Luke 1:39-57 The Holy Spirit in Community

 

Observation: Today is the commemoration of Mary's visit to Elizabeth. When Mary finds out she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and be the mother of the Son of God, the first thing she does is go to Judea--a long journey from rural Galilee--to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who has also become pregnant under miraculous circumstances. Elizabeth is "filled with the Holy Spirit" the moment she hears Mary's greeting. Her unborn baby jumps. Elizabeth exclaims, "Blessed are you among women!" And Mary sings a song of God's liberation, humbling the mighty and lifting up the lowly. 

Okay, I admit, my interpretation of this story is maybe a little peculiar, but I think there's some evidence to back it up, and I think it's relevant to our lives today, so here goes. 

Traditionally, we assume that when the angel Gabriel comes to visit Mary and says "you will conceive and bear a son", and "The Holy Spirit will come upon you," that she conceives immediately after that, alone in her home in Nazareth. The Holy Spirit comes to her while she's by herself, right when she says, "Let it be with me according to your word." But the text of Luke 1 does not say that. In fact, Luke does not narrate the precise moment when Mary conceives. Instead, Luke fast forwards to the visitation, when Mary and Elizabeth are together, and sure enough, here's the first appearance of...drumroll please...the Holy Spirit. Do you see where I'm going with this? All in one moment, baby John jumps, Elizabeth shouts, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb," and Mary begins to sing a song of praise and freedom. Is it possible that the Holy Spirit waits until Mary is in a safe place, with a family member she trusts, and that Jesus is actually conceived, not in Nazareth, but in Judea? I believe that is a possible interpretation. 

Application: Maybe you find my theory odd, but I honestly do think it matters for our daily faith, and here's why. As far as I know, there is no point in the Bible where the Holy Spirit comes upon someone when they are one hundred percent alone. Invariably, a visitation from the Holy Spirit comes upon a community--at least a couple of people together. That's how God tends to work. Not just on isolated individuals, but on groups. Could the Holy Spirit have made an exception in Mary's case? Sure. God can do whatever God wants. And strictly speaking, once Mary conceives, she's not alone anyway. But even if so, it seems this profound moment would be the exception to prove the rule. If we need the Spirit, if we are calling upon the Spirit, if we expect the Spirit, we should expect it together. Certainly the early church thought so. That's why they followed Jesus' command to stick together in Jerusalem after he ascended. That's why it's important for Christians to stick together now. 

Prayer: Holy Spirit, come to us. Not to me, but to US, as we pray, worship and serve your world together. Amen.  

Revelation 21:15-22, "Resistance is Futile" ;-)

 

Observation: The end of John's apocalypse--a mystic vision from God--includes the holy city, the New Jerusalem, descending from heaven so that God and humankind can dwell together. John is pretty specific about measurements for this city. Twelve gates, adorned by twelve precious stones, golden streets, and a total measurement of about 1400 miles on each side (hence, Star Trek fans will notice its similarity to a "Borg cube.") Yet even in this gigantic city, one thing is missing: there's no temple, because in this city, closeness to God is a given, anywhere you go. The temple is God. 

Application: Just as with many verses from Revelation, you can go down all sorts of rabbit holes if you try to take it literally. You could plot out what water, sewer, and electricity would need to be for such a facility, get with some urban planners, and predict the cost of construction and predicted population. That's one way to resist what the text is really trying to say to us. 

You could also do a deep dive into the symbolism, talk about the precious stones (which happen to be the same ones on the high preist's breastplate in the Old Testament, which means the city itself is a temple!) or other details of the text. That might yield some intellectual insights, but it might also distance you from the meaning of the text for our hearts. Another way of resisting the meaning. 

The best way to stop "resisting" the meaning of this text, for me, is to just ask: what is God saying to me in the midst of this? And to that, the answer is simple. "I want to be close to you." God's desire is to live with us, in such a way that there aren't any divisions between the holy and the common, between the people we wish we could be and the people we know we are. There won't be temples or churches, where we set aside a little of our time, talent and treasure for a little of our week. We will live together with the one who created us and saved us. It may not look like a "Borg cube", and it may not be solid gold, but it will be deeply meaningful and rewarding. It will be life as God meant it to be. 

Prayer: God, sometimes I use my mind to take a step back, and resist hearing what you have to say to my heart. Help me take a break from that today. Amen. 

Acts 11:27-30 Dwelling Together in Unity

Observation: In a time of famine, the church in Antioch (Paul's home church) undertakes the first large scale relief effort to benefit Christians in Judea, where this whole movement started. Christians in this time share a close bond, which in that time was socially similar to kinship. Much of their property was held in common. Caring for members in the community was a high priority at a time when there was no social safety net. It was not just a figure of speech to say they lived like a family.

