Heart Disease

Mark 5:21-43
June 28, 2009


It’s good to get out of town
every once in awhile
When we drove west before heading up to the Black Hills
I could feel all the stress falling off of me
like something I was carrying on my back
before it all slid off
The more wide open and barren the landscape became
the more I felt myself breathing better
Coming into South Dakota, it’s hard to explain
but just staring at those Black Hills mile after mile
every little thing that troubles us on this earth
seems so small
petty, trivial
It’s not hard to get swallowed up
in the beauty of God’s vast creation up there
in the roaming elk, buffalo, deer and donkeys
or laughing at the antics of the bears with their cubs
or the comedy of the prairie dogs
petting a 400-lb tortoise on his leathery head
made me feel connected to the age of dinosaurs somehow
with the prehistoric-looking head and leathery skin
The air was clear
and the weather was beautiful,
all of God’s creation lit up with color and life

How DOES the air get so polluted?
How does it become so filthy that you choke and can’t breathe?
Choked with death, choked with hate, murder, and meanness?
That woman
we’ve seen her
we’ve known her
The woman in the crowd
with the wound that never stops bleeding
the hurt that never stops hurting
the pain that rules her life somewhere in the unseen recesses of her body
it drains her physically, yes
but day after day, it drains her spirit, her vitality
sucks out her joy and hope
till she just wants to crawl up into a corner and weep
She’s tired of being tired
she’s tired of being alone
she’s tired of people talking about her
pointing fingers and whispering
sometimes shaking their heads in shame
“She’s unclean,” they say
“poor woman,” they say
but they don’t come near her, they don’t TOUCH her
If they touch her, if they get too close,
they might be unclean too
they might catch what she’s got
besides, it might be too painful
Maybe they’re afraid that if they care
if they let themselves care about her
they will get sucked into a bottomless pit
and never get out
Maybe they’ll get blood on their clothes and skin
that they’ll never be able to wash completely off
because really, when we get involved
other people’s pain often becomes our own
UNCLEAN, they always said
backing away
careful not to bump into her
There was fear in their eyes
they didn’t know what she had
and that made it worse
Fear makes people do crazy things
mean things
irrational things
but word got out
that there was a person out there
who was different
A person who wasn’t afraid of anything
or if he was, he didn’t let it stop him
A person who CARED
who was willing to care so deeply it hurt him sometimes
A person who was willing to touch people
who couldn’t remember the gentleness of a hug
A person, they said, who could HEAL

She covered herself so no one would know
she covered herself so they wouldn’t steal her gift
she covered herself because she couldn’t be rejected one more time
she couldn’t risk that,
it would send her over the edge,
to a dark place where she might never recover

“Wait!” Jesus said, stopping in his footsteps
He turned around,
“Who touched me?”
People laughed, everybody touched him
everyone wanted a piece of him
everyone wanted to inhale the air around him
because it was sweet and beautiful
Who touched him? yeah, right …
He ignored the people, crowded all around him,
He ignored his disciples who were urging him to keep moving
He looked around until he saw her
the woman, covered completely in black,
huddled on the ground, trying to grow ever more invisible
She looked up at him, her eyes full of guilt and fear
her hands trembling, waiting for her punishment
“It was I,” she whispered
and wept
Jesus leaned down and lifted her chin
and then took her hands, lifting her to her feet
he threw back the hood that hid her face
and cradled her face in his hands
He ran his fingers through her hair,
pushing it out of her face, wiping the tears beneath her eyes
There was a collective gasp in the crowd
at his intimate behavior
They could just it,
the headlines would be on Yahoo in minutes

“Religious leader caresses unclean woman in public,
church leaders say he is a lecherous fraud…”

“Daughter,” he said
and just the word, the name, washed over her with
overwhelming gentleness,
“Daughter,” he said, “your faith has made you well;
go in peace, be healed…”
and he gave her a hug
She collapsed into sobs and sighs too deep for words
and she felt the renewed strength fill her body
all through a gentle touch
all through the invisible being made visible
all through truly finding herself loved

