This past week has been one of incredible blessings ~ it is clear I don't deserve them at all ~ but I am truly grateful. It started off playing the various St. Patrick's Day gigs ~ they were some of the sweetest, most emotionally intense and flat-out FUN performances I have ever shared.
Then, for the past two Sundays worship has been very satisfying ~ and transformative ~ and intimate and vulnerable and holy. I got a note from my 86 year old buddy in Florida telling me how moved HE was over last week's worship (he watches our cable access show on the Internet.) That just made my heart sing.
And then, get outta town, some very sacred things have been taking place in our Monday night Play-Fullness gatherings:
+ I began this class before Lent, starting each gathering with a few of my favorite poems. I eventually asked others to bring their poems, too ~ and they did ~ but last week one of the men not only brought in a poem, he also brought us a song he had just written. It was tender beyond words ~ poetic and musical, too ~ about faith and hope and doubt. And when he told us that during his working days he would have NEVER felt safe and loved enough to share something like this song... well, let's just say we all felt blessed.,
+ Tonight ~ a man who has NEVER expressed any public interest in poetry ~ not only brought in a poem filled with fragility and humility, he also spent all week writing a poem for his beloved wife. Seems she has been aching for a poem from him for decades ~ and now he felt encouraged and safe enough to try it ~ so he gave it to her tonight in our class and shared it with all of us, too. Do you have any idea what it sounds like for 15 adults sitting in a circle to be sniffling, wiping away tears of joy and returning thanks to God all at the same time?
Afterwards, I had a chance to check in with my dear daughter.number one.. she is soul food for me. We got caught up on things going on in our respective families. And all of a sudden found ourselves weeping together over the death of a beloved friend from 20 years ago... and talking about the fragility of our own lives... and making plans for a visit after Easter.
For some reason, my life is filled and blessed and very open to the movement of the Spirit these days. Things are tender and vulnerable. Hopeful and deep. Creatively, professionally and personally satisfying. Early in the day, Di and I took our old, old dog out for a walk: it was cold and the wind was waaay too cold for my liking. What's more,ol'Casey lost interest in the walk half way through and had to be pulled along for the last leg. (He's a stubborn old cuss.)
But it was good to be outside ~ with my sweetie ~ walking and thinking about all these blessings. Let's just say, I am one grateful dude as this day comes to a close because I totally don't get why they are here. So, like these visions of johanna, I'll just dig them and give thanks, yes?
So if it is true that my encounter with the Beatles was my musical Pentecost, it would also be true that my first Springsteen concert was like Easter: it raised me from the dead and set me on a new path of living an ever more integrated and joy-filled life. Right out of the gate, the Boss man launched into Born in the USA ~ one of my all-time favorites (that will show up in the "political" side of Springsteen posting yet to come.) But then, a la Van Morrison meets Martha Reeves and the Vandellas at their kick-ass best, it was party time in Detroit and the E Street Band asked to us come Out in the Street.
That show also included a bunch of others that have become favorites over the years including:Rosalita, Sherry Darling, Spirit in the Nightand one of the sexiest, funniest, shake your booty good-time tunes ever:RAMROD.
About 8 years later, I saw the band in Cleveland and they did a long groove onThe E Street Shufflethat is waaay fun to dance to ~ and falls into that other category of extended story/dance grooves. More than 10 years after that they reclaimed the same fun party spirit withGirls in Summer Clothes, Waitin' on a Sunny Day and Mary's Place(that can be just a hoot in concert.)
And last but never least are the remakes that sometimes grace the encores of a Springsteen concert: damn, if they aren't a party unto themselves. He's done a killer mix of Mona/She's the One that is to die for ~ he makes it happen with Quarter to Three ~ his Twist and Shout is pretty righteous ~ but the Boss has come to own something called the Detroit Medley ~ that sometimes includes some Creedence and who knows what else? It is all just flat out PARTY music and it sets your soul free... which is a pretty fine gift to this broken world, yeah?
Ok, it may be a strange journey in some minds to move from pole dancing to prayer (see yesterday's post re: the sultry songs of springsteen), but one of the things I glean from the incarnation is that there is a sacred side to our bodies. And as Norman Wirzaba discusses over and again in his book, Food and Faith, there must be something unique and holy about the fact that God created us all to eat ~ and enjoy the experience of nourishing our physical bodies.
