Hi everyone,
This morning as I was sitting at my desk watching our worship service as per my usual Sunday morning routine, our 7 year old daughter walked in and sat on my lap. She normally doesn’t watch the service with me, so it was a nice surprise. Then she looks up at me and asks “Dad why do you always make God videos?”
I chuckled and said that it’s my job. And then she said something along the lines of “You make the videos for the people that believe in God, so they remember. And you also make them for people who like superheroes because you talk about them a lot.”
So I guess she’s been paying attention, at least. And then she heard me say “we give you thanks for the life of Jesus among us” in the prayer of the day, and her ears perked up and said “Among Us?!?” (it’s the title of a current popular video game)
I found it funny how she, having just turned 7 a couple weeks ago, had this insight on why I make “God videos”. It was neat that she, who hasn’t had the church experience that I had growing up, despite her dad being a pastor, can still find the value in gathering, in worshipping, and feeding off the community. It is interesting how someone so little who seems to not be paying attention at all, can pick up on the language of worship, or at least what is being said regarding super heroes and video game titles.
To me, that just goes to show how the Spirit works in mysterious ways.
Here are our readings for next week:
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Romans 8:22-27
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
So, we’re approaching Pentecost Sunday, one of the few times of the church calendar where we get to wear red. And of course, Pentecost is the day that we remember the Holy Spirit officially entering the world as the Advocate sent by Jesus. We normally don’t talk about the Spirit much, as Jesus and God always seem to get the spotlight. And so this day seems to be the day that we finally get to talk about the Spirit and all that the Spirit is and does.
…which is what, exactly…?
And maybe that right there is why we don’t talk about the Spirit much, we don’t know what to talk about. We don’t exude those gifts of the Spirit that other denominations talk about, we don’t pray to the Spirit (not really, anyway), and we don’t often even recognise the Spirit working but instead attribute most everything to God and Jesus.
I guess it doesn’t help when we get that Acts passage about the Spirit descending on the disciples like literal fire and them being able to speak different languages suddenly. I mean, that kind of supernatural stuff doesn’t happen to us. We don’t get these supernatural signs. We don’t receive these supernatural powers.
…or do they…?
Well, no they don’t. Not like how we read, anyway. But I do think we are able to connect with others in miraculous ways, like an unexpected insight. We are able to communicate with others beyond language with just our humanity. We are love and care for people that we just never met before.
And that, I believe, is the Spirit.
Working in us, empowering us, and bringing us into community and relationship with God and each other. The Spirit not only speaks on our behalf, but walks alongside us, leading us in front and encouraging us from behind, and reminds us of how we are not abandoned and never left alone.
Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!
Photo by Ehteshamul Haque Adit on Unsplash