The little girl, they said,
had already died
most of the crowd didn’t know what the big deal was
daughters died all the time
Shoot, many times, they were left to die as babies
because daughters were no good
to a father
they were essentially a burden
A man wanted sons
and lamented when he had daughters
who were so unlike sons
Why, they often wondered, did God even bother?
except, of course, to make babies
to produce more sons
The men in the crowd didn’t understand
what the fuss was all about
they didn’t understand Jairus
why he was so broken up over a daughter
He wouldn’t be burdened with needing to come up with a dowry
in the future
it was one less mouth to feed
that didn’t contribute much
But Jairus was different
They all knew that
He was inconsolable
when he found out his daughter had died
The other men were embarrassed
at his public breakdown
they cleared their throats,
made circles in the dirt with their toes
They rolled their eyes at the weeping and loud wailing
of the women surrounding the house
Women were just emotional
prone to embarrassing displays of emotion
Then Jesus walked through,
pushing his way through the mourners
the women, clutching each other
“Why do you make such a commotion and weep?” he said
“The child is not dead but sleeping!”
And they laughed
Those who had turned away, toeing the dirt
looked up and burst into laughter
that sounded above the wailing
They laughed!
In the midst of all that grief and sorrow,
they laughed
Who is this guy?
Where did HE come from?

But Jesus ignored them
and went inside
He took the child’s parents inside with him
and knelt down at the side of the child’s bed
“Hey,” he said, gently nudging the little girl
with his hands,
“Hey, you,..” he smiled
He took her hand, laying by her side
and said in a whisper, “talitha cum… talitha cum!”
Get up, little girl, get up!
She groaned and stretched
while at the same time her mother let out a startled yelp
The little girl
shook her head as if shaking off a night full of dreams
and let Jesus pull her up and out of bed
she reached out and hugged him
as if to simply say, “good morning..”
Her mother wept loudly, embracing her daughter tightly
covering her face with kisses and tears
Her father reached out and gently cradled her face in his hand
“Thanks be to God,” he whispered so lowly only Jesus could hear
“Thank you,” he whispered to Jesus, tears welling up in his eyes…
“Thank you.”

Meanwhile, outside there were people with notebooks
writing things down
“Religious leader touches corpse,
renders himself unclean.”
“Religious leader touching bleeding woman,
disregards church’s traditions…”
“Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary, who is he?
Magician? Sorcerer? Demon? Devil? You decide…”

The rumors were rampant
Jesus raised a little girl from the dead
others said she wasn’t dead
Or Jesus touched that woman who was bleeding
others said, no, that wasn’t her,
she just looked like her
And he just kept going
He kept on walking, traveling,
looking for more people to teach, to heal,
to listen to him
But most people didn’t want to listen, he found
most people thought they already knew him
already knew everything they needed to know
and so they disregarded him
But some listened,
Thank God
Some heard what he said, what he taught
some people paid attention to his behavior
not to look for faults or mistakes
but to look for clues of the coming Kingdom
Because they knew that every miracle
no matter how small,
every miracle is a preview of the Kingdom of God
Everywhere he went, he said, “Do not fear….”
because Jesus knew that fear makes people crazy
fear makes people hurt people
fear makes people kill people
fear makes people tear each other apart
“Do not fear,” he said
“trust in God.”
And he healed people, not just to make them feel better
but he healed people to show that God is the God of life
God is the God of restoration and balance
and goodness, wholeness and health
body, mind and spirit-health
He healed people to give them a chance to truly
experience the joys of life
to take away any barriers to real life, lasting life
eternal life
He healed people of heart disease
He found so many people so sickened by heart disease
hearts full of hate, rage, bitterness
hearts full of darkness and cruelty
hearts that full of pain that caused people to inflict more pain
He found people beaten down by life
beaten down by other people
declared unclean, immoral, unfit, undeserving of life and breath
He touched them
and he saw them for who they really were, inside
underneath all the burdensome labels and abuse
that others had laid on their backs
He healed some with hearts poisoned by evil
by hate
but those hearts were much harder to heal
and sometimes even Jesus just had to walk away
But he shared the Holy Spirit
and said to all of us, “Do not be afraid…”
the forces of life and resurrection are much stronger
and relentless than the powers of evil
So he gave all of us the ability to heal heart disease
to touch another human being
who otherwise would never be touched
to dry the tears of another, to embrace another
to see the beauty in someone who is convinced they are ugly
He gave us the power to purify the air
to rid it of pollution that chokes people to death
to fill the air with gentleness and love
He gave us all the power to heal
to be transformed daily and to have a transforming impact
on each other
He knows that we live in a world where there are too many people
spreading heart disease
people who attempt to kill our spirits
to choke us with hate and cynicism
“Do not fear,” he says
He knows many of us have hurts inside of us
that just won’t stop bleeding
that daily hemorrhage
and take away our vitality
He wants to touch those wounds
and heal them, to stop the bleeding
and to infuse us with new life here and now
Fred Buechner writes:
“Jesus gives life to those who are dead
and to those who are only partly alive
who much of the time live our lives closed to the wild beauty
and the miracle of things
including the wild beauty and miracle of every day we live
and even the miracle of ourselves….
and so Jesus says to us,
you who believe, you who sometimes believe
and sometimes don’t believe much of anything
and you who would give up almost anything
to believe if you could….
Get up! Get up!
All of you!.... Get up!”

