Did anyone watch the Royal wedding
yesterday? Beautiful.
Thoughts on Michael Curry's sermon?
WHOOSH! Am I right? What joy and passion that man has when he speaks about the
power of God - the power of love - and the possibility for love in the world.
Now, I've seen PB Curry preach a few
times, and have had conversations with him. Based on my experiences, I can tell
you: he was actually a bit subdued yesterday. Michael Curry LOVES God. He loves
ministry. He lives in the reality of the power of the Spirit!
And his sermon reflected that love. He
was animated, he was passionate, his commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ
is undeniable.
And... no one shrugged off his message,
or his person, as though he were drunk.
Because
they knew he was not. They knew that this man was speaking truth. And they knew
that he was not the only one in that beautiful space who is full of that
passion.
Though that passion may look
differently for each of us, depending on our traditions, our history, our
expectations - yesterday highlighted that we are called to a shared ministry, a
unity in diversity.
We saw the choristers of St George's
sing alongside a gospel choir: different tones, different styles, different
hymns: but full of the same desire to praise God.
We saw people praying: eyes open or
closed, standing and sitting, aloud or silent: but full of the same desire to
praise God.
We saw people wearing a variety of
outfits: the royals, formal in fabulous hats, the assembled crowds adorned with
bunting and streamers; the classical cellist wearing funky socks. Closer to
home I'd guess I'm not the only one who watched wearing PJs. Yet: in the midst
of celebration, we, around the world, were all full of the same desire to
praise God.
The analogies are numerous: the message
is the same: in the midst of difference, there is a unified desire to praise
God!
And that desire is fuelled by the gift
of the Spirit. The Spirit does not want us to be uniform: we're not all meant
to be doing the same things, the same ways, in the same voice. Instead, the
Spirit blows among us all to empower us to find and know OUR voice. OUR
ministry. OUR engagement with God's world.
This is the Spirit that comes to us: as
a dove, as a flame, as a violent rushing wind form heaven. This is the Spirit
that fills all of our dwelling places and invites us to go into the world to
fulfill our desire to praise God.
This is the Spirit that we know of form
the prophets - which will be poured upon us all! Giving us prophesies, and
visions, and dreams. These are not the dreams of the nighttime: those moments
where we wake up truly believing we've been paddling a spaghetti canoe with
Napoleon. These are not the ballerina hippos of Disney. No - these dreams are
the waking passions and the ideas that we implement to make them a reality: "I
had a dream," said Martin Luther King. "Imagine a world remade by
love," preached Michael Curry.
My prayer is this: imagine what is
possible to bring love and light and joy into the world today. Imagine what YOU
can do to make the presence of the Spirit known and embraced in your world,
today. Imagine - dream - delight! - in how the Spirit will move you further
into love of God and love of neighbour: if you'll let yourself be moved.
Because the Spirit moves. I believe
it's intentional that we perceive the movement of the Spirit in ways of
profound change: a violent wind rushing from heaven. A wind that can clear the
dust, or stir it up, that can take away, that can dump something unexpectedly
in front of us. A fire, the tongues burning away the chaff, the waste,
providing heat and light.
With earthly wind and fire, we realise
that they can change the landscape, that can re-arrange how the world looks,
they can severely alter that space at that time. We do our best to control
them: but there are times when they are overwhelming - and things may not go as
we expect or are prepared for.
The Spirit is like this. When she
blows, it can be a gentle breeze to offer refreshment to those who need it, or
it can be a staggering gust that will knock things down for those called to
re-imagine a place. She can burn bringing warmth like a fireplace on a cool
evening, or like a house engulfed, which necessitates new building.
The Spirit will be where the Spirit
will be - she will move where she will move. We cannot control where or when
the Spirit is moving to and through us; but we can ready our hearts and minds
to receive this power, this presence. There's a southern saying that a good
wind will "blow the stink off you!" - and that's what the Spirit does
for us.
With Holy compassion, when we let her,
the Spirit blows away our complacency, our apathy, our indifference - and she
blows in new possibilities, new joys, new imaginings.
She burns off our anger, our
intolerance, our selfishness; and she fires up our passions, our desire for
justice, our love.
So I pray that the Spirit will come.
Come, Holy Spirit, COME! Come to each of us; that we will receive you! Prepare
our hearts to embrace the Spirit as we feel it's power in our lives.
May we speak in the beautiful tongue
that God gave us! Speak in the language of your peers. Speak in the way that
God has empowered you to share the good news: whatever that looks like! For
some, it is leading prayers, for others through music ministry, for others in
the creation of dignity kits or serving at the Homeless breakfast.
So. How do YOU speak of God? What is
your language of divine love? How does your life show the world the power of
the Spirit within you?
Use your voice: it's the medium that
God gave you to praise God.
Bring to fruition your dream: it's the
way God is calling you into the world in service.
Delight in the power of the Spirit:
she's upon you - upon all of us - moving us ever-closer to the source of the
power of love.
May God bless you with the gift of the
Holy Spirit: the life-changing spirit that blows us into action, that fires us
up for ministry, that gives us the words and way to proclaim the Good News. May
God overwhelm us with love, and may we take that love into the world.
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