So in my mind, a healthy sensuality is simply part of a sacred spirituality that brings integrity, grace, humility, humor and hope to the inner and outward life of faith. And in addition to sultry songs, Springsteen has a ton or spiritual songs, too that include an assortment of prayers, laments, expressions of gratitude as well as celebrations of faith, hope and love. So, in no particular order ~ except we'll start with the most recent ~ here are some of my favorite Springsteen songs of prayer.
ROCKY GROUND: I think this is a creative blessing that blends genres as well as archival recordings of Alan Lomax. It is a call for God's leaders ~ however you understand that word shepherd~ to rise up and make sure to care for the flock spiritually, politically, emotionally, physically and economically. I particularly like the fact that the Boss stepped into the hip hop arena with confidence and respect ~ using gospel singer Michelle Moore ~ to bring it all home. "I'm a soldier in the army of the Lord... and there's a new day a'coming."
MY CITY OF RUINS: written about his home town but morphed into an ode for NYC after the Twin Towers were destroyed on September 11th, this song starts with a classic old school R and B groove but becomes a gospel prayer/song pleading for God's mercy and strength. Of all the spiritual songs of Springsteen, this is one of the most tender and vulnerable ~ especially the version that aired less than a week after the attacks. I've done this with my bands over the years and it is still as real and vital 10 years running as when he first shared it.
INTO THE FIRE AND THE RISING: from the same album ~ The Rising ~ are set in the context of 9/11 ~ but are not confined to that tragedy. The first creates a chorus of praise to God who inspired the fire fighters ~ and all heroes ~ to turn their faith, hope and love into deeds of action and healing. Springsteen uses these words periodically ~ faith, hope and love ~ which hail from St. Paul's treatise on sacrificial love in I Corinthians 13. They provide one of the deep turning points of Badlandsand are essential to Into the Fire.
And then there is The Rising ~ a resurrection song if ever there was one ~ that owns the tragedy of death and loss but refuses to see the destruction as the end of the story. It requires a vision born of faith ~ not idealism or ideology ~ but faith born of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a secular retelling of the Passion Narrative that kicks ass as the layers of sound build to a cathartic crescendo ~ a rock and roll sing a long "la la la" that lets all kinds of people join in a common language and prayer...
IF I SHOULD FALL BEHIND: Is a primer in community and grace. I also think it is an object lesson in what St. Paul was talking about when he noted we are a body with distinctive gifts that all work to the glory of the whole when blended with respect and care. This version tears me a part. I've done this one, too with various bands and without any explication, people GET how important it is to welcome and weave together the various gifts we each bring to the table.
LAND OF HOPES AND DREAMS: remakes the old Spiritual "This Train" into a true song of grace. In fact, Springsteen captures the promise of God's grace better than the old gospel song OR Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" because on THIS train... ALL the broken are welcome. So are the sinners and wounded and outsiders and all the rest Jesus spoke about in Matthew's gospel when he said, "Whatever you do unto the LEAST of these my sisters and brothers you do unto me." The second half of this song is a complete celebration of an adult gospel of grace... dig it.
REASON TO BELIEVE: from the ancient album Nebraska this is one of the best. It speaks to the insight of the Apostle Paul who says, "now we see as through a glass darkly... later we shall see face to face." Now we act by faith ~ sometimes without a lot of evidence of God's love ~ but we still act faithfully because we trust that someday we shall see face to face. This is a tough song ~ and he's done it in a lot of ways ~ from bluesy lament to ZZ Top boogie. But my favorite came from his solo tour where he totally transformed it like this lament from the swamps of New Jersey...
You probably have your own favorites: these are mine and I hope you like 'em.
So I'm listening to the new Springsteen CD today (whilst cleaning the house) and a few tracks really knock me out ~ but one just grabs me where I live and makes me stop and shake my ass: You've Got It. Damn but it is a fine, fun, sexy love song... and it got me thinking about other sultry Springsteen songs that are so earthy and real. Now, this song ain't for the faint hearted ~ or those uncomfortable with the sensual,ok ~ cuz who would have thunk that Bruce would post a pole dancer in a video? Not me... but damn this song cooks and the closing guitar breaks screams sensuality.