In the Dark

John 3:1-17
June 7, 2009


Barbara Brown Taylor tells the story
of a woman who set out to discover the meaning of life
First she read everything she could get her hands on
history, philosophy, psychology, religion
She became a really smart, intellectual person
but none of it gave her the answers she was looking for
She sought out other smart people
and asked THEM what they thought about the meaning of life
Their discussions were long and interesting,
but none of them agreed on the same thing
and she still got no answer

One day she put all her belongings in storage
and set off to travel in search of the meaning of life
She went to South America, India, Tibet
No matter where she went, no one could tell her the meaning of life
Finally, some said that they knew of a man
who did know, but they weren’t sure where he lived
She continued to travel all over the world until finally,
deep in the Himalayas, someone told her how to reach his house
It was a tiny little hut perched on the side of a mountain
just below the tree line
She climbed and climbed up the mountain to reach his house
When she got there, she was exhausted, and numbed by the cold
But she knocked on the door
“Yes?” she heard a kind voice say.
The man opened the door, and she was so relieved
“I have come halfway around the world to ask you one question,”
she said, still straining to catch her breath
“What is the meaning of life?” she asked
The man smiled
“Please come in and have some tea,” he said,
motioning for her to come inside
“No,” she said, trying not to cry with frustration,
“I mean, thank you, but no. I didn’t come all this way for tea.
I came for an answer.
Please, won’t you tell me what is the meaning of life?”
“We shall have tea,” the old man said,
and so she gave up and went inside
While he was brewing the tea,
she caught her breath and began to tell him
about all the books she’d read,
all the people she had met, all the places she had been
The old man listened, which actually was all he could do,
because she hardly gave him a chance to get a word in….
While she was still talking, he placed a fragile tea cup
in her hand and began to pour the tea
She was so busy talking that she didn’t notice
when the tea cup was full,
so the old man kept pouring until the tea
ran over the sides of the cup
and down to the floor in a steaming waterfall
The woman jumped back and nearly dropped the cup
“What are you doing??” she yelled, the tea burning her hand
“It’s full, can’t you see that? Stop! There’s no more room!”
“Just so,” the old man said to her, handing her a towel.
“You come here wanting something from me,
but what am I to do?
There is no room in your cup.
Come back when it is empty and then we will talk.”

Meanwhile, several thousand miles to the west
a leader of the Jews named Nicodemus
was skirting around in the dark
He looked a little silly, really,
all dressed up in his fancy robes and hat
looking over his shoulder every few minutes
stumbling around in the dark
But he found the campfire,
and Jesus looked up at him
as if he knew he was coming and wondered what took him so long?
Nicodemus was a very intelligent and highly educated man
He had read many, many books,
and had countless discussions and given as many lectures
on God and religion
He had a respectable place in the Church Structure
He had made it
But he still had questions, and who could he ask?
Jesus was not so respected among his colleagues
Some of them called him a communist, a demon,
they had all kinds of names for him
but they all agreed on the idea that Jesus was dangerous
So Nicodemus could not allow his colleagues to know
that he was coming to talk to Jesus
He could lose his job
He’d seen other colleagues discredited and shamed
for much less…
So he had to be careful

