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“Give me a sign,”  begs the lover, desperate to have his passion confirmed.  “Give me a sign,” cried ancient Gideon, when he thought he was being told to vanquish the Moabites.  “I’m looking for a sign,”  I grumble to Marie when my destination eludes me once again.  Readings for this coming Sunday tell about signs — and also about God’s grace, the origin of our connections.

We begin with the prophet Elijah berating those purveyors of idolatry, the Priests of Baal — and the Israelites who are “limping” in their faith with one foot depending on the Lord and the other on fertile homes & fields. (I Kings 20:21)  Talk about relevance!  Read this story with drama, enjoy the fireworks!  Here’s grace, and a major sign of Yahweh’s involvement.  No longer must we limp between Enduring Faith and Cultural Wisdom….

The Apostle Paul likewise berates the congregations in Galatia for “deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to another gospel.” (1:6)   He goes on to say that his message is indeed of God’s Grace, a sign for the Gentiles of being included within the divine family.  “I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” (v.12)

Luke’s narrative shares another sign, that of physical healing, to the Jewish community still unsure about God’s care for “outsiders”.  (7:1-10)   Jesus commended the unswerving faith of the centurion, and said that “not even in Israel have I found such faith.” (v.9)  No “limping” here! 

Elijah, Paul & the centurion all were sure that the sign was sure and without waiver.  The central message in these occasions isn’t so much in the asking for a measurable indication of God’s involvement as it is in the knowledge that such connection has already occurred.   And why not?  Are we not the People of God?   Where in our neighborhood, where in our congregation is this connection being played out as we speak?  Who is being changed?  or healed?

God Bless Us, Every One       H   B   King

In many churches, the Sunday after Pentecost is called Trinity Sunday:  a time for special welcome to the Holy Spirit which has now stepped forth along with the Creating Father and Redeeming Son.   The doctrine of the Trinity separates Christianity from most other world religions:  some will erroneously understand us as worshiping 3 deities.   St. Patrick used a shamrock to illustrate the idea of three leaves on one central stem.

How does this Holy Spirit make a difference?  The writer(s) of Proverbs suggest a Divine Wisdom emanates from Creation, which then calls out joyful wonder to humans. (8:1-4, 22-31)   I have no problem equating this Old Testament spiritual visitation with the New Testament Advocate–but some will differ.  If I think of the role of God’s Spirit as bearer of Wisdom, I’m glad for some Presence which can give me a nudge or a clout when my very limited insight can’t solve the Puzzle.

The Epistle, Romans 5:1-5, can prove problematic if we try to bend it to the theme of Spiritual Wisdom.  So don’t.  What Paul is saying here is that faith in Jesus the Christ is the doorway to the storehouse of grace which God loves to share!  This is, of course, a Trinitarian doctrine which delves deeply into the Holy Wholeness in which we walk…..  “Justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“When the Spirit of truth comes”, says Jesus, “he will guide you into all the truth.”  (John 16:13a)   Through the centuries, we’ve paid soothsayers and oracles of all types to tell us All the Truth.   Consulting stars and crystals, tarot cards and lines in my palms, seers have made a good dime pretending to advise us about love, war and the weather.  (If you call the Psychic Hot-Line and they ask your name, hang up!)  The Wisdom of God goes beyond  sideshow gimmicks to deal with the Big Picture, that is, God’s Glory and exclusive sovereignty.

Is Wisdom a good thing?  Sure!  Bring it on!   Ah, but is that what you really want?  They say that “Ignorance is Bliss”.   And when we start to see God’s Wisdom, we’re setting ourselves up to be constrained by it!   Knowing the speed-limits and rules of culture means that we’re expected to live by them.  Touched by the Spirit, we can no longer in good conscience turn away from the poor and the homeless, can no longer ignore those who menace and intimidate with firearms, can no longer sit back while the selfish impale the vulnerable on swords of higher profit.  What hath God wrought??

God Bless Us, Every One!       H    B    King

Sterling Drake, the old gentleman who lived next door as I was growing up, had a favorite expression:  “say what?”  Sometimes this was because he was quite hard of hearing, and sometimes because he pretended to be incredulous about what one of his many grandchildren were telling him.  On this Pentecost Sunday, both reasons seem to be in order as I think about my grizzled neighbor…   The Lectionary suggests several readings:  these three are useful for my thoughts.

Genesis 11:1-9 is the story of the Tower of Babel.  The People of the Earth got too uppity and tried to reach heaven by building a tower/ziggurat/pyramid.  Sensing a loss of control (again), God confounded their communication by creating several differing languages.  Unable to resolve their speech, the project failed, and various tribes became enemies one of another.

the second of the readings is the traditional story of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21).  Fifty days after the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit bathed the gathering of Apostles with wind and fire!  What’s more, they could now speak in foreign languages to tell the Gospel message to Jewish folks from all over the Mediterranean region who lived in Jerusalem.  This is just opposite the Tower of Babel experience, for now language wouldn’t make a difference and the community of faith would be re-gathered.