Which made me think of a few other of my favorites ~ because ONE of the many reasons I groove on this guy is that he isn't afraid of good lovin ~ Bruce has consistently sung about the redemptive power he has come to know through being loved and rocked all night long. Here's a lesser known hottie from one of his 1992 solo albums: All or Nothin At All.
And the fun keeps getting steamier, yes? How about his tribute to his lover, friend, muse, partner in crime, music and raising a family: Ms. Patti Scialfa off the MTV so-called Unplugged show? He started off the gig with Red Headed Woman - one of my all time favorites - but did most of the rest of the show electric (except for a killer take on "Thunder Road.") I once did this for my own honey ~ she smiled and tolerated it ~ but she is just as hot as Patti!
Five more ~ in no particular order ~ but all are sweet. Back in the day when the Boss was writing tunes faster than he could record them, he gave one to his old buddy, Southside Johnny of the Asbury Jukes ~ a smokin' soul song called The Fever ~ that became a staple of Southside's live shows. But I'll be damned if Bruce doesn't nail it waaaay hotter...
My first taste of Springsteen sensuality goes back to the Born to Run album when he reworked the Bo-Didlley groove until it became She's the One. OMG that song still grabs me with its sense of longing ~ and the musical tension keeps things unresolved until the sax wails and the feelings explode in total abandon ~ I still stop and just go deep when I hear this.
From The Rising CD is this song called The Fuse - it literally sent shivers up and down my spine the first time I heard it (and still does) - and when I saw them do it in concert, not only did I find myself weeping tears of joy but returning thanks to God for the love I share with Di. Do you have visceral reactions to music? Do some songs blend the spiritual with the sensual for you? Man, this song is hot...
And then two songs: from the 1987 album, Tunnel of Love, a song I want to sing with Di: Tougher than the Rest ~ and the 1992 song from the album of the same name: Human Touch. Both of these songs are sexy, rockin' and totally a blast to perform. I once wrote that one of the blessings of rock and roll was the way it helped us liberate the body from the fears and shame of previous generations ~ and still think this is true. To be sure, given human sin, we've pushed it to degrading and often ugly proportions. But such is the nature of freedom: it must always be married to responsibility.
I remember this song opened the second set of the Tunnel of Love tour: I went the first night with my family - it was my daughter's birthday present - and went back the second night by myself. And I remember thinking, "God, this guy is totally knocked out by this girl (Patti)." And sure as shooting, he was ~ and is ~ and his music celebrates the totality of this love.
Thanks for the blessings, Bruce and keep on rockin cuz dude: YOU'VE got it!
Over the past few days I've been getting some wonderful "British mystery writers" tips from my blogging buddies all over the globe. I am, of course, a total English mystery geek. I not only love the "classics" from Agatha Christie, GK Chesteron, PD James, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Colin Dexter, Ruth Rendell, Anne Perry and Elizabeth George, but am knocked out by some of the new writers including: Ian Rankin, John Harvey, Tana French, Lynda La Plante, Susan Hill and Denise Mina. (I can't leave out their Canadian cousin, Louise Penny, as she is a favorite, too.)
What's more, one of our favorite early evening entertainments is to sip some red wine and watch one of the Masterpiece Mysteryproductions - or their equivalents - on Netflix streaming. (Currently we're wrapping up AMC's, "The Killing" that is edgy and has some great characters.) And in full discloser mode, I can't wait for the season premiere of season five of "Mad Men," but for very different reasons!
So what's the deal? About 20 years ago I went through a "Dirty Harry" phase - damn, but I love the way Clint Eastwood plays that dude - because I needed/wanted to see the good guys win in a world of moral relativity. I was involved in the rough and tumble world of Cleveland Board of Education politics at the time - a place of rapidly shifting sands given all the patronage - so an evening where Dirty Harry growled, "Do you feel lucky today... well, do ya, punk?" did my heart good. But I eventually left that work - mostly for the sake of my own soul - and with it went Dirty Harry. (Truth be told, I still watch those movies from time to time.)
