e-vo for week of May 23

Dearest e-votees-

This coming Sunday is one of the high holy days of our church year—Pentecost. It is the day when the Holy Spirit was unleashed in an unprecedented way among the believers. Some have rightly called it the birthday of the church.

Blessings on you as the Holy Spirit blows in and through your worship this Sunday.

Peace,
Karl

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22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Roman 8:22-27, NRSV

There is nothing quite like waiting for a baby to arrive. Some take to creating an elaborate nursery. Some take to reading everything they can lay their eyes on about good and healthy parenting. Some take to sketching out life trajectories and retirement accounts for the unborn. Some just take to dreaming and hoping and praying. There really is nothing quite like waiting for a baby to arrive.

There is certainly nothing quite like a baby arriving. Not just the visceral moments in the delivery room but also every moment after a birth is infused with a new hope, a new joy and a new responsibility. You can talk about and read about and think about and plan about a birth all you want but until it happens you just can’t fully understand.

Paul uses birth imagery in the passage above talking about the pregnant pause of the church coming to fruition. The Holy Spirit is at work helping us pray and sigh and hope and plan and dream. The Holy Spirit that was unleashed at Pentecost still is blowing through God’s people to this day. God opens up our hearts to belief and our minds to understanding. God opens our mouths for opportunities to witness and our ears to hear the cries of “the least of these”. God brings about new things and renews those people that have lost the hope and the vision we ought to have.

Our lesson for this Sunday from Romans stops just before one of the most profound promises of scripture:

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28, NRSV

This does not say that all things that happen to us are caused by God. Way too much pain has been made by carelessly asserting that. What this does say is that no matter what happens God can be at work in it and through it (go Holy Spirit go!!!) and bring good even from the things that seem so very irredeemable. Thanks be to God.

Thanks be to God that the church has been birthed. Thanks be to God that the Holy Spirit is alive and well and because of that we are too and becoming even more so. Thanks be to God that no matter what comes our way God can work to bring good and life and healing.

This faith life we are living—there is nothing quite like it. Let’s give thanks to God and enjoy the journey knowing God has us and will carry us. Let’s give glory to God by sharing that message in whatever ways it takes to get the good news heard by the world around us.


Holy Spirit, you have born us anew as children of God. Continue to stir and blow and prompt and inspire. Fill our lives with your whimsy. Teach us to discern you more clearly and abide with you more faithfully. Amen.