Blowing in the Wind

       What a mighty wind we had this week!  We lay in bed Tuesday night and listened to the wind roar and the house creak.  It went on like that for ages.  Wind is a powerful thing.  During the funeral Tuesday morning, there were loud groans and creaks that could be heard even over the organ.  After the service, several people remarked that they wondered what it was until they realized that it was the roof in the wind.  Later on that day, I had to wait for the wind gust to lessen a bit before I could push my way out the door to go home.  The storm that blew through set all kinds of records before it was done.
        Days like that are reminders of how strong the wind can be and how freely it blows on the Great Plains.  I know when I lived on Minot Air Force Base, that in the middle of winter with feet of snow all around us, sometimes the drifts would be covered with black dirt that had blown in on the wind.  The wind can be a soft pleasant breeze on a summer evening, keeping the mosquitoes at bay or it can be a constant roar that is frightening in its power.  I have listened to people who have lived through hurricanes and they talk about the constant sound of the wind as something they will never forget.
        This wind, a power that can't be seen or controlled, is the main image that we are given in the Bible for the third person of the Trinity; the Holy Spirit.  In the Hebrew and the Greek, it is named by the word for wind or breath.  When God breathes into the person (adam) made of clay dirt (adama), it is then that he is given life (Genesis 2:7).  It is literally the breath of God in us that gives us life which is why the earliest definition of life is breathing.  When the Bible speaks of the Spirit of God giving us life, it means the actual breath going in and out of our bodies and not some spiritual imagery.
       In the common song sung after the offering is brought forward (Psalm 51:10-12), we sing "cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me".  I'm sure that most of the time we don't really think about the words we are singing and if we do, we spiritualize it without really considering the meaning.  The true meaning should give us pause. The "holy spirit" that the psalmist names is the same words for the wind and breath of God.  The words are a plea that God's breath will continue to move in and out our lungs, giving us life.
        The wind that blows over the face of the waters before creation is the same Holy Spirit that breathes in and out of our lungs and is the same Holy Spirit that blows through the gathered followers of Jesus and brings the Church to birth.  Like the wind blowing through the Great Plains, we cannot control the Holy Spirit nor do we know where it is going or what God is working to accomplish.  And yet we pray for the gifts of this Spirit to continue to give us life and faith throughout our lives.  There is true power and life in the Spirit, thank God, because we need the power of that life and love in the brokenness of our lives.
       Since it is this Spirit that powers the Church and blows in and through us, it should be no surprise that we don't always feel in control over what is happening, nor do we always know or like the direction we think we are going.  This is the Spirit that we confront when we come to the waters of baptism and that gives us life.  We can acknowledge that this life comes from God and open our hands and hearts to God's work and will or we can spend our entire lives bucking against the wind, fighting God all the way.  Before we set our direction against the Wind, we need to remember that God sends the Spirit out of the greatest love we can imagine and that God's purpose is to give us life and love.  Read John 3:5-8,16.