He came to Jesus at night
in the dark
“Rabbi,” he said, “we know that you are teacher who has come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you do apart from
the presence of God…”
Jesus smiled
He didn’t challenge him on that
but “We”
Who’s “we”, Nicodemus?
Your colleagues think I’m from God?
Your colleagues think that what I do comes from
being connected to God?
He might have chuckled to himself
That’s not what I heard….

But Jesus ignored the brown-nosing
and poured tea all over Nicodemus’ hand ….
“I gotta tell you, Nicodemus, no one can see the kingdom of God
without being born from above, or born again…”
Nicodemus jumped a bit
but looked over his shoulder one more time
and sat down
“What are you saying? How can anyone be born after
having grown old?....”
Why was Nicodemus there?
If he had all the answers, which clearly his uniform
represented one who had all the answers,
why was he out sneaking a meeting with Jesus?
Everyone came to Nicodemus and his colleagues
for the answers
he could not be seen as questioning
or exploring, or doubting …
And engaging Jesus in conversation
was certainly a terrible risk
If he entered into conversation with one
that was seen as the enemy
then his colleagues would see that
as a betrayal not only of them
but of their traditions, their religion
their institution….

Why is it that our doubts, our questions
often arise in the middle of the night?
When we’re all alone, everything else is quiet
and there are no distractions?
Nicodemus seems to be hungering for more
He has all the answers,
he has all the answers to all the questions
that he thought needed to be asked
His colleagues seemed satisfied
they don’t seem to want any more
they seem satisfied
and if they’re not, they are not telling anyone
Maybe they ask questions
but it’s not safe for them to admit that to each other
because it could get them kicked out,
fired, and disgraced
they had an image to uphold
after all, if they, the leaders of the Church
didn’t have all the answers,
people might panic—
if THEY don’t have all the answers, then who does?

But Jesus seems to be saying to Nicodemus
‘hey, you’ve got all the answers,
I can’t help you…
there is no more room in you
to put any more…
we’re not even talking the same language…’
How can Nicodemus make room for new truth?
Or for more questions?
How can he make room in his heart for faith?

We people in the Church who have grown up
with all the church language
take it for granted, I think
So much so, that I’m not sure we ever think about it
People, especially political leaders who want to win over
a certain group of voters,
may say, “I’m a born again Christian.”
and some people feel very good about that
But I want to say, “what does that mean?
What does that mean to you?
Tell me your story…
tell me what gives you life,
what gives you hope….”

What does it mean to be born again?
or born from above?
If I were to say that I’m born again
I’d have to say it’s happened many times
there have been countless times in my life
when I felt dead inside
or so wracked with grief
that I didn’t think I could go on
and then God brings someone into my life
to help me walk again
to help me breathe again
someone who believes in me
and convincingly says, “you’re going to be ok,”
and slowly I have healed over time
and with lots of love
and each of those times, I would say I was born again
because I felt like I was dying
and then I came back to the land of the living
Anytime I have grown in wisdom
often gotten the hard way,
any time I have experienced healing in a relationship
or the pain of losing someone
is a little less debilitating
each of those times
I am born again
transformed, strengthened, healed
given new life
And I have many stories to tell about those times

Jesus said we must be born from above
above, to me, and in my understanding
means heaven
I am born of heaven
Yeah, I was born the normal way, through my human mother and father
but I am also born of heaven
I believe I am a child of God
and I believe that God is always seeking to create me anew
to challenge and refresh me
To be born again, means that you have to grow up again
and it’s humbling to admit
that we all need to grow up again
that sometimes we need to start over
Nicodemus was entrenched in the traditions of his faith
and that’s not bad at all
but it is a problem
when the religious words, religious traditions
keep us so full
that we don’t have any room for more
If we have all the answers, set in stone tablets
then we’re not going to grow or be challenged
If we think we know everything already
that God wants us to know
than we can’t grow anymore, and we’re kind of dead
I am very suspicious of anyone who thinks they have all the answers
I think, to be born from above
means that we are not from around here, ultimately
We don’t just buy everything we are given here on this earth
we don’t believe everything that we’re expected to believe
because “everyone else believes it”
We are willing to stand out
We are willing to say, “Hey, have you ever thought about this?”
I think it’s growing increasingly dangerous
to stand out in the crowd
there’s so much violent conversation everywhere
that if you stand out and question
what people are saying
you, like Nicodemus, could lose your credibility
Someone will call you a communist
a socialist, a radical, whatever, we have all kinds of names
to shut up people we don’t want to listen to