There are at least these ideas floating around ~ and I must admit they all resonate with me on some level.
+ First, mysteries - and British mysteries as distinct from American true crime stories - are both a bit exotic and portray death in a rational way. Americans are terrified of death. We hide from it, sanitize it and are constantly shocked whenever it breaks into our world. Writer James Frey notes:
Death always seems to defy reason. A young girl drowns in a pool. Why didn't the parents have a higher fence? A young boy is killed in a crosswalk. Why weren't there traffic lights? A young mother gets cancer. Must have been something in her diet, too many hamburgers, bad genes, not enough fiber in her breakfast cereal. We're desperate at the deepest psychological level to make sense out of death. Death seems so damn irrational. Ah, but not in a mystery. A mystery makes death rational.
+ Second, the English mystery generally follows a formula that was set in the Sherlock Holmes. PBS outlines their form like this:
The formula Conan Doyle helped establish for the classic English mystery usually involves several predictable elements: a "closed setting" such as an isolated house or a train; a corpse; a small circle of people who are all suspects; and an investigating detective with extraordinary reasoning powers. As each character in the setting begins to suspect the others and the suspense mounts, it comes to light that nearly all had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime. Clues accumulate, and are often revealed to the reader through a narrator like Watson, who is a loyal companion to the brilliant detective. The detective grasps the solution to the crime long before anyone else, and explains it all to the "Watson" at the end.
To my mind, both insights ring true for me: I knowthat there is no rationality to death - in my work I see people one day only to find them dead the next - and my spirituality is built upon living fully in the moment because that is all we have. And yet, at the end of the day, I like to step outside myself for a bit and wander around a world that makes some sense, yes? PD James has said, "Mysteries give us the restoration of order" and that rings true.
As does the second point - albeit with a twist: I think that British mysteries also invite the reader into an awareness that even the best of us are complicated and even sometimes profoundly broken souls. And that this truth is not always apparent on the surface. Think of the grizzly murder inside a beautiful home. Or the complexities raging through DI Rebus as he compromises with the crime boss of Edinburgh whom he hates to accomplish a higher good. Or the cocaine obsession of Sherlock Holmes. Or the inner terror Detective Cassie Maddox has to face down in pursuit of her worst nightmare. Or the ever nuanced way Louise Penny uncovers the shadow side of even our favorite characters in the Inspector Gamache novels.
In other words, what you see is NOT always what you get. Judge not lest ye be judged, yes? Together this suggests yet one more paradox: an aching for order amidst the chaos living alongside an awareness that the darkness is always woven into the light of our human experience. No wonder I love St. Paul: now we see as through a glass darkly - only later shall we see face to face.
Richard Rohr spoke to this in another way in this morning's reflection on a spirituality of descent that also rings true to me:
The spirituality behind the Twelve-Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous is a “low Church” approach to evangelization and healing that is probably our only hope in a suffering world of six-and-a-half billion people.
Our suffering is psychological, relational and addictive: the suffering of people who are comfortable on the outside but oppressed and empty within. It is a crisis of meaninglessness, which leads us to try to find meaning in possessions, perks, prestige, and power, which are always outside of the self. It doesn’t work. So we turn to ingesting food, drink or drugs, and we become mass consumers to fill the empty hole within us.
The Twelve-Step Program walks us back out of our addictive society. Like all steps toward truth and Spirit, it leads us downward. Bill Wilson and his A.A. movement have shown us that the real power is when we no longer seek, need, or abuse outer power because we have found real power within. They rightly call it our “Higher Power.”
I am grateful to rest in the love of God even when I don't always grasp the magnitude of that love. And I sense a blessing in the mystries, too that give me a chance to wrestle with my shadows in a playfull way. And now it is time to try to impose some more order on my kitchen - and bathrooms - and study... and then finish up the day with another mystery.
Today I HAD to clean the kitchen. It was a total wreck - mostly because when given the choice I ALWAYS opt for the most fun thing to do. And it had been a busy week for me. There were Holy Week liturgies to finish, Irish music gigs to play, books to read, music to listen to and some TV dramas to watch with my honey. None of which boded well for this year's "Good House-keeping award." So, after breakfast I devoted some serious time to clearing the counters of nasty, dirty dishes. And I'll spend the better part of the day tomorrow cleaning the rest of the house, too.
