23 May 2006

Today Joseph Sittler comments about some of the specifics of Isaiah 61 as it refers to the Spirit - from "Gravity and Grace."

But note the text, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted;...to proclaim liberty to the captives." May I suggest with some boldness of interpretation that the Spirit gains specificity in relation to a focal duty, that the Spirit is given with a task. In New Testament times lepers had to be pronounced clean by a priest before they could be readmitted to society. When Jesus told ten lepers crying to him from afar to go show themselves to the priests, he was absurdly promising them that they would no longer be leprous. Yet despite the absurdity of the command and the promise, we read this wonderful sentence: " And as they went, they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14). The did not receive the gift and then take off; they took off in obedience, and the gift was given in relation to the obedience.

The Spirit does indeed bring about the creation of something out of nothing. But then...the Spirit works within this creation to create a quality of life within creation. Now that we have life, the Spirit brings into life the essential and vital elements of justice, care for the outcast and poor, mercy, and the liberation of those who are captives within our creation. As was said yesterday, there is something intentional about the work of the Spirit. Here in Isaiah, it becomes quite a bit more specific. Maybe that is why we so often avoid what it says? If spirituality is only something that has an impact on me - in private and as an individual - how does new life become a part of the Spirit's presence among us? Spirituality has to do with life and when we are people moved and influenced by the power of the Spirit, we cannot help but take on the world and its brokenness and begin to bring elements of God's Reign into the world. This is not always a simple task or one that is easily defined within our own context. That is why we must always be looking to scripture and looking to the world as we encounter it in order to understand how we will move out by the power of the Spirit of God.

Connection: We don't have to take on the world. Then again, we need to realize that the Spirit of God may be giving us skills and abilities and opportunities to reach beyond ourselves to bring to life a glimpse of the the Reign of God through the actions and movement s of our lives. That is a powerful notion to prayerfully consider - ah...spirituality.

Blessed Lord, you brighten the world by empowering and encouraging your saints to step out into the middle of the many needs and joys and brokenness and sorrows of the day to serve those around us. We may not always have the eyes to see the need or the ears to hear how we can be a part of your healing presence but we pray that the Spirit will touch us so that we can touch the lives of others. Amen.