How often, in a new phase of life, do we need a friend to walk with, someone who knows the path and who speaks the language?   In his farewell discourse in the upper room on Mournful Thursday, Jesus reassured his folks that they wouldn’t long be leaderless.  “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”(John 14:26)  This Advocate, whose coming we celebrate on Pentecost, comes to gather up the loose ends of the Church by teaching and reminding us about what Jesus said about righteousness, mercy, forbearance and justice.

In the almost-two millennia since that occasion, the Church continues to need these reminders — not ’cause we’re overly stupid, but we’re up against a barbaric culture which holds ethics and morality in low esteem and disavows the sacredness of human life.  Roland McGregor, a United Methodist pastor from Out West, says of Pentecost, “The new age was to knit back together the human fabric that had been shredded on the Tower of Babel.”

“The intent of John 14 is to form a community of believing and obedient people,  a community that is confident in the disclosure of God that has come in the person of Jesus and that depends upon the leadership of the Spirit of truth to keep it obedient and productive in its life.”   –Eugene C. Bay, in FEASTING ON THE WORD

God Bless Us, Every One           H    B    King

The Gospel according to St. John introduces Divine Light in its prologue:  “In him (Jesus} was life, and the life was the light of the world.  The light has shined in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (1:4,5)  That’s not in the readings for Sunday, and yet it becomes the thread which weaves through them.  Bear it in mind as you listen….

Luke tells an interesting tale in Acts 16:  in Philippi, Paul & Co. are met by a young woman who was a mantic, a seer of the “future”.  Annoyed by her constant badgering, Paul exorcised the demon (in Greek, a “Python”!) and the girl’s agents saw she could no longer fleece the gullible for their private wealth.   So they had Paul & Silas beaten and jailed.  You may remember about the earthquake that sprung all the doors of the jail, how the jailer almost killed himself in despair, and about how he & his family believed in Jesus and were baptized.  Jailhouse Rocked long before Elvis.  But the sentence that leaped out at me was verse 29, “The jailer called for lights…”  Darkness was near-death, but affirmation came with the light.

And one last foray into Revelation, for a while:  chapter 22, where Jesus names himself “the bright morning star” (v.16)  Even when it’s darkest before the dawn, there’s one final celestial gleam which tells the ardent watcher that a New Day is really at hand!  When I delivered the Scranton Tribune in the pre-dawn blackness, when the shadows were hostile and the earth had died, I came to search for the Morning Star…  Maybe, said I, “maybe today will be better.”

John devotes almost half of his Gospel to Holy Week, and a large chunk of that to the Last Supper.  In his long “high priestly” prayer, the Lord says, “the glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one.”   (v.22)  And then again, “I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory…” (v.24)  Is not this glory the Holy Light of which we heard back in the Beginning??

Allegories are always difficult:  how far shall we spin it without compromising its roots?  My own discomfort in deep darkness is cheered to know of the Light in the Garden at the end of the tunnel which is our faith-journey.  May the gathering dark not frighten you, nor the gloom of those who oppose Mercy, Justice and Truth.   Step in the Light–nay, DANCE in it with the glory of its Source, the Lord Jesus Christ!

God Bless Us, Every One                   H    B    King

As a member of the “itinerant” United Methodist clergy, I know lots about new places.   During my 40-some year career, we’ve moved nine times, each move worse than the one before.   It’s not fun to say farewell to friends and familiar haunts, nor to find new medical and mechanical services.  There is, though, a certain adventure in getting to know a New Place, all in the hopes that God really has a Plan.

The Church centers itself on this fluid drive.  Sunday’s scriptures not only honor this Divine Flow, but challenge us not to grow moss!   In Acts 16 comes the story of Paul & Co.moving in response to a dream: a man from Macedonia asking them to come to them.  “When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.” (16:10)  This was the Church’s first foray into Europe, beyond the comfort-zone of those travelers.

John the Divine also had a series of visions, which he wrote into the Revelation.  After the terrors, a new peace came over Earth & Heaven, and a holy garden was seen, reminiscent of the original Eden.  Eternal Light from God’s Presence continually floods the place, and a grove of the Trees of Life are watered by a clear river flowing from the Throne of God.  Has the Creator written a happy ending  to the Human Journey?

During the Last Supper, Jesus assures his closest friends that his departure is necessary for the Newness of God’s Design to move forward.  Firstly, his going will send the Holy Spirit to teach “everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)   And also, Jesus goes to prepare a place for us — so rejoice that he is going to the Father! (v.28)

Seems to me that the common thread here is that of envisioning a New Place full of hope and possibility — just like the UM clergy!   (Actually, this is the only way to survive the itinerant system.)   So where do the Church and its members see a new venue of challenge and glory?  How do we prepare ourselves for such creative dreaming?   What places await, by God’s decree? 

I am an idea in the mind of God, in the process of unfolding….

God Bless Us, Every One!             H   B   King