others of you volunteer an hour a week to a child at St. Pete Reads. And still others give back in many unknown ways behind the scenes. God is being worshipped and served in this place. God is good!

As we start to think about the next year in the life of this church, consider how you might be willing to worship and serve God with your time, talent and treasure. Consider how you might think, meditate, remember, esteem, honor, adore, choose, love, desire, fear, trust, hope, delight and rejoice in the Lord our God.

For the Lord alone is indeed worthy to be praised. Amen.

Things I've Learned

Whilst my seminary friends are in the midst of midterms, papers and projects, I thought I would share some of the things I’ve learned thus far from my internship, although I don’t have to put these learnings in any graded form (yeah!).

• Being a pastor at a small church sometimes means being the building manager. This means that I now know some things about heating and cooling systems and their maintenance, pest control, garbage removal, roofing, and generators. It also means that I've spent time with the city inspector.
• When there are mice in the church kitchen, putting all food items in big plastic tubs is a pain, but necessary.
• Congregation members want you in the office so they can talk to you when they call, but they also want to know why you aren’t out “doing something.”
• In a congregation with numerous elderly members, if you’re heard by everyone it doesn’t really matter what you say.
• Having some sort of secretary/administrative assistant makes life much easier. However, since that position at this church has been empty since my arrival, I am now proficient at typing, copying, folding, and stuffing the bulletin; preparing a non-profit mailing; and writing a grant.
  

Things That Are Saving Me

I just finished Barbara Brown Taylor’s Leaving Church. I loved the book; her honesty is always so refreshing to me. In the last chapter, she discusses a question that she asks others and she continues to answer herself: “What is saving your life now?” BBT lists things like teaching school, observing Sabbath, encountering God in others.

Moving to Florida for a year long internship while the rest of my seminary classmates enter their final year of classes has been difficult. But it's getting easier. I'm finally starting to feel settled into my new home and church. And I'm starting to feel at peace about being here. This is due in part to things that are saving my own life right now:

• Dance is saving my life right now. Teaching worship dance to the youth group, dropping by regularly at a worship dance group at a local church, and dancing my own prayers.
• Amazing friends who call, email, and write are saving my life right now.
• My parents’ recent visit is saving my life right now.
• Looking forward to a visit to seminary is saving my life right now.
  
• And a God who continues to be in the big things and the little details is saving my life right now.
  

Moved by the Spirit

It turns out that I preached the sermon I most needed to hear:

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Acts 16:6-15

How do you prepare for a journey or a trip? Are you one of those people who waits until the last minute and throws some things into a bag, hoping you’ve remembered everything, traveling with the philosophy that you can buy or borrow anything you’ve forgotten, or chew a lot of gum if you forgot your toothpaste? Or do you spend some time thinking about where you’re going and what the weather might be like there and the essentials that you’ll need, maybe even making a checklist to ensure that nothing is forgotten? Or do you set off on a long journey without any preparation at all, not even a final destination in mind, open to whatever may happen along the way, knowing that there are few truly essential things in life?

If you are traveling or flying anywhere in today’s world, chances are it’s not the third option. The Transportation Security Administration ensures that you think carefully about what exactly you are placing in your baggage. And if you’re traveling with others, chances are that you have some idea of where you’ll be going. So we plan and we pack and we are guided by space or rules or other people.

But Paul and his companions did not have the TSA to guide their packing or planning. Although, they probably didn’t pack much of anything to take with them on their travels. And they probably hadn’t planned on being part of the early church. So, they made do and found food and shelter along the way as they spread the good news of Jesus Christ. They were motivated and moved by a different source – not the well laid plans, rules and guidelines of another person or organization, but of the Holy Spirit. They had the Holy Spirit as their tour guide.

But the Holy Spirit didn’t lead them on an all-inclusive vacation trip. Their journeys were much more difficult than that – landing them in various prisons or in the middle of riots at times, as they preached the startling news of Jesus Christ’s resurrection and the inclusivity of God. But even beyond the message that some were not ready for, the Holy Spirit didn’t make traveling easy. In fact, sometimes the Holy Spirit blocked Paul and his companions from exactly where they were heading. Paul’s best laid plans were twice overruled in today’s reading as the itinerary is redrawn by the Spirit. First, the group does not speak the word in Asia and then it does not go into Bithynia in Mysia.

So Paul and friends, who have learned to be open to the workings of God in Jew and Gentile, are open to a guide that doesn’t show them where to go, but moves them instead away from specific places. These movements away could have been frustrating. They would have meant more travel – which translates into more walking, more nights on the road before a few nights in the same town, more wondering when the journey would end.

Yet Paul is open to the workings of the Holy Spirit. And Paul remains open to the Holy Spirit. And this time the Holy Spirit comes to Paul in a vision, in a dream in the middle of the night. And this time it’s not another roadblock; this time it’s a command given through the vision of a man from Macedonia, who says: “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” That’s it; short and sweet – the command to come and help. And immediately, immediately the group tried to cross over to Macedonia. Though it wasn’t in the plans and it may not have been the best time of day, or night rather, to travel, immediately the group follows the call and movement of the Spirit.

