Who knows where Spirit blows?
March 15, 2009
“The work of the Spirit–hidden, nearly imperceptible, humble–is the paradigm of how God works in the world. ’Force is no attribute of God,’ states the early Christian Epistle to Diognetus; such insight challenges the view of God as dominative, always triumphing over all that opposes God’s way.”
-Molly Marshall in Joining the Dance: A Theology of the Spirit
___________________________________________________________________
Christ humbles himself, becoming like us, taking the very nature of a servant and so revealing a giving God. Christ reveals, with flesh on, this God that we seek to know, who we as Christ-followers choose to believe in, to follow. Christ’s giving is who God is.
Why is it I never thought of Holy Spirit in this way also? Perhaps because Holy Spirit comes with so much mystery. But “force is no attribute of God.” Holy Spirit moves with no way for us to track, to attach a tracking device, to guess where Holy Spirit might show up next.
Makes it hard on church planning.
But should cause us to pause and open our eyes…perhaps Holy Spirit is moving beyond where we might be looking or anticipating. Perhaps it’s beyond the walls, in a conversation with the lady who cuts your hair, a colleague who drops some news unexpectedly in your lap and vulnerability is present just for a moment, perhaps it’s in a smile, a word of encouragement…
Perhaps my musings don’t even get at it. They come shrouded in my world-view, with my biases firmly attached.
We are much more comfortable–especially in our America corner–with a God who is about conquering all that stands in God’s way. Many of our evangelistic movements find force in their history. In many ways it also seems to be the way of the First Testament, doesn’t it? But not the way of Christ…
There’s no really good way to wrap this up except to say, there’s no putting our God–Triune: Father, Son, Holy Spirit–in a box. Or Scripture for that matter.
We’ve got quite the journey ahead of us…
