Another day contemplating spirituality with Joseph Sittler in "Gravity and Grace."
The gift of the Spirit is not just a vaporous cloud of unknowing, but the gift is given when obedience is demonstrated. The assignment of a task is the occasion for the specificity of the Spirit; the precision of the gift is accommodated to the acceptance of a duty.
The gift of the Spirit is always available. And yet, it is given as one is obedient. Now...does that mean that the Spirit pulls us into deeper obedience or....do we, being moved to faithfulness by the Spirit, step out into a new life that really cannot be entered without some sort of obedience of faith that causes us to stretch beyond our own limits into a realm where the Spirit is essential and the Spirit will be present with the appropriate gifts. Having just written that sentence, I'm a bit confused. Then again, the pulling is there...and the obedience is there...and always there with us is this Spirit that will not leave us wanting when we are called upon to step into the faithful way of following Jesus. As we obediently move into that way of love, we need not fear what will be waiting for us. The promise is the Spirit. The Spirit is the power to move again along the way of Jesus even if we were not ready yesterday. Today...is the day in which we are called out to follow Jesus and the Spirit will be here ready to move us to a place in which we can accept all that will come and all that will be expected of us.
Connection: Enough...think enough...remember that the Spirit of Our God will come to feed us and transform us and lift us up into the vision of the Reign of God. Yes...all of us. No matter where we are or where we see ourselves in comparison to others. Today, the Spirit is with us.
Within the great whirlwind of your power, O God, we are greeted with a vision for life that honors where we are and invites us to take another step into the domain of your love that is always a bit beyond what we are even able to imagine. Give us the courage to trust in you and to walk in your ways. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment