Spirit Led (02/02/2024)

Yesterday, as I was coming out of Kwik Trip at the busiest time of the day (5:20 p.m.), carrying two pizza boxes on one arm and a bag of groceries hanging from the other, I went to try and open my car door when a gentleman from the US Postal Services (I know because of his uniform) rushed to help me. From a distance he saw my dilemma. And the Spirit led him. Thankfully, he cooperated with the Spirit. And my pizzas made it to the back seat safely for transport.

Earlier in the day, I was reading a new book draft sent to me by a Baptist minister from the east coast who had sought me out for help in developing a plan for congregations seeking to share a pastor effectively. When he called me some time ago, he explained that while our denominations were different, he felt our destinations were the same. And so, we talked, and I shared with him what I’d learned from years of experience about bringing communities together. As I read the draft, my heart and mind were at peace. He’d heard what I tried to share with him about the way the Spirit works within our communities and the need to cooperate with the Spirit through transparency, open communication, and collaboration.

Jesus told us that He did not leave us alone; He promised us the Spirit. And this is the age of the Spirit who is among us, who gifts us and graces us. There is not an absence or lack of the Spirit in our world, but at times there is a shortage of cooperation with the Spirit. The Spirit graces us. The Spirit gifts us. The Spirit nudges and prods us.

We are the living Body of Christ. With Christ as our head, we are called to work together in solidarity – it is as imperative that the toe come along as that the arms do. And to make the journey, it is also imperative that there be open communication throughout the body. Shouldn’t we recognize that keeping secrets and leaving the majority out of a process is going against the very nature of an entity dedicated to spreading the Good News through word and deed?

The Spirit graces every moment of our days. Our job is to open ourselves to the Spirit who goes where the Spirit wishes and often takes a route we wouldn’t have chosen using individuals we would never have recruited. But then again, the LORD has always surprised us, if we are honest. If we are going to live the promises we have made, we must open ourselves to the working of the Spirit not only in ourselves but also in others. We must take down the walls that separate us. We must learn to work together under the guidance of the Spirit to accomplish that which we cannot do alone – to truly be and live as the living Body of Christ in the world.

As we go forward, let us open ourselves to the guidance of the Spirit, no matter where we are. Let us seek to be Spirit led whether at the Kwik Trip or in our church community. Our LORD is LORD of all, not just those areas we deem “religious.”

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.

Thoughts to share? Questions? Requests? – katewiskus@gmail.com