Later, as I was taking a short nap, I started to think to myself, "Man, you are just lazy... cuz this place is a dump!" But that really isn't the truth. (Well, this place IS currently a dump but...) I you would ask most folk who know me if lazy was part of my identity, they would laugh, shake their heads and say, "absolutely not." In just the last few weeks alone I've read and/or started the following books:
+ Food and Faith: a theology of eating by Norman Wirzba + Ravished by Beauty (a look at nature and beauty in the works of John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards) by Belden Lane + Case Histories by Kate Atkinson + A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell + The Dead Lie Down by Sophie Hannah + The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan + A Gate at the Stairsby Lorrie Morris + The Last Sultan by Robert Greenleaf + A Cross in Our Context by Douglas John Hall
What's more, last week I played four back to back Irish music gigs in three days, did a complicated funeral, wrote liturgies for Good Friday, Maundy Thursday and Palm Sunday, visited some folk in their homes, shared a few pastoral conversations, led public worship and played another Irish gig last night. So, lazy doesn't exactly cut it...
But my kitchen was still a wreck, yes? And given the choice, I would go for sitting on the deck in the sun sipping good tea while reading the NT Times - or listening to the new Springsteen CD - to getting the dishes washed. Or unpacking my suitcase from last month's trip to Nashville. Or raking the debris from the yard now that an early spring has arrived. Enter the archetype of the hedonist...
+ Oh yeah there are other archetypes at work in my psyche - Father, King, Priest and more - but there is no dobut that I love the sensual on every level.
+ Hence some of my undisciplined choices... and clutter.. and our trashed kitchen.
So, while thinking about all of this, a Neil Young song came to mind...
In another important recent book, The Play-Full Life: Slowing Down and Seeking Peace (Jaco Hamman), I've wrestled with what happens when the sensual is not balanced with the responsible: a mess emerges in so many ways. But contrary to what so much of my earlier religious training might suggest, these days I'm willing to live with a lot of the mess because at this point in my life, I wouldn't trade my full, rich, musical, prayerful, loving, humorous and sensual life for all clean kitchens in creation. (Di suggested another song and I think it cuts true, too along with my man Dylan's "Leopard-skin Pill Box Hat, yeah?!))
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Made me thing of the great moral theologian, Erma Bombeck, who wrote this after being told she would soon die of cancer in something called, "My Regrets" - me, too sister: to hell with clean kitchens!
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute.look at it and really see it .. live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!
Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what
Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us
Last week, while playing a series of St. Patrick's day gigs, I did a kick-ass version of Van Morrison's "Gloria" a la Them as part of my ode to the boys of Belfast soul. What a ton of fun! It was a little bit Patti Smith, too I must confess...
Tonight we play our last Irish gig for the season~ and then it is time for a total immersion in the music for Good Friday ~ and I can't wait. So tonight feels a little lit Mary Oliver's poem "We Shake with Joy" to me:
We shake with joy, we shake with grief. What a time they have, these two housed as they are in the same body.
About a month ago, at the Jazz and Liturgy workshop in Nashville, we encountered a participant who... well, let's say not only loved and lived to dominate the conversations, but also held no ambiguity about the correctness of his opinions. ALL his opinions - the big ones, the important ones, the stupid ones, the irrelevant ones and everything in-between. "Ok," I thought, "been there, done that... and I'm not really into being bullied at a spirituality and music conference." So, with a measure of tenderness - and just a bit of my own bravado (I'm sure) - I periodically challenged the most egregious of his tirades.