I like Nicodemus
He was brave
he could have lost everything, he could have been labeled a traitor
He could have been completely discredited in the community
for just giving Jesus the benefit of the doubt
He saw something in Jesus
even though his colleagues dismissed him as a dangerous radical
And he saw something he wanted to explore
something that touched a hunger deep in his heart
something that made him risk everything
So he was halfway there
There is hope for Nicodemus
He already stepped out into the uncertainly of the dark
to find the more that he was looking for
He seemed to have gotten only more questions
but it seems that the questions that Jesus offered him
would keep his digging, searching, exploring
taking him ever deeper into the spirit of God
allowing him to let go of all the control he thought he had
so that God could do something with him
Make him a curious child again
so that he could grow up again and again
growing ever wiser in the things of the heart and spirit
He already had plenty of knowledge
now he needed faith
he needed a relationship, a connection, a living connection
with the Spirit of God
He learned that believing doesn’t mean having all the answers
believing means trusting,
means living in relationship that is always new
always full of surprises
which means there is always risk of pain and confusion
But God, Jesus said, did not send the Son into the world
to condemn the world…
but in order that the world might be saved through him….
Did you get that?
Because it seems like a lot of people don’t get that
Jesus didn’t come here to condemn and to damn
he came to save
but he didn’t come to save individual souls
just so we could see the golden streets of heaven
He came to save the world, the whole world…
Why?
Why does the world need saving?
I don’t think we have to ponder that one too long…
God longs for the whole world to be saved, to be healed
to be in peace, to be ONE….
If you really think about that, that’s a really scary thing
do we want the whole world to be saved?
Even people we hate?
Even countries that have weapons pointed at us?
The WHOLE world?
That’s the reason Jesus came into the world
that we may have life and have it abundantly…
that we can act like him, speak like him,
behave like him…
and that through our lives, one more corner of the world
will have a little more light in it…
will be a little further along in being saved
But we have to get past all the religious language
and figure out what it all means
God wants to save the world
and God sent Jesus to get that started
and Jesus sent US to continue that mission
But we have to be brave
we have to keep walking into the dark
not always having the answers
but to be willing to listen
to be a little empty, so that God can fill us up
to be willing to stumble around in the dark
as we keep looking for Jesus
and allowing him to lead us by the hand
trusting and believing that God will supply us
with everything we need to help Jesus save the world….

Ridiculous Hope

Text: Acts 2: 1-21
May 31, 2009


Have you ever noticed that
when there’s that one person in a group
who is positive or upbeat
people tend to think there must be
something wrong with them?
We think or even say, ‘boy, they’re flighty,
or they don’t have a clue
or they just don’t know what’s going on’?

At the same time, it’s easy to look at the negative side of things
to predict disaster or failure
to keep our hopes low
or to find every little thing that’s wrong
with a person or situation
People jump on THAT bandwagon in a hurry…
“Oh, it’ll never work,”
“Nobody’s going to show up,”
“they’ll never win…”

The recent news about Susan Boyle
on “Britain’s Got Talent,”
says that the woman is just about
to have a nervous breakdown
because of all the pressure she’s under
She just entered the contest
because she loves to sing
and since she wowed so many people
she has to hide in seclusion!
People criticize her hair, say that she really can’t sing
she should wear more make-up
lose some weight
and then, if she can’t handle all the pressure
from these crazy people
they call her names for getting upset about it!

