Animation
1 Corinthians 2:1-13
It can be intimidating to talk about our faith or make claims about it! We can fall prey to the belief that if you don't have some kind of formal education then your beliefs about who God is, and what scripture can offer us is either derivative or unnecessary when compared to someone who has had some kind of formal education or has "Rev" in front of their names.
That couldn't be further from the truth.
In the Methodist movement that parallelled the rise of the United States throughout its history, Methodism was actually defined by lay preaching: or preaching by those who DIDN'T have "Rev." in front of their name. There was such a shortage of clergy, the week to week meetings of a given "society" was led by their members and definitely included proclamation by those who did not have formal education, but had a conviction and passion of Spirit to share with their community what God was revealing to them in Jesus Christ.
In the passage we are exploring this Sunday, the apostle Paul (also not a priest or a rabbi, by the way) shared a simple truth with his friends in Corinth: "I did not come with lofty words or wisdom proclaiming the mystery of God to you. For I determined to know nothing among you all except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Our faith is both incredibly complicated when it comes to comprehending the vastness of God and God's love--and yet also profoundly simple. As Dr. James Cone has put it in his seminal work A Black Theology of Liberation (1970): “Jesus is the beginning and end point of Christian Theology.” (197)
Both profoundly simple and unbelievably complicated. But I think there is another thing in this passage that reminds me of a way to get at my own faith, and particularly the work of the Holy Spirit in my life: "no one comprehends what is truly God except by the Spirit of God."
So, how does the Spirit of God--the Holy Spirit--work among us and make herself known?
I asked this question of one of my mentors: Dr. Elaine Heath and she gave me an answer that I had never considered before. I was discussing this with her and describing how I didn't really know how to identify just what the Holy Spirit was doing or asking of me, but that I was still doing whatever I could in following my gut feelings. Because our gut can tell us quite a bit--it can identify injustice, lead us into safety or insecurity, and can warn us of betrayal.
Since I have been here at Lakewood UMC, I have noticed that some things just "feel" inexplicably right. And the times I have followed that feeling, which feels a whole like like a feeling of excitement and passion and eagerness within me, I have found great fruit. Opening our doors to community partners came out of a gut feeling. Focusing on homelessness and choosing to engage with the safe parking initiattive came from a gut feeling. Most of my preaching and what comes out of my mouth each sunday is derived from a gut feeling.
When Heath heard me describe this she chuckled and said, "that feeling is the Holy Spirit. It is animating you toward the things God calls you, and that feeling of animation can retreat when you are falling into the ruts and patterns that might not be the direction God is leading."
Animation. Understanding that these feelings I have can be a way in which the Holy Spirit works in me is liberating. It makes me even more excited to go where the energy is. Where the animation ramps up within me. “Anima” is a latin word for "soul,” by the way!
What animates you? What stirs your soul? Where is the Holy Spirit blooming within you as holy and sacred energy?