The one that started it all, however, was the pronouncement that not only did he HATE all poetry, but that the men in his church did, too. (Never mind that he tended towards biblicism - and as one of my mates said, "How does that jive with... um.. the Psalms?") Today, my dear heart sent me this by W.S. Merwin called, "Why Some People Do Not Read Poetry." Because they already know that it means
stopping and without stopping they know that
beyond stopping it will mean listening
listening without hearing and maybe
then hearing without hearing and what would
they hear then what good would it be to them
like some small animal crossing the road
suddenly there but not seeming to move
at night and they are late and may be on
the wrong road over the mountain with all
the others asleep and not hitting it
that time as though forgetting it again
Now here's the deal: I get that most American men have not been trained to like waiting - or listening - or being intuitive. I know from first hand experience that to be successful as an American man means to bury your feelings - or else have the shit beaten out of you physically and emotionally - so that we only grasp anger and fear. But the church doesn't have to cave in to the status quo and sacralize this scarification of the soul, right?
I KNOW men in church who ache to be set free from this wound. Every week I am with men - young, old and in-between - who weep when they are given permission in a safe and loving environment to own how hard it is to be a man. What's more, I actually felt a deep grief in my chest whenever my conference mate blathered on in his over-the-top, king-of-the-mountain, I-take-pride-in-my-insensitivity way.
All I could hear was Jesus whispering: come unto me all ye who are tired and heavy laden and I will give you... rest. Damn - so many of us men, both women and men, need a rest - some connection with the Lord's unforced rhythms of grace, yeah? In what is one of my favorite Robert Bly poems, "The Russian," he puts it like this:
"The Russians had few doctors on the front line. My father's job was this: after the battle Was over, he'd walk among the men hit, Sit down and ask, 'Would you like to die on your Own in a few hours, or should I finish it?' Most said, 'Don't leave me.' The two would have A cigarette. He'd take out his small notebook - We had no dogtags, you know - and write the man's Name down, his wife's, his children, his address, and what He wanted to say. When the cigarette was done, The soldier would turn his head to the side. My father Finished off four hundred men that way during the war. He never went crazy. They were his people.
He came to Toronto. My father in the summers Would stand on the lawn with a hose, watering The grass that way. It took a long time. He'd talk To the moon, to the wind. 'I can you you growing' - He'd say to the grass. 'We come and go. We're no different from each other. We are all Part of something. We have a home.' When I was thirteen, I said, "Dad, do you know they've invented sprinklers Now?' He went on watering the grass. 'This is my life. Just shut up if you don't understand it.'"
NOTE: Here are my worship notes for Sunday, March 25, 2012 the Fifth Sunday of Lent. If you are in town, please join us @ 10:30 am.
There is an intimate connection between God’s Holy Spirit and authentic human freedom – and most of the time this scares us to death. I’m not kidding – it terrifies and bewilders most of us – because we cannot control the Holy Spirit.Sometimes she comes to us like a lover with a gentle and tantalizing promise of renewal.Sometimes she comes like an explosion of dynamite or tongues of fire that shock us out of our doldrums and clearly set before us the ways of life and death.
And sometimes she comes as that still small voice that invites us to let God heal and transform and lead our lives from the inside out:
Listen carefully Jesus said: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.
As I hope you have discerned by now, today we’re going to talk about God’s Holy Spirit – or the Spirit of holiness in our lives – and what she might mean for 21st century people of faith.Over the years, it has become clear to me that most people who come into our tradition don’t know a great deal about the Spirit even though the Spirit has come to them from time to time with blessings and warnings.For most of us, there seems to be a great deal of ambiguity – and outright fear – at work when it comes to the Holy Spirit.Theologian, Roger Shinn, has noted that:
In a managerial-minded society, where we have invented new disciplines of crisis management and risk management, it has become uncomfortable for many of us to experience a Holy Spirit we cannot control… after all, our American society, especially in its so-called ‘respectable’ forms, tends to distrust emotional freedom – especially in religion.And sadly that often creates a condition where we are so emotionally inhibited that we deprive ourselves of authentic human experience and shut ourselves off to the Spirit of the Lord.So much so that we have crowded religious emotion out of many of our churches and into sects and cults… that are now filled with our young people who are starving to cultivate their inner and spiritual lives in freedom…
Do you know the old story about the little old Pentecostal woman who wanders into one of our Congregational churches in Boston?It’s one of our tall steeple, blue-blooded churches – build in a big and impressive way by the captains of industry for God’s elite – and this little old soul wanders in just as the opening hymn begins.Somehow, she eludes the head usher and heads for the center pew right up in the front of the Sanctuary.