Face it, we live in a painfully cynical and negative world
that tries to destroy any good thing that crops up
Joy seems naïve in our world
we are suspicious of positive people
we even make fun of them
or if someone has a good idea
we knock it down
nip it in the bud before they even try….

No wonder some people in Jerusalem
thought the followers of Jesus were drunk!
They were ridiculously happy!
They MUST be drunk!
How else could anyone be THAT happy??
If we’re not happy, we don’t want anyone else to be happy!
If we have no hope,
we don’t want anyone else around us
to have hope!
They must be drunk!
Or just plain stupid….

In fact, it had been a long time
since the followers of Jesus had felt any joy
They felt like they’d been put through the mill
these last months
Jesus’ horrible, horrible death
and then he shows up in their rooms,
on the beach, on the road
ALIVE!
That just about scared them as much as his death!
I mean dead people just don’t rise from the dead!
And there he was….
And just when they got used to him being around
just when it started to feel natural for him to be alive again
he said he had to go
He told them to wait in Jerusalem
He didn’t say what to wait for
just wait for the gift, the Advocate, the power
well, as usual, they had no clue what he was talking about!
So they waited
They ached, they paced, they cried,
they doubted,
they thought that he must have abandoned them
all over again
and then WHAM!
they got hit by a holy hurricane
right there in the house
their spirits had been exhausted,
they were anxious, a little jumpy,
looking for clues of what was to come
Some among them must have said
“he’s not sending anything
there’s nothing more to wait for
he was just trying to ease our pain again,
it’s over, guys, this is it…”
They couldn’t stand to hope
and then get disappointed,
so it was better to just start off disappointed
they had less distance to fall that way
But then it happened
There were crowds in the streets
getting ready for the festival of Pentecost
the Romans were patrolling the streets
everyone from every known country was gathering in the city
nobody could understand each other
because no one spoke the same languages
except those who had traveled together
there were no translators
so it was hard to get around the city
and ask directions or for help
and some in Jerusalem
wrote editorials as usual, asking
“why can’t they all just learn OUR language
if they’re going to come to OUR city every year??”
It was a mess
Romans trying to keep the crowds from killing each other
The followers of Jesus stayed inside,
away from it all,
that is, until the holy hurricane hit them
and caused holy chaos among them
All of a sudden
these anxious, depressed, nervous followers
started rambling on loudly
in a different language
saying things they themselves did not understand
and it all reached such a fever pitch
that the people in the streets could hear
they could hear their own language
being spoken
in this strange city!
so the crowds moved toward the strange sound,
toward the building where the followers of Jesus
came pouring out,
newly energized, their faces radiating with excitement
babbling on and on
words they didn’t understand
but someone in the crowd did
Something weird was going on!
There was buzzing from the building
there was buzzing in the crowd,
“What does this mean?” people kept saying
in various languages
but others just waved them off
“ah, those are just those crazy Jesus people,
they’re just drunk….”
But Peter got up,
ran out to the front of the crowds
and waved his hands
and in his own native tongue
he spoke,
“We’re not crazy!” he said
“And we’re not drunk!”
THIS is what we’ve been waiting for
and we didn’t even know it until now!
It’s just like the prophet said,
Ïn the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy
and your young men shall see visions
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women
in those days, I will pour out my spirit
and they shall prophesy….!”
It was crazy, but true
among Jesus’ followers
there were young men, old men,
young women, old women
rich and poor, big and little
fat and skinny,
light and dark-skinned,
all of them, bound together by the Spirit
that came rushing through them,
on them, into them, around them
it was everywhere
No one could see it
but they remembered Jesus say,
“The wind blows where it will and you do not see it,
so it is with the Spirit of God…”
They were not drunk with new wine,
in fact, they WERE the new wine
Jesus had said once also,
that you can’t put new wine into old wineskins
because the wineskins will burst
but you must put new wine into NEW wineskins
that it may be preserved
That day, the day of Pentecost
Jesus’ followers were the new wine
and the old ways would not, could not contain them
things had to change, now, with the Holy Spirit
The difference was amazing
All of these followers
before and after Pentecost
Before, they were frightened, anxious, weary
cynical, immobilized
separated from each other
by various languages, beliefs,
cultures and habits
but on the day of Pentecost
no one was left out
no one was better or worse than anyone else
no matter what country they came from
no matter what language they spoke