And so the group ends up in Philippi, a large city in Macedonia. And they remain there for a number of days. Nothing noteworthy happens at first, or at least nothing worth recording. But then Paul and friends gather together on the Sabbath for prayer. And the Holy Spirit is on the move again, because Paul’s group just so happens to head down to the river to pray.

When I read this part of the story, in my mind I begin to see a scene from the 2000 movie starring George Clooney, O Brother, Where Art Thou. Three escaped convicts are around a campfire in the woods when a nearby event arouses their attention. “Down to the River to Pray” is being sung in the background. They see a line of people all dressed in white robes weaving their way through the trees to a river. The escaped convicts who are on the run stand in the woods and watch as a large number are baptized. Two of the convicts are moved by something and run down into the river to be baptized also. They stand out among the crowd, splashing and running into the waters, dirty and smelly from days on the run from the law. But they both merge into the line and are dunked in the water.

And as crazy as it is to consider that movie scene where two rumpled, escaped convicts are baptized in the midst of an orderly group baptism, it is just as crazy to consider what Paul and his companions do down at the river. First, they talk to the women, women – those who were not considered important, but were low on the social scale. A radical step when viewed from the standards of society, but nothing new to those who knew Jesus and his concern for just those people that society shunned.

And then, through the workings of the Holy Spirit, God opens one woman’s heart to Paul and the good news of Jesus Christ. Her name is Lydia and she is baptized right then and there. But not just her; her whole household too. No time needed to ponder it all and consider the option. It was immediate baptism because the Spirit had moved in their hearts. And the Spirit could move in their hearts because they were open to it.

The apostles have opened themselves up to new possibilities. They are traveling on their journey day-to-day, open to where the wind might blow them, open to a transportation guide quite different from the standard. They are open to God the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit isn’t about nice, neat, tidy travel plans. The Holy Spirit isn’t concerned with maintaining equilibrium, having everything balanced. The Holy Spirit is taking them all over the place.

And yet the apostles follow. They trust. They listen and obey. They are willing to be surprised by what the Spirit might do. And the Spirit will do surprising things – a number of them in a few short verses. The Spirit will lead them away from places they were heading toward and the Spirit will speak through a vision to lead them somewhere else. But still, they follow. And then the Spirit leads them to a river and many are baptized. And it seems being moved by the Spirit reaps many rewards.

However, allowing one’s self to be moved by the Holy Spirit isn’t easy. The Holy Spirit travel plan seems pretty discombobulated and unorganized. It may leave us wondering: Is that really what we signed on for when we said “we believe?” Is that really part of our faith today? But, yes it is. It is part of the messiness of being a follower of Jesus Christ. The barriers and rules that hold in world do not hold in the church and do not hold for the Holy Spirit.

And that means the Holy Spirit moves in our lives – guiding and sustaining us, yes, but also pushing and pulling us in new directions, if we are open to it. So how are we open to it? It’s difficult because it’s not something concrete, something that can easily be seen or done. It’s more of a posture of receptiveness. But that doesn’t mean it’s passive. The posture has to be nurtured and given space to develop.

So how do we acquire a posture of receptiveness? We remain in tune with God. We remain open to being pushed and pulled, being tugged here and there, being blocked and called because the Holy Spirit is on the move. And it won’t be any easy thing. The travel to the end destination may look haphazard and chaotic and unbalanced, but the Holy Spirit that came down upon the disciples at Pentecost is not about order.

So keep your eyes, ears, and heart open to the ever mysterious workings of the Holy Spirit in the world today. Be open to being blown in a new direction. Remain open to new experiences. Open yourself to others. Just let the movement begin.

In the name of the One who creates and guides us all; Amen.

An Update

A somewhat random posting of the latest and greatest from my life:

• Could not resolve Mac/PC networking problems in the church office. I knew more about computers than the computer guy that came out to help with this. This is sad. This also means the church bought a new Dell Laptop for me to use. I miss my Mac.
• Joined the Y, which means a couple of mornings this past week I've woken up very sore. Not working out on a regular basis for the summer months will do this to you.
• I've been found out. Yesterday a man from the senior citizen condo community was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I got a knock on my door from the grounds man. Apparently man in the ambulance pointed to my car and said his relatives lived there. After realizing that I was not related to the man in the ambulance, grounds man asks what I'm doing in the condo. I hastily answer that I am staying in the place for a friend, say bye, and shut the door.
• Parents are coming to visit this weekend. This is a really good thing. I'm preaching on Sunday. This is a good thing. My sermon is not done and my parents land in an hour. This is not a good thing. I can't get out what I want to say. This is a really not good thing.