Reality Check

       We have been having wonderful weather for harvest these last weeks; so good that beet harvest is over, and many people are done with beans (soybeans) too.  One farmer was even heard to say that beet harvest 'was fun this year'!  Perhaps he was remembering last year and others when farmers struggled to harvest in the midst of cold, snow, wet slush, wind, and tons of heavy, slippery, sticky mud.  In contrast, this fall has been filled with days of sunlight and warmer breezes drying the fields after the rain and standing water left from September.
       Then Monday morning came cold, wet, windy, and gray bringing even the threat of occasional snow flakes further north.  It was a reality check.  Summer is over and the winter that is coming will be cold and will bring winds and snow; after all, this is northern Minnesota.   As much as we would like the warmer sunny weather to stay, we have another winter to get through before spring comes again.
       Many of the bumps and curves that we run into on our life's journey function as reality checks; they wake us up to the limits of life.  They can be a simple as finding gray hairs as we comb our hair or as hard as the illness or death of someone whom we love.  These times can be incredibly discouraging and difficult but they can also become times when our faith grows stronger as we realize our need for the power and comfort of the love of God.   We can moan about our foolishness and helplessness or we can simply and gratefully come to God.
       The reality checks of life can also become reminders of the mission we have each been given: to bring the good news of God's love, hope, and healing to those in need.  Our faith journey is not fulfilled by searching for our own inner peace but by living to bring God's peace to the world.  The world will not wait for us to get ourselves perfected before we share our faith.  People are hurting, ill, alone, and in need now.
       As a student chaplain, the first time I was sent into a room to be with someone whose spouse was dying, I had no idea of what to do or to say.  All the big words, the hard work, and complicated theologies I was learning at seminary left me feeling totally unskilled and speechless so I got coffee and tissues as we waited for news from the doctor; I stayed and we waited together.   I began to learn then what I know for certainty now; the biggest gift begins when we step outside of ourselves and dare to care for someone else.  It continues when we dare to simply be together.
        God does not ask us to be perfect but comes to us even in our weakness, loves us as we are and sends us out to serve just as Jesus was sent.  It can be as simple as bringing cans of food for the local food pantry, fixing a flat tire, or sitting with someone even when you don't know what to say.  The Word that we bring even in our simplest acts is the eternal Word of hope in Jesus Christ.  Read 1 Peter 1:23-25.

Beet, Beet, Sugar Beet...

       I live in one of the few counties left in Minnesota that are considered primarily agricultural - meaning that the majority of people earn their income through agriculture; farming and those things that directly support farming.  That means the pace of living around here is directly related to what is happening in the fields and right now that means harvest.  And if you live around here, you can't help but be aware that it is a very busy time around the clock.
       During the night, I could hear the big semi trucks filled with tons of sugar beets on the road.  The dry sunny weather that we are very grateful for has been drying out the fields and so the harvest of sugar beets and soybeans are in full swing.  When the weather is too warm to harvest beets, the combines are out in the beans.  The air is full of dust and hums with the sound of machinery in the fields and at the elevators.  The roads are caked with mud from the fields and rumble with the truck traffic.  It is a very different picture of harvest than the romantic notion many people bring to mind.
       The pace of harvest is fast to frantic with people trying to get the crops in before the weather either changes the quality of the crop or stops the harvest for snow and rain or in the case of sugar beets, before it gets too warm or too cold to harvest.  Because of this people work long and hard hours and can be at the ragged end of tired.  Add together these things and the machinery involved and harvest can be a dangerous time.
       One of the pictures I carry about harvest from growing up is of a famous painting of the more romantic style.  My parents had a framed large print of Jean-Francois Millet's the Angelus which shows a couple bent in prayer over their harvest work in the middle of a potato field.  There is a church steeple in the background and the implication understood at the time (19th century) was that the bells at the church had rung calling them to prayer.  The church bells were rung before service, at the beginning of worship and also rung in a slow peal to indicate the time in the service when the Lord's prayer was being prayed.  This way everyone in the community, even those working in the field could join in prayer.
       I often recall this painting as I hear the church bells ring on Sunday, calling us again to prayer; only now most people probably don't know the significance.  Perhaps you can consider these words as a call to common prayer for the harvest where ever it is happening around you.  Pray for a safe and a bountiful harvest, for just prices, for all those who labor, and for those in need.
       In the Old Testament, harvest is mentioned most often as a time to think of and provide for those in need: widows, orphans, and aliens and the beasts and birds of the fields.  There are instructions not to harvest every bit but to leave gleanings for the poor and wild animals.  It is instruction for people not to be so greedy for themselves but to look out for the needs of others.  Harvest is to be a time of plenty for everyone.  It is a reminder that God is the one who makes harvest possible not the work of human hands and that the earth does not belong to us for exploitation but has been put into our care for God's purposes.  Our truest prayers are accompanied by faithful action.  Read Deuteronomy 24:17-22.