Application: The psalm for today is Psalm 133, which begins, "how good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!" I don't think it's a coincidence that this is the verse quoted at the beginning of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, which I am just beginning to read in a small group. This passage from Acts talks about the same kind of community, caring for one another in concrete ways, that the psalm and Bonhoeffer's book address. What I'm hearing from God right now is it's time for Christians to look at how we are interdependent, how we should connect to each other, and how those connections should stand out in a culture that places a high value on independence and self-sufficiency. 

Prayer: God, I can clearly hear you calling us into discernment. Help us to figure out Christian community for this new age. Amen.   

Acts 9:32-35 Here and There Among All the Believers

 

Father Henry Whitehead, curate of St Luke's Parish, Soho, London, 1854 

Observation: This short healing story from Acts 9 stands out in two big ways for me. First, Peter is very precise in his language of healing. He says to Aeneas, a paralyzed man, "Jesus Christ heals you." Peter never claims credit for the things he does in Jesus' name. In fact, the whole point is to bring honor to the Lord.

The second thing I notice is that Peter meets Aeneas by going "here and there among all the believers." He's on patrol, so to speak. His job as shepherd of the flock is to be walking around, visiting with people and listening to their problems. 

Application: Aeneas's healing story reminds me of a book I read several years ago called "The Ghost Map," a nonfiction account of the cholera outbreak of Soho, London in 1854, an early test case for the germ theory of contagion that was later proven correct. Doctor John Snow has, rightly, been given credit for pinpointing a certain well in Soho that was making people sick due to unsanitary conditions. But the other part of the story is where Dr. Snow got much of his raw data: from an Anglican priest named Henry Whitehead, who knew who was getting sick, where, when, and which well they drank from, because he was doing the same job pastors have done for centuries. He was going "here and there among all the believers." He walked the streets, talked to people at home, at work, and all around his parish--which meant not just those who faithfully worshipped at his church, but everyone who lived and worked nearby. He was responsible for their spiritual welfare, but because he cared for the whole person, he provided a vital piece of the puzzle for a public health mystery that had plagued Europe for centuries and caused untold deaths. God put Father Whitehead in the right place at the right time. 

Pastors do a lot of things. In fact, each new generation seems to pile on a new job title: administrator, therapist, cruise director, community organizer, entrepreneur, broadcaster, the list goes on and on. But Peter's story in Acts 9, and the story of Snow and Whitehead, remind me of a role that can't be neglected: shepherd. It's important to be in one another's lives at times other than Sunday. To visit, and check in, both physically and digitally, not just in times of crisis but on regular days too. We could all stand to follow Peter's example. You never know what tasks God will assign you until you go "here and there among all the believers."

Prayer: God, send me out on patrol today. Help me connect with the people in my "parish" here in Northern Michigan, both members of our church and those in our neighborhood. I'm ready to work. Amen. 

Ezekiel 1:26-2:1 Who You're Talking To

 

Observation: The prophet Ezekiel has a grand vision of God's glory and holiness from exile in Babylon. He describes what he sees as best he possibly can, given his frame of reference, comparing it to fire, amber, and rainbows. It's not hard to see how some readers, beginning in the 20th century, believed Ezekiel had an encounter with extraterrestrials. His account is not so different from the "close encounters" that seemed so widespread in the decades after World War II. Still,  although Ezekiel has a hard time making sense of his vision, he has no doubt that he is in the presence of The Lord. 

Application: Sometimes in reading the Gospels, and hearing the down-to-earth wisdom of Jesus and his intimate friendships with his disciples, we forget whose Son he is: indeed, the One whose nature he shares. Jesus encouraged us to pray in a simple way, as though we are approaching our own father for a conversation. And yet, the same one he called "Abba", or "daddy", is the creator of the cosmos, source of all existence, ground for all being. It's important to balance God's "imminence", the idea that God is indeed close to us and wants us to feel close to God, with God's "transcendence", the idea that God remains far beyond our grasp and understanding. Jesus encouraged us to pray, "Our Father," and so we do. But it's also important as we begin prayer to remind ourselves who that Father is, and stand in awe--or even fall on our face, as Ezekiel did--remembering who we're talking to. God is approachable, but God is also unimaginably big. We hold these things in tension. Yet we always have God's invitation: 'Stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you." 

Prayer: God, you are awesome in the true sense of the word. You are beyond anything we can know or understand. Thank you for sharing yourself with us, even though we will always be learning, through your word, through the sacraments, through your community, and most of all through your Son Jesus. Amen.