RESOURCING THE CHURCH FOR ECUMENICAL MINISTRy A ...

an answer not only as to how to move forward but
how to keep up! I suspect this is the same
phenomenon that is going on in all levels of church
life across the denominational board and perhaps
across the globe.
And so it begs the question, how does the church
faithfully and creatively live out mission statements,
arrange supporting structures and create media and
venues to share our story (functional necessities it
seems) that tend to become outdated as soon as
they’re established. How do we dwell in the moving
of God’s Spirit without the temptation of setting up
camp when the spiritual wagon train has left to blaze
new trails? Most of all, what does it mean to be
faithful to the call of unity and reconciliation in Jesus
Christ in the midst of this disorienting “contextual
black hole” in which we find ourselves?
In John’s rendering today, we have Nicodemus, a
faithful leader of the religious establishment of his
day, who has gone to Jesus by night for a little dialogue
or debate, or perhaps for a little enlightenment about
this new thing happening around this itinerant
Rabbi. And Nicodemus goes to Jesus recognizing, or
at least wants Jesus to think he recognizes, that Jesus
doesn’t do anything transformational apart from the
presence of God. And with that acknowledgment
made, Jesus, in short says to Nicodemus: Do not be
astonished when I tell you that no one can see the
Kingdom of God without being born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus, not quite understanding what Jesus is
trying to say, then asks for more clarity. But to his
dismay, Jesus responds by saying “Nicodemus, the
wind blows where it chooses, and you may hear the
sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from
or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of
the Spirit.” And Nicodemus, perplexed by Jesus
words, asks, “How can that be?” And Jesus reminds
him, “You’re a leader of the religious establishment
and you don’t understand these things?”
Whether we wish to claim it or not, I suspect on some
level, we gather here this week as part of the greater
global religious establishments of our day, and yet we
(in particular) claim to be a Spiritual movement
. . . certainly a tension that we live in as the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). And yet we
gather here, as many have before us, to meet Jesus for
a little dialogue and debate, some enlightenment—to
Glynn • Winds of Unity
It’s all around us...the movement of the Spirit of Unity given in Jesus Christ,
the core of our identity...that comes to us without a box.
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gain some clarity about the ever-changing movement
of Christ’s Spirit and Culture, and about how to be a
continued source of healing and reconciliation in the
midst of a deeply disoriented and fragmented world
of human need.
My friends, we are at an exciting and opportune
moment, just as our founders were two centuries
ago—a time of rapid change as they were experiencing
the expansion of the western frontier. A time when
the wind was blowing furiously across the prairie
singing a vision of unity and inclusiveness. And our
founders, who were listening, didn’t ask, “How can
this be?” but instead trusted in what they heard,
courageously ventured into new territory and were
awakened and transformed by a renewed vision of the
kingdom of God. Spiritual pioneers—that’s our heritage,
passed on to us by the faithful listening hearts of each
generation, including those like Peter Ainslee.
So what does it mean to be a spiritual pioneer in
2010? And what legacy will the cause of unity leave
for the generation of 2110? Only the Spirit knows.
The late Anthony DeMello, an Indian Jesuit Priest (a
modern mystic I would say), tells the story about a
man who, while far from home, experienced an
enormous gale force wind outside. And he wanted
people at home to get an idea about what that gale
force wind was like, so he captured it in a cigar box.
And when he went to open the box, he realized that
once he captured it, it wasn’t a gale force wind
anymore.
Isn’t this the challenge we have before us? As the
winds of new community blow through mediums like
Facebook and Myspace. When the winds of unity
blow through a college dorm room bringing a
student from Nepal and the United States together
in the same living space. When the winds of justice,
compassion and restoration compel a Church World
Service worker to care for a sick baby in Sri Lanka.
When a Western mission partner is tended to by a
village doctor in Lesotho. It’s all around us . . . the
movement of the Spirit of Unity given in Jesus
Christ, the core of our identity . . . that comes to us
without a box. May we continue to listen for the sound
of it, follow its lead as unencumbered Spiritual
pioneers . . . so that we may continue to be a
movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. May
it be so. Amen.