And as the morning prayers begin, she carries on a dialogue with the liturgist saying:Yes, yes Lord, help them… and bless them.And when the next hymn begins she starts to clap her hands on the offbeat.And when the preacher starts to read his sermon, she calls out, “Oh help him, Holy Spirit, help him.”
Well, that prompts the head usher to rush over to her side and whisper loudly, “Madame, WHAT in God’s name do you think you are doing?”She looks up and says humbly, “Why I’m just getting me some religion, brother.”To which he replies:“Well, PLEASE, madam, PLEASE don’t do that here!”There is a reason, my friends, why sometimes we have been known as God’s frozen chosen, right?
But if you know anything at all about God’s Spirit in the Bible you know that there is nothing frozen or stifling about the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Lord’s people:the Spirit is wild and mysterious – powerful and gentle – liberating, inspirational and challenging all at the same time.What’s more, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit blows where she will – we are not her master – for the Spirit is like the wind:we can feel it and know it is real and come to trust it, but we can never see or control it.
And that is because most of the time the Spirit of the Lord is sent to us to create community and strengthen the presence of God in our lives.As we say in the United Church of Christ:God bestows upon us the Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ and binding together in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues and races.
Did you get that?
·The Spirit comes to us to create community – covenant – for faithful people.
·And the Spirit comes to renew and transform each and all of us with the presence of Jesus Christ.
I love the words of the prophet Jeremiah who said as much in today’s text:Be ready – the time is coming – when by my Spirit I will make a brand-new covenant with God’s people. It won't be a repeat of the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt… it will be a new covenant… for by the Spirit I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people…They will then know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. And I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them… and forget that they ever sinned!
So here’s what I want to try to do this morning:First, let’s do a quick survey of 6 Essential Holy Spirit stories in the Bible so that you get a USA Today overview of what the Spirit looks like and does in action.And second, let’s also look at what we do in worship together to see how this, too, can be a place to receive and welcome the Spirit.
+ Is that reasonably cleare? Are you with me?
+ Two goals:the Top Six Essential Holy Spirit stories in the Bible and the Seven places in worship you might encounter the Spirit.
And let’s do it like they do on Letterman – counting backwards – so that we wind up with the Number One story about the Holy Spirit in the Bible.The number six story in the Bible about the Holy Spirit comes from…
·Ezekiel 37 and the valley of the dry bones (read parts of the text)
·Notice that it was the Spirit that brought all things dead back to life and it was the Spirit – not the prophet – who created renewal and hope for God’s people.
How about the number five story of the Holy Spirit in the Bible?
·Isaiah 61 – the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring glad tidings to the poor… and release of all who are oppressed…
·This is, of course, the text Jesus used to inaugurate his public ministry, too – and that brings us to the number four story of the Holy Spirit in the Bible:Luke 4 (read the text)
Do you see the connections here – how Ezekiel and Isaiah speak and inform what Jesus does – all by the Spirit?Ok, now here’s number three… St. Paul’s insight about the Spirit in I Corinthians 13 – the Holy Spirit empowers and impels us to love one another like Jesus – rather than wallow in selfishness.He writes that all of us have been given gifts and blessings by the Holy Spirit – but the greatest of these is love
Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, but keeps going to the end.
And now we’re ready for the number two – and number one – essential stories in the Bible about the Holy Spirit:
·Number wo is the opening chapter of St. John’s gospel:In the beginning was the Word – and the Word was with God and the Word was God – and at just the right time by the Spirit of God the Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of truth and grace
·And number one – from the book of Genesis – the inspiration from which St. John drew his insights – is…:In the beginning, there was God – nothing but God. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.God spoke and gave us the word: "Light!" And light appeared. God saw that light was good and separated light from dark. God named the light Day, he named the dark Night. It was evening, it was morning—
Six biblical stories – fired off in popcorn fashion – about the presence and importance of the Holy Spirit: What did you hear in this collection of stories?Any insights?Or questions?
Now let me suggest to you that every Sunday morning when you come to worship there are at least 7 places that have been time-tested over the years to serve as “thin places” where if you are open enough to drop your defenses you could let this very same Holy Spirit speak to you.And love you from the inside out. And transform you.
