In the Mennonite congregation I serve, we are using the Lectionary to open ourselves as a community to hear what God is saying to us through Scripture during the season of Epiphany – actually throughout the whole year. During these Sundays following Epiphany we are exploring a common thread woven through these texts – namely being clothed with the Spirit of Christ.
Last Sunday, we explored that we were created as human beings not only to breathe in air, but more importantly to breathe in the Spirit of God – Genesis 2:7 recounts that God breathed in us. Though we exhaled and began to breathe in what is toxic to us, God came in Christ to re-create us and to breathe the Spirit into our lives once again – cf. John 20:22 where Christ breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
This week we are exploring our being attuned to the presence and workings of God in the times and seasons of our lives. As we live being open to God encountering us, and as we are open to responding to God’s encounter, we begin to witness the presence and moving of the Spirit in our lives – and in so doing we lives as ones who are sign, foretaste, and instrument of God’s present and coming reign (note to read my thoughts on our being sign, foretaste, and instrument, see to Missional Matters Vol 1: 3,4,and 5).
I make note of this to say that our spirituality is missional when it gives heed to the Spirit of Christ, and we live out a missional spirituality as we live being clothed with the Spirit of Christ. Breathing in the Spirit and being attuned to God are key aspects of our living missionally. We can be about our own lives, doing our own thing, breathing in God according to our own agendas, being aware of God in those moments which we set aside for being attuned – but then we about living our own lives, bringing in God when it suits us for God to participate in our lives.
However, living missionally, living within a missional spirituality is about growing in learning to live in the times and seasons of our lives being open to the rhythms and leading of God – it is we who are called and empowered and enabled by the Spirit of Christ to participate with God and what God is doing to re-create all of creation. Engaging in a missional spirituality is for us to respond to God’s embrace of us to participate in the life and mission of God, rather than God merely being a participant in the directions and agendas of our own lives.
To live missionally, to be a people who are embraced by a missional spirituality, involves being a people who daily posture ourselves to breathe in the Spirit of Christ, who daily attune our lives to the rhythms of God – recognizing that it is God who re-creates us, leads us, sustains us, so that in all our living we participate in living out what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer – “may your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, just as it is in heaven.”
My encouragement to you as we live into this New Year is for each of us to breathe in the Spirit and to live being attuned to God and God’s actions – in this way we will discover what it is to be embraced a missional spirituality.
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Good encouragement. Bringing those rhythms into our lives introduced through the Lectionary or in my own practice, the BCP, I find what you say here validates my own experience. Linking up with the Lord and breathing in His Spirit in whatever fashion works for you, is highly important as we seek to live and work missionally. We can be or are walking prayers and lights and being attuned with the Lord through His Spirit is optimal as well as supremely rewarding. The whole idea of God keeping company and breathing into us conjures up some very good images.
ReplyDeleteGod's peace, Bill+
Here is a comment from a friend - Linda - who is still trying to figure out how to post a comment - so I am doing it for her:
ReplyDeleteRoland talks much about "missional spirituality." I thought about what that means, based on my experience in organization effectiveness consulting.
How is "mission" different from "project", "purpose", "goal", "task"? Unlike the others (which are rational and pragmatic), the word "mission" includes drive, passion, zeal, strong motivation. Like project and task, it includes action. A "mission" can be life-long or it can take less than a year - but it always includes deliberate, concerted action toward accomplishment. When you are "on a mission" you are "on the move" to get something done that you care about, that is both important and urgent to you.
So to me, if I have a "missional spirituality", I am aware of and imbued with the spirit of God, and I conduct myself with constant reference to that. (The "spirituality" part) Therefore I can see what God is doing all around me (often through other people) and where there are spots for me to help and serve. And then I devote myself fully to that. Generally "full devotion" doesn't mean doing more or trying harder, but rather doing it with love, compassion, grace, respect. The way I do it matters just as much as what I do if I have "missional spirituality." And that quality will shine through everything I do every day. It is surely worth my daily prayers.