Responding to the Presence of the Spirit

In my last blog I talked about how we might be aware of where the Spirit is present in the world. So what do we do then when we witness the presence of the Spirit - how do we respond? Do we rush in full force, "guns blazing" as it were with the Gospel, to somehow overwhelm the person becoming aware of the working of the Spirit in their life?

I think we take too many cues from the religious establishment in responding to our witnessing the presence of the Spirit. If a farmer plants a crop and begins to witness shoots coming through the ground, the farmer does not run out there with a harvester in order to gather a harvest - rather the farmer waters the soil, weeds the earth, nurtures the shoot - so that it might continue to grow in a healthy manner.

So much of our response to witnessing the Spirit is to run at people with a harvester with the result being that we uproot the work that the Spirit is just beginning to do in a person's life - with the result being that we uproot the Spirit in that person's life.

I think we need to take a cue from Jesus.

Jesus taught quite a bit in parables - clear messages, but with hidden meanings, meanings which took some time for reflection to begin to understand, meanings which required an openness to the Spirit of God to grasp. Most of these parables were about the kingdom or reign of God.

For example, he talked about sowing a mustard seed into the soil. I am not sure how important a crop it was in Jesus' day, but it seems to me that it was a crop that did not require much attention - plant it, let it take root, and watch it grow from a wee tiny seed into a large shrub in which birds could nest. Also, the woman baking bread, put yeast into her bread, expecting the yeast to work through the dough - her focus however was not so much on the yeast but on baking the bread - the yeast just kind of had to do its job on its own.

So to the working of the Spirit - like mustard seed or yeast, the Spirit works under the surface, somewhat unbeknown to our other purposes - so then it seems our response to becoming aware of the Spirit is not to rush in full force, but rather come alongside for us to listen to the person in whom the Spirit is working, to gain some insight into what the Spirit is doing, so that the Spirit can invite us into a relationship with a particular person in order for us to not trumpet our agenda, but for us to be of use to the Spirit in that person's life as the Spirit directs.

I am not all that sure of what we are to say or do, except to somehow be present to the Spirit, present to the person - in order to be, perhaps like the farmer, to water, weed, cultivate - so that the Spirit can produce the fruit the Spirit desires. This I believe entails a ministry of responding, which requires being there, listening, etc., rather than trying to insert our own meaning, direction in the encounter. The Spirit draws us in to assist the Spirit, not to take over. So often we just want to take over.

Jesus often responded in such a similar way - when the woman who was ill for years just wanted to touch his cloak and hopefully to be healed, his response was "who touched me?" In her touching she encountered the presence of the Spirit and in responding to her Jesus was open to discover what was going on in her life, her mind, etc. There are other examples - maybe we can find them together.

What I am learning is that I need to be more open to responding to where I see the Spirit's presence, rather than taking it as an opportunity to rush in and crowd out the whisper with which the Spirit is speaking in a person's life. Perhaps the first step in this is my needing to listen more - for me to become aware of how I am to be open to the Spirit so that I can even become more aware of the presence of the Spirit in the world.

August Rush, Hearing Music - Hearing Life

My family and I caught a movie on Thanksgiving Day. August Rush is a great metaphor for hearing the music, hearing the life that is all around us and our lives being the instruments through which that music, through which life, is played.

When I think about the way we approach God and life, the way we try to do good for others through ministry, I think we miss a lot -- we don't have the ears to hear the music and rhythms of life that are all around us.

Instead, what we too often do in life and in ministry is that we respond to the discord, the disharmony, rather than the rhythms of the music of life, the rhythms of the music of the Spirit of God. In Matthew's gospel, Jesus teaches his followers to "seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness." What does this mean? I believe it means to seek first the rhythms of God's Story, God's Vision, the music of life that God is playing everyday as God is active in the world through God's Spirit.

Do we hear it? Do we hear the music the Spirit is playing?

In ministry, in trying to be there to help other people, too often we listen to the discord, the pain in their lives and try to help them by trying to do something with that dissonance. But what is this dissonance? If it is an incapability of hearing and responding to the music of life, then do we help them by "making songs" out of these discordant notes. Or is ministry helping others hear the music, catch the rhythms that bring life? Is ministry not trying to do something with the pain in our lives, but helping others hear the music that can heal the pain?

Are we not called to hear the music of the Spirit in the world? Do we help others, by hearing the rhythm, the music of life, the rhythm of what God is doing in the world -- and begin to play this music, the music of life? This music -- which we ourselves begin to hear with our ears, our souls, our lives -- which we then begin to play (do ministry), does it help people hear, notice the rhythm of life, of God's presence all around them. As those we seek to help begin to hear the rhythm of life that God is "playing" they are given the opportunity to begin to re-tune their lives in harmony with a different rhythm -- a rhythm that is filled with the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God.

So ministry is not listening to "needs" and responding to those needs, but listening to the rhythm of God in life, learning to play that music. As a result by focusing on this music, we and others are reshaped, re-tuned in ways that enable our lives to play the music of life in new, fresh ways. If you take a look at Jesus' ministry on earth, this is what he did. He did not play his own music, nor try to respond to the disharmony of the pain around him. No, and he states this on numerous occasions -- "I do what I see my Father doing and I say what I hear my Father saying." Jesus' ministry brought life to others as he helped them hear and respond to the music of life that comes out of heart and rhythm of God's love for humanity and what God is doing in the world to draw humanity into a living relationship with himself.

Repentance, then, is an action where we yield ourselves to the music of God, the rhythm of God, the Story and Vision of God in our lives. It is an embracing of life. It is opening up our ears, our souls, our lives to hear the music that God is playing to bring joy and wholeness to us and to those with whom we share our lives.