And I’m talking about the very same Spirit that brought the dry bones to life – that inspired Christ’s ministry – and the creation of the world and a transforming love.So here’s what the spiritual masters have suggested about where we might meet and experience the Holy Spirit in worship.
First in the opening words and music of worship – it is a centering time – a time to let go and start to rest.The opening music is not intended to be background music for our conversations, right?Rather it is to help us slow down and open our hearts so that maybe we hear Jesus say:come unto me all ye who are tired and heavy laden and I will give you rest…
Second is during the contemplative prayers that take place early in worship.Do you know what I mean by contemplative?
In the truest sense, contemplation asks us to take a long, loving look at what is real:in our lives, in our world and in our relationship with Christ.So we use words – and silence – and song to focus our attention. Most modern people have what the Buddhists call “monkey mind” – our thoughts jump all over the place faster than a New York second.So, this part of worship gives us a short time to be still so that we can know God is god.
Third there is our time of seeing and touching and sharing in community.We make a circle and hold hands – we practice being together – and seeing one another and the face of Christ among us.And often we share prayers and joys and concerns – any ideas how this experience opens us to the Spirit?How about love? Or compassion?Or trust?
The fourth element of worship that creates a thin place where we can meet and hear the Spirit speaking to us personally and as a faith community is…. in the scriptures and my reflections.Here we both connect to tradition and we use our minds to discern what God’s word is saying to us for this moment in time.
So far I’ve noted that we can be open to the Spirit in our centering music in the centering start of worship, the contemplative prayers, the community sharing as well as the reading and reflection on Scripture.And there are three other “thin places” for those who are open…
Fifth is found in returning gifts in gratitude to support the mission and ministry of this community.Sharing gets us outside of our comfort zone.It invites us to return to God what began with God – the offering is actually an act of prayer and trust and commitment – that connects us to acts of love and compassion and justice all over the world.
Sixth is the charge to serve others in the world once you leave worship.Sometimes at the close of worship there is a blessing – sometimes there is a homework assignment – but always worship ends with the words:the Celebration has ended, let the Service begin!Did you know that?
And the seventh place you might meet and be touched by the Holy Spirit is… in the fellowship or so-called coffee hour.New friends and guest are often uncomfortable to come into the parlor because it takes a lot of courage to hang with people you don’t know.And while we old-timers can always be better about welcoming and noticing and speaking with you, it is still challenging. But here’s what can happen if you try it – and it works:
·You can start to build relationships with people who are learning to love God just like you.
·And you can make play dates for your children – or watch children and adults do the Irish jig like we did last week – or meet and talk with those who shared music during worship.
So, if you’ve never come over to the parlor after worship for some refreshments and conversation… maybe today is the day? How about this:maybe an old-timer could INVITE one of our new friends to the party? How Christ-like and Spirit-filled is that?
Each of these moments in worship – centering music, contemplative prayer, sharing and touching in community, listening and reflecting on the scriptures, giving gifts to support the ministries, serving the wider community and coming to the table of love during fellowship hour – are time-tested ways to help you meet the Holy Spirit. There are tons of other ways, too – and I’m not suggesting that worship has a monopoly on God’s Holy Spirit.
I mean Jesus was clear: the Spirit always blows where she will – and is available to us beyond Sunday morning, too.But never forget that she is also right here among us waiting to make us whole and holy – and this is something you can count on in an uncertain world.
Look: the human condition NEEDS the Spirit – the Spirit of comfort and healing – the Spirit of hope and renewal. The Apostle Paul understood 2000 years ago something we still need to grasp today:we can’t live deeply in God’s love all by ourselves.We need help. We need the Spirit.That’s why he wrote:
The moment we get tired in our waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along.And if we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter: She does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs and our aching groans. The Spirit knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our condition, and keeps us present before God always…
So here is the good news, beloved:God’s Spirit NEVER gives up… she is always coming to set us free – and is always waiting to meet us just where we are - even in in worship! I pray that this truth brings you a sense of Christ's comfort so that you might be open her whenever and however she touches your heart.
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