September 23

Today’s Readings: Psalm 107; Joel 2:23-30; Luke 16:19-31; 1 Timothy 6:6-19

Today’s reading from Joel raised issues that were huge for me during the course of my sabbatical last summer. As I hinted at yesterday, I am a non-creedal Christian who puts my emphasis on my relationship with God rather than in a profession of certain doctrine or beliefs. Because of this, I have always had a strong appreciation for the Holy Spirit. Needless to say, I loved the way today’s passage from Joel talks about the expansive spirit of God. Verses 28 and 29, for instance, talk about God’s spirit moving across a variety of social barriers including gender (“your sons and daughters shall prophesy”), age (“your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions”), and social location (“even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit”). Amazing! In sitting with this amazing passage I realized that the challenge of Joel’s call is not for me to sit back and criticize those who – from MY perspective – have constructed barriers that would limit God’s expansive Spirit. Rather, my challenge is to examine the barriers – attitudinal and otherwise – that I have constructed to keep out those who differ from me! I would invite you to do the same as together we move ever closer toward realizing of the Reign of God – even if it’s only in our hearts for now. Til next time…