The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Robert L. Griffin at the
Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, August 16, 2009.
In life, so much of what we do is limited by habits, customs, traditions,
restrictions, rituals and yes, even religious beliefs. We have speed limits.
We are encouraged to set healthy limits and proper boundaries in our
professional and personal relationships. Our bodies can’t live much beyond 100
years under the most ideal of circumstances. And even if we are fortunate
enough to live to a happy old age, we may still have to deal with illnesses
that are chronic, and in some ways limiting. A person with asthma doesn’t want
to be without her inhaler. A diabetic may need to have insulin at the ready.
Many of us are dependent on eyeglasses or hearing aids to be able to see and
hear as well as we want to.
Some professions have mandatory retirement ages. Most professions have
training and qualifications that must be met before one can be certified in
that profession. With so many limitations in life, where is the spirit of God
that is said to limitless, moving where she will?
We have many blessings in our lives, and we also have very real needs. We
need clean air and water, shelter, and food. We need love, and affirmation. We
need community. We need opportunity. We need hope.
Of course, though our needs are universal, some of us find that there are
limitations when we try to get our needs met. For many, race has been a
barrier to achieving all that we all want and need. For some, gender has
placed a glass ceiling on upward mobility. Sexual orientation has limited some
who wanted to serve in the military, in the teaching professions, in the
clergy, or who just wanted to marry the person they loved. Some have bypassed
those barriers by being dishonest about who they are… and that has placed the
added limitation of never being able to live out loud, freely and proud.
Knowing that prejudice has placed unfair limitations in many lives, again we
might ask, “Where is the spirit of God?”
Now, don’t get me wrong: the awareness of limitations in and of itself is
not a bad thing. Knowing what we can and cannot do, or at least what is or is
not going to be easy, is actually good information to have. Knowing the
obstacles is the first step to overcoming them. Knowing that some have broken
through the barriers reminds us that the barriers exist, but also that the
barriers may not be the end of the story.
In the face of our current global economy, environmental concerns, CEO
incentives that still run unchecked, financial bailouts, home foreclosures,
job losses, and heated health care town hall debates that show we have lost
the art of dialogue, debate, and healthy disagreement (some of these town
halls meetings would cause Jerry Springer to raise an eyebrow) these heated
debates puts reality TV to shame)… all of these challenges cause us to ask,
“Where is the spirit of God?”
Now, let me ask another question. What happens when we are given an
invitation to enter into a new world, a world that value equality, a world
that truly wants every individual to have opportunities, and dignity, and
safety, and quality health care from cradle to grave? Maybe that’s where the
spirit of God is. The spirit is in the invitation to love our neighbor as
ourselves. The spirit is in the invitation to see something of God in every
human-being. The spirit is in the invitation to share prosperity rather than
to hoard it, to share hope instead of to deny it, to share love instead of
spreading fear. Where is the spirit? It is in the new view, the renewed
commitment of Sharing the light with the world!
You know, Jesus faced limitations. He faced fears and prejudices and a
privileged class trying to keep the others in their place. He faced disease
and despair. He faced fundamentalism within his religion and totalitarianism
in his government. But he saw beyond the limitations, and in his vision of
what could be, the spirit was present.
Jesus faced the difficulties of his day, and spoke words of hope. And those
who heard what Jesus had to say received into their spirits a new word and a
new vision and a new hope for a new day. Those who received the new word that
Jesus offered became empowered to see beyond their present realities because
of the spirit that was within them. It was a spirit that renewed their
thinking, changed their way of living, and ultimately changed the conversation
from one of living with the mindset of being fixated on what is missing to one
of being thankful for the possibilities that still exist! Jesus actually
shared a message of hope, which is to say he shared the spirit of hope, which
is the spirit of God!
I believe our gospel reading today provides us with an opportunity to have
a new kind of conversation where we focus in on the thought of a spirit that
gives life. A different kind of conversation is needed to communicate a new
understanding of the potential that exists for us. John’s Gospel shows us
Jesus offering the spirit of hope which challenges the limitations we have
previously experienced and imagined.
If we accept this spirit that Jesus spoke of that gives life, then the
realities of our lives have been altered in a positive direction. In our quest
for something new, something different, something holy, something wonderful,
something to hold on to in our times of need, in our quest to find and break
the status quo, we experience this new life that John’s Jesus speaks of today.
Jesus did not say that I am new life; rather it is the spirit that offers new
life and new opportunities. In our search for hope, in our search for life,
the lifeline has already been offered to us through the spirit that gives us
new life, or a new lease on life or a second chance that’s the grace of God,
or in the words of the gospel, “the spirit”.
We have heard John’s Jesus referred to the One that takes way the sins of
the world; those words transform our world order into a new way of thinking
and being. Jesus’ positive outlook takes away our need to belittle ourselves.
Jesus’ positive outlook takes away our need to look for the worst or to fear
the future. Jesus models the spirit of hope. He shares the spirit of hope. And
we can embrace and internalize that spirit of hope today. It is the spirit of
God, and with God all things are possible.
St. Paul said, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2
Corinthians 3.17). The spirit of hope frees us to be our best selves. The
spirit of hope frees us to believe in ourselves. The spirit of hope frees us
to celebrate our gifts. The spirit of hope frees us to get up when we fall, to
try again when we fail, to see past the problem to the possible solution. The
spirit of hope is the spirit of freedom; it is the spirit of God.
A song from my childhood religious tradition says,
“And you walk with me and you talk with me
and you tell me I am your own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known.”
The spirit of God is everywhere and it is everlasting. It is the spirit of
hope, the spirit of freedom, the spirit of life. It connects us to the best in
life, and to the power of divine love. It reminds us we are children of God
and it offers us joy that no situation can take away.
Our Proverbs reading reminds us that Wisdom has already built the house;
the table is set for us. Let us put aside anything and everything that is
hindering us from sharing in the presence of the Divine and let us enter that
presence in peace as we take the Peace into ourselves because that is where
the spirit of God is!
Amen.