The Presence of the Wild Goose

The Wild Goose
The Way of the Wild Goose - Part 2
May 26, 2024
Acts 11:1-18, 15:1-21

God, who knows people’s deepest thoughts and desires, confirmed this by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, but purified their deepest thoughts and desires through faith. Why then are you now challenging God by placing a burden on the shoulders of these disciples that neither we nor our ancestors could bear?  On the contrary, we believe that we and they are saved in the same way, by the grace of the Lord Jesus.”

 Acts 15:8-11 

Craig J. Sefa

The Presence of the Wild Goose

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For many today, the idea of finding God in creation is especially appealing.  It breaks God out of the box of our thick-walled sanctuaries and bloated institutional religious structures.  It invites us in some ways to encounter God on God’s own terms, rather than requiring God to meet us within the prescribed times and structures of our religious tradition or community. 

For others, the ability to experience God’s presence outside the church is a dangerous and fearful prospect.  There’s a concern that without religious boundaries, we may very well delude ourselves into making God whatever we want.  There is no accountability or required set of beliefs to determine who can be counted God’s beloved community. 

While there is a beautiful freedom in all of this, we who are more open to meeting God in nature or in other contexts outside the church would do well to take the concerns of the religious community seriously.  That is not to say that we must limit our relationship with the Divine to a particular segment of the church. It is, however, to remind us that God is still God, and we are not.   

Just as God cannot be confined to a church building, a liturgy, or a set of doctrinal standards, neither can God be limited to our favorite hiking spot, mountain, stream, or park bench.  Might we also dare to seek God’s presence in the urban jungle, in a hospital, in a refugee camp; in schools and offices and coffee shops and grocery stores; or even among the rich and powerful on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley or on Capitol Hill.  Yes, despite so much evidence to the contrary, the Wild Goose is present even there.  Perhaps on occasion, we might even still find God in church.

~ excerpt from The Wild Goose: Embracing the Untambed Beauty of the Holy Spirit, 24-25

In Acts we see the Holy Spirit showing up in all sorts of unexpected places with people who nobody would expect (a lot like Jesus did).  Every time we think we understand, she shows up somewhere else and  surprises us again.  Perhaps our best bet is to pray like Thomas Merton below, confessing that we have no idea where the Spirit is leading us.  Nonetheless, we will  follow, trusting that we never walk alone.

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My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your  will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore, I will trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Amen.

The Wild Goose

The Wild Goose
The Way of the Wild Goose - Part 1
May 19, 2024
Acts 2:1-4, John 3:4-8

Craig J. Sefa

The Wild Goose

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Nicodemus asked, “How is it possible for an adult to be born? It’s impossible to enter the mother’s womb for a second time and be born, isn’t it?”

Jesus answered, “I assure you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom.  Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’  God’s Spirit blows wherever it wishes. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It’s the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

John 3:4-8

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Enemy of Apathy

 by John Bell

She sits like a bird, brooding on the waters,
Hovering on the chaos of the world’s first day;

She sighs and she sings, mothering creation,
Waiting to give birth to all the Word will say.

She wings over earth, resting where she wishes,
Lighting close at hand or soaring through the skies;

She nests in the womb, welcoming each wonder,
Nourishing potential hidden to our eyes.

She dances in fire, startling her spectators,
Waking tongues of ecstasy where dumbness reigned;

 She weans and inspires all whose hearts are open,
Nor can she be captured, silenced or restrained.

For she is the Spirit, one with God in essence,
Gifted by the Saviour in eternal love;

She is the key opening the scriptures,
Enemy of apathy and heavenly dove.

From the Iona Community, Wild Goose Publications

The images, symbols, or metaphors for the Holy Spirit are many, (fire, wind, water, breath, dove, etc.) but none can fully capture the mystery that is God’s very presence in us and among us.  For Celtic Christians, the Wild Goose became the dominant image for the wild and untamable wind that blows wherever it wishes.  “You hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8). 

Over the next several weeks we will journey with the Celtic Saints of ancient Ireland and explore what the Wild Goose image has to teach us about the nature of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  In  particular we will look at the presence, the call, the bond and the persistence of the Holy Spirit.  In the end, my prayer is that each of us will deepen our  relationship the Holy Spirit and become more aware of the Spirit’s work and presence in our lives. 

Take a few moments with the poem above and reflect on what images of the Holy Spirit resonate most with you and why? 

