{"id":2704,"date":"2013-05-14T11:30:43","date_gmt":"2013-05-14T18:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/?p=2704"},"modified":"2013-05-14T11:33:40","modified_gmt":"2013-05-14T18:33:40","slug":"what-does-this-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2013\/05\/what-does-this-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does this Mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Nine years ago\u2013almost to the day\u2013I sat in a small meeting room with a committee who would decide yay or nay on my upcoming ordination. It was only mildly stressful; I\u2019d been meeting with this group quarterly for several years\u2026I figured if they hadn\u2019t found issue with me thus far, there was little chance of them flagging me as crazy or unfit at this point. Mostly, it was just a conversation.<\/p>\n

So when one of the pastors at the table asked me what I thought really <\/em>happened at Pentecost, I didn\u2019t hear it as a challenge meant to stump me, or a theological pop quiz for which I\u2019d better have the right answer. It was purely conversational\u2026as in, \u2018I know this is on all our minds because it\u2019s what we\u2019re all preaching on Sunday, so tell us what you think.\u2019 A totally non-threatening, innocent question.<\/p>\n

And yet\u2013for the daggone LIFE of me\u2013in that moment, I could not think what Pentecost was. I mean, I couldn\u2019t even recall what it was SUPPOSED to be, much less what I <\/em>thought it might be. I\u2019m talking a blank white screen fell down in front of my eyes, and I thought\u2026 that\u2019s the day we wear red,<\/em>and sing \u201cShine, Jesus, Shine\u201d and take down the Easter stuff\u2026 But why??\u00a03+ years of seminary utterly failed me. I had nothing.<\/p>\n

One of the other pastors in the room recognized my distress and, God\u00a0bless him, he re-framed the question in such a way that gave me a subtle reminder of what the day was for. \u201cFor instance,\u201d he said\u2026 \u201cthe Bible says that the Spirit came down, and that the people were speaking in tongues<\/a>, and yet they all understood each other\u2026and that\u2019s when the church was born. What do YOU think that was all about?\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, THAT. I knew that story. I don\u2019t know that I responded with anything especially profound or prophetic at that point, but I did, at least, articulate a reasonable response for a person about to be ordained<\/em>, for heaven\u2019s sake. Maybe just barely, but I got there.<\/p>\n

First of all, a side note\u2013this is how an ordination process should work. The people in the room for these conversations should be on the side of the candidate; those folks should be looking for places to say\u2019yes,\u2019 more than reaching for opportunities to say \u2018no.\u2019 And if they truly find a candidate unfit for ministry, for whatever reason, that should be a painful moment of discernment for everyone involved. But those meetings ought to feel like a conversation, a shared journey, and an opportunity to listen to God\u2019s future calling for the Church\u2013rather than a mess of red tape and drama. (I could name names of denominations\u2013and certain areas within my own\u2013that make it a point to torture their candidates\u2026but that wouldn\u2019t be very pastoral of me\u2026)<\/p>\n

ANYway\u2026That said\u2013what really\u00a0happened at Pentecost?<\/p>\n

Of course, stories in the Bible are less about what happened, <\/em>and more about what it all means. That passage in Acts is one of my favorite stories (now that I know what it is!). It is so full of mystery, joy, and\u2026well, the Holy Spirit. Whatever HAPPENED, there is lots of stuff happening. Each year, about this time, I have a different take on what it all means.<\/p>\n

This year, I\u2019m painfully aware of the many points of discord tearing apart our churches, families,\u00a0and country. And not necessarily in that order.\u00a0We fight over gun control, healthcare, abortion, the meaning of \u2018family,\u2019 and who is entitled to be the boss of what\u2013 in every place from ministry to government. I imagine what it might be like if the Holy Spirit descended into the midst of all this human squabbling and somehow made sense of it all\u2013a winged peace and blessing at the center of our chaos\u2013and suddenly, I have a new response to the age-old question, what does this mean?<\/em><\/p>\n

Most simply\u2013Pentecost is the moment when everybody gets the %*$& over themselves and stops being RIGHT\u2026and what do you know, the Spirit shows up.<\/p>\n

Those who were gathered \u2018together in one place\u2019 had their own set of squabbles. Who was this Jesus guy, and what really HAPPENED to him when he died, and what did it all mean? What were they supposed to do next, and who was allowed to come with, and what if you didn\u2019t speak the language? Or if you weren\u2019t circumcised, or if you ate the wrong kind of meat, or if your mama was a Gentile? It was making their heads spin, it was making them utterly ineffective, and the din of their conflict drowned out the voice of God calling to them.<\/p>\n

So what does God do? God sent the Holy Spirit down among them; wind, fire and song. And suddenly, all that other stuff didn\u2019t matter so much, because the word of God was all anybody could hear. In that moment, something new was born.<\/p>\n

What would that look like in our time and place? What would it take for people of faith to all of a sudden get over themselves, let go of being RIGHT, and seek a word from the holy in the midst of our human, political, institutional and spirit-crushing conflict?<\/p>\n

If you ask me, it would look like moderation. It would look like the sacred space of that long-lost place we used to call middle ground.\u00a0 <\/em>Perhaps, in the language of the Spirit, we might stop chasing the easy answers that polarize us; stop\u00a0claiming that\u00a0our political party lines are\u00a0\u2018faith-based;\u2019 and begin to seek a prophetic word in that blessed gray space that lies between all of our certainties. Because really:<\/p>\n

-It IS possible to be pro-choice,\u00a0AND anti-abortion. <\/a><\/p>\n

-It IS possible to want background checks, and still support the right to carry.<\/p>\n

-It IS possible to be for family values; while also working, hoping, and praying for marriage equality.<\/p>\n

-It IS possible to want welfare reform and moderation in spending, while also seeking to serve the poorest among us.<\/p>\n

-It IS possible to abhor the death penalty, but still want justice for violence.<\/p>\n

-It IS possible to seek the Kingdom of God in our own time and place, while believing powerfully in God\u2019s future plan for a new earth<\/p>\n

-It IS possible to be both spiritual and religious<\/p>\n

-It IS possible to transform the world by bearing the image of Christ; without demanding that everyone else speak OUR language of faith\u2013in school,\u00a0government,\u00a0media, and\u00a0greeting cards.<\/p>\n

Want to know what\u2019s NOT possible?<\/p>\n

-Being right, all the time.<\/p>\n

-Having the world as we know it\u00a0stay the same.<\/p>\n

-Having everyone look just like us.<\/p>\n

-Getting our way.<\/p>\n

-Did I mention, being right?<\/p>\n

Sometimes, we believe a dangerous story\u2013it\u2019s a story of right and wrong answers, polar opposite truths, and a fearful, faceless \u2018other\u2019 lurking in around to take what\u2019s ours. It isn\u2019t just the Church telling this story; it\u2019s the world in which we live.<\/p>\n

The good news is this: that dangerous story is not of our own creation. It\u2019s been around since the day of Pentecost; since the crucifixion; since the Exodus\u2026possibly since the Garden itself. It\u2019s been around for a long dang time, but so has the power to shut it down. In the midst of our human confusion and conflict, God sends a Spirit of fire and wind to shake us and stir us; to shape us and send us; to make sense of all our frenzied words and compose them into a beautiful song of grace and abundance. The minute we let go of our own fearful story, we can bear witness to that sacred word; we give it wings to fly among us, and suddenly, something\u00a0new\u00a0is born.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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