And so I wonder,
what languages keep us apart?
Politics? Religion? Denominations?
Whether we were born here or moved here?
What keeps us apart?
What keeps us divided?
And what makes us ever think that God is ever pleased
when we keep those walls between us?
Pentecost was a day when God gave everyone a vision
of what God wants for all of us, finally someday
A world where no one is left out
a world where God’s people are ALL equal
no matter what age, race, religion, whatever labels we have
we are all equal in God’s sight
No matter what language we speak
not one language will be THE language
but we will all be bound together by the Spirit of God
that makes us all one
The good news of Pentecost
is that humans crucify and murder
but God resurrects
humans divide and dominate
but God communicates
God has the last word
and that word is wild
because it changes everything
and it is never what we thought it would be
The place was smokin’, I tell you
smokin’ with the Holy Spirit
and nobody was left out
if anyone missed it, it was because they chose
to not be a part of it
they CHOSE to reject it…
but the Gift was for everyone
Have you ever been out of breath?
I know what it’s like to be out of breath
because in the last 5 years or so,
I’ve somehow developed asthma
It is a horrible, horrible feeling to not be able to breathe
to not be able to catch your breath
Or what about when you’re waiting for news
on a loved one?
Someone told you to come home
that something’s happened,
and all the way home,
your heart is racing
and you hardly breathe ….
Or you get a phone call in the middle of the night
and just the sound of the phone after you’ve been asleep
makes you hold your breath
knowing it’s going to be bad
You just can’t describe the feeling
when you get a call from someone
a child, someone you love
just to tell you they are alright…
Or if like me, you have asthma
and you get the inhaler
and you can breathe again
You can’t describe the relief
of catching your breath
or having the ability to breathe again
That’s how God’s Spirit is
it’s like being given the chance to breathe again
after you’ve been holding your breath
or being held when you felt so alone
and in someone’s comforting arms
you find yourself breathing easier again
Or it’s like having that oxygen mask
put over your face
when you’re short of breath…
it feels like new life…
When Jesus came back from the dead
to see his followers
they were all crowded into one room
grieving, hardly breathing
aching, missing him, devastated
and it says that he breathed on them the Holy Spirit
it was like he put oxygen masks over their faces
and restored them to the land of the living and thriving
God’s breath, the Holy Spirit
is full of passion and of life
just like the before and after versions of the disciples
on Pentecost,
God’s breath blows
and shy people become bold
scared people become gutsy
broken people become whole again
people bent-over by grief and pain
can stand up again and start walking
And when we let God breathe in us
just like those Jesus people who became foreign language scholars
in just one day,
we too, might start sounding like Jesus when we speak
we might start saying things we never thought we’d say
we might start giving words of life and hope and resurrection
we might give words of light amidst the darkness
hope amidst despair
and joy amidst the epidemic of cynicism
Like John Lennon wrote,
“People may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…”
Let them say that we must be drunk
let them say that we are fools
let them say that we have no clue
We are the people of God
reaching for the oxygen supply that is God’s holy spirit
we’re tired of being hopeless and cynical
just because it’s easier
we’re tired of crying or complaining
Like the whole earth, Paul says,
we are aching and groaning for new life, new birth
new hope
we are all leaning forward with God, waiting for birth
waiting for the redemption of all the earth
It’s ridiculous,
we may look like utter fools
but I’d rather look like a fool
and spread the aroma of joy and ridiculous hope
than be a part of the forces of decay and cynicism
that grips our world
Breathe deep of God’s life-giving spirit
Breathe in, inhale God’s spirit of life
and then get out there and breathe out,
be a part of spreading the life-giving spirit
until that final day when all people, everyone
of every nation, every language, every category that exists
that day when all of God’s creation
breathes together
sings together, prays together
and rejoices together in the long awaited fulfillment
of God’s biggest dreams for us all….
Breathe deep, breathe long
be God’s dreamer, and let the life spirit of God
always live and move and spread through you
It doesn’t get any better than that….