Grow in Love

Grow in Love
Grow: Rethinking Church Growth - Part 5
May 12, 2024
Matthew 22:36-40, 28:18-20

“Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands

Matthew 22:36-40, CEB

Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

Matthew 28:18-20, CEB

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Craig J. Sefa

Grow in Love

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Last summer at our Annual Conference, Rev. Dr. Martyn Atkins of Great Britain shared the centrality of the two texts above as essential to our Christian faith.  These passages are known as the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

Dr. Atkins points out that these two cannot be separated and together they provide the most clear indicator of our spiritual health.  The Great Commandment is the tone by which we undertake the Great Commission and the Great Commission is the means by which we fulfill the Great Commandment.  In other words, we can’t love God and neighbor if we do not bear witness to Christ’s love for them and we cannot bear witness or make disciples unless our efforts and intent are fueled not by our own interests, but by our love of God and neighbor alone.  Evangelism must always be personal, relational, and incarnational, just as Christ modeled for us when he came to dwell among us to show us the depth of God’s love. 

Our intent, Dr. Atkins says, must always be to offer Christ’s love authentically, consistently, and in the same manner as Christ offers himself to us and to others.  “The last thing the world needs,” he proclaims, “is more salespeople of an institution called “church,” but what it does need is many, many more free samples of Jesus Christ.”

Generally speaking, Atkins points out, we like the Great Commandment, “except when we don’t.”  We like the idea of being good, loving people, until we get caught up in our religious and culture wars that tell us who are and are not included among our neighbors.  The problem with both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission is that neither “give us any ammunition to keep anybody out of who Jesus is talking about.”  Atkins continues, “Every generation of Christians has trouble with such scriptures because they give us no help whatsoever in our endless search to find people to exclude from it.”

As we seek to grow in Christian maturity, to grow our roots deeper into Christ, and to grow wider in the scope of our ministry and service to others, we are ultimately growing in love.  Love is not a program for numerical growth, but it creates fertile soil for the Holy Spirit to do what only she can do. 

Love God.  Love Neighbor.  Make Disciples. 

This alone is our task.  

You can view Dr. Atkin's’ full presentation below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sieT_LJ9yno

Grow Wide

Grow Wide
Grow: Rethinking Church Growth - Part 4
May 5, 2024
Luke 14:7-24, Matthew 25:34-46, Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2, Leviticus 19:34

Craig J. Sefa

Grow Wide

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Then Jesus said to the person who had invited him, “When you host a lunch or dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers and sisters, your relatives, or rich neighbors. If you do, they will invite you in return and that will be your reward.  Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, crippled, lame, and blind.  And you will be blessed because they can’t repay you. Instead, you will be repaid when the just are resurrected.”

 Luke 14:12-14

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Have you ever noticed at church events how easy it is to sit only with our own families and friends?  Without even realizing it, we vet people to make sure they are people we would want to be around before we even think about inviting them to join us for a Community meal or even Sunday worship.  The tragic reality is that while churches tend to be generally friendly, they are not verry good at making new friends.  We are rather insulated and friendly only with those we already know well, sometimes excluding even those who have been in our  midst for a long time.  I knew a leader in one church who had been there for over 30 years and she said she still felt like a newbie and an outsider because she wasn’t part of one of the founding families.  How long does it take for us to make someone feel truly at home?

One congregation I served got very uncomfortable when I rearranged the chairs in the classroom to have Bible Study in a circle.  I was told that “we always sit in rows.”  They even sat in rows in the fellowship hall at the Christmas party, facing the tree and watching the kids as they greeted Santa, but talking to nobody outside of their own family.  Almost all of our time in church was spent literally staring at the back of other people’s heads. 

What was even worse was how many people I talked to who struggled with things they were afraid for even their family members to know about, family members who sat next to them on the same pew every week. 

Like most churches, this congregation regularly complained about the lack of growth and the fact that visitors rarely returned.  At one point I had to ask, what is the point of growing when we can’t even talk to the people we already have?  Why do we need more people in the pews just to stare at the back of their heads if we are unwilling to build real, honest and trusting relationships, even within our own families?

In Ephesians 3, Paul says that we are being rooted and grounded in love.  Our growth is an act of pure grace, but roots only grow when the environment supplies nutrients, oxygen, warmth, and water.  There are many lonely people even in the church, whose roots feel dry, thirsty, wounded, or stagnant.  Perhaps the problem is our ecosystem.  Are the other plants / people around you healthy or dying?  As a tree’s roots meet the roots of other trees, they begin to grow or “graft” together into one larger and healthier root system.  This allows the roots to reach out even further, working together to collect water and nutrients and offering mutual benefit to every tree in the network. 

The same principle is necessary for spiritual growth and for church growth.  We are not lone trees, but part of a spiritual ecosystem in which we all reach out through the Spirit and provide nourishment for one another.  We must extend real friendship beyond our comfort zone. 

If we want to grow, we must widen our reach.