|
| |
by Reverend Gerry Bennet, Assisting Priest,
(from June 2000 Tidings)
Author’s Original Title: Gerry’s Geriatric
Glimmerings
"Put off your old
nature . . . and be renewed in the Spirit . . . and put on a new nature."
Ephesians 4:22-24
Christianity is rooted in the past and looks toward the future, but
memory and hope exist only in the present. What a message this is as we approach the Day
of Pentecost, a celebration of what has already been given by God, a time of rededication
and a new beginning.
The disciples were a crestfallen group, as their
leader was taken from their midst, but over and over our Lord admonishes them to do the
work they were called to do. How easy it was for them to turn into themselves, form a
small nucleus of like-minded people and bemoan their fate. But three events occurred which
changed their direction, changed their lives, changed the world. Those three: Easter,
Ascension, and Pentecost. All of these combined to force the disciples to refocus their
lives. No longer could they live in the past, nor in the future. God required of them that
they live today, with tendrils reaching in both directions, back and forward.
The Holy Spirit brings the past into present
memory, and at the same time fills us with new hope, forging us into a community. However,
we must always act in the present, for the future is beginning to act right now. We have
that opportunity now to reforge our Nativity community, not by basking in the wonderful
works of the Hope and a Future campaign, but by
inviting the Holy Spirit to fill our lives, to send His power on us today so we can
continue the work we are called to do.
In the Spirit of God,
Gerry+
 
|
|
