Dare to believe

Dead is not dead to God.
 

 

"It is a challenge to live 'in the faith' in our times."

  Bishop Marie Jerge  at Synod Assembly June 7th 

 

We have a skewed perspective about the times in which we live; we are simply too close to the subject.  However, those who study these things speak of our times as 'transitional' and 'rapidly evolving.'  The technology I worked to understand 3 years ago is extinct and everyday something new is on my door step.  The economy is so unpredictable we must run to keep up with the jobs we have in order to be able to do them in the next 5 years.  For the middle class, the middle is rapidly shrinking as we are squeezed by the changing job market, the cost of living and our own expectations of how life should be.

God speaks to Ezekiel and tells him to prophesy to the dry bones of the valley - bones of soldiers  who died years before in an unsuccessful attempt at defending their homeland.  Mixed in were the bones of exiles dragged from their place of comfort and livelihood and forced into life in a foreign land and culture.  The bones were dry - no flesh, no muscle, no life.

Then God commands the bones to come together, bone to bone, and flesh to appear, and sinew to grow and skin to cover and then finally, breath to enter into them.  These bones will know life again, God announces.  Dead is not dead to God.

However you understand this powerful story, it illustrates the incomprehensible core of our faith: in the hand of God, the dead can live again. 

It is not only challenging to believe that, it is even more challenging to live your life as if it were true. When our path seems strewn with dry bones, when signs of life are difficult to find and more difficult to trust, our faith stands naked in the bright sun.  Then we tell the story of Ezekiel, the story of the widow of Nain, the story of Hannah's child, and ultimately the story of our Lord: in the hand of God, new life is but a breath away.

How many ways the Spirit?

Lutherans are not generally comfortable talking about the Spirit - the Holy Spirit that is.  I don't know if it is so much a weak point in our theological perspective as it is the natural evolution of a Christian community founded by reticent Germans and Scandinavians. 

I think we would benefit from practicing Spirit talk, yet the concrete thinkers among us are quick to realize that the scriptures give us multiple sightings/metaphors for the movement and work of the Spirit. 

The Spirit moves over the waters and begins creating.  
God breathes in the first human, 'adamah and gives life.
 Elijah stands in the cave ready to obey God's command to come forth - and God does not move in the earthquake, nor in the wind, nor in the fire (where it might be expected) but in a still small voice (or a great silence - apparently translating the Hebrew makes it uncertain).
In Jeremiah, the Word of God in the prophet's mouth does it's best to lead people out of their chosen path and into life.
In Ezekiel, the spoken Word of God in the mouth of the prophet causes the Spirit to bring new life to the valley of dry bones. 
The Spirit 'overshadows' Mary and she conceives Jesus.
The Spirit descends like a dove (or pigeon) on Jesus during his baptism.

Now the Spirit comes as tongues of fire in the Pentecost account of Acts 2.  People of very different nations spoke in 'other languages' and each one heard Jesus' story in his own language.  Although we focus on the miracle of multiple languages being spoken, I think the real miracle is that people listened to what they heard.

It is difficult to get a handle on the Spirit.  The Spirit of God moves where it will, when it will, as it will with the purpose of bringing new life into being - directly or indirectly.  It is the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead.  It is the power of the resurrection present throughout our days.

Each time you see life arise from nothing or death of any kind turned away by a stronger power - you have seen the Spirit at work.  Name it and claim it.  Soon you'll be wondering how we got by so many years without Spirit talk.