Pentecost is Here

On Pentecost, we hear of a time in the lives of the earliest disciples when the Holy Spirit came to them suddenly, disrupting their lives and sending them into difficult situations.  Yet as uncomfortable and even dangerous as it was to follow the call of the Spirit, that same Spirit worked through them in new ways to build a witnessing community.  It seems as if we are in a Pentecost time at Christ Lutheran.  The Spirit is disrupting the usual pattern of things here and forcing us to take a hard look at ourselves.  The presence of the Spirit, however, is part of God's unconditional grace for us.  And the Spirit is doing its work of transformation among us, opening us to be a community that catches the attention of our neighborhood.

In the world, but not of the world

Recent news in our neighborhood reminds us something we already know - it's a hard world that we live in.  And maybe what's even harder to hear is that Jesus says he doesn't want to take us out of this world.  Jesus wants us to stay here, just like he did, even unto his death.  But in his prayer to the Father, Jesus makes clear that we belong to him.  As we celebrated the baptism of a new child of God, we remembered that it is through baptism that Christ claims us as his own and promises to be with us in this difficult world.  And even more, we have a Savior who prays for us during our earthly sojourn.

Friends of Jesus

We might have plenty of facebook friends, but the truth is that most of us only have a few close friends with whom we can truly be ourselves.  In the world that Jesus lived in, friends were also rare.  They were the only people in your life who were at the same social level as you.  When Jesus calls his disciples friends, when he calls us his friends, he brings us much closer to him than we could have imagined on our own.  He makes us a part of himself - of his Body in the world.  And so we go to extend his gospel friendship, and to build a house where all are welcome.

Flyleaf: All Around Me

This is a modern song from a rock band called Flyleaf, called "All Around Me."  This band does identify as Christian.  I remember when I first heard this song on the radio it caught my attention that something so worshipful was being played on a major rock station.  Pretty cool witness if you ask me!  Check it out.  Lyrics are below (click the link):

In the hands of the Vinegrower, abiding in the Vine

Among the last things Jesus says to his disciples is to tell them, "I am the vine, you are the branches."  Life flows to us from Christ as life-giving nutrients and water flow to branches from the vine.  However, for the vine to be healthy and bear fruit, it must be pruned from time to time.  What might the Father, the vinegrower, be pruning away in our lives?  How is God pruning us as a community of faith?  What dead wood must be cut away for us to bear fruit?  But no matter what is pruned away, we will remain always connected to Christ the Vine, for he has made us to be his branches now and always.