Betweenthe first and second years of seminary, we seminarians are required to do our ClinicalPastoral training. For ten weeks, all of us served aschaplain interns throughout the week, and then each Fridays, we gatheredtogether as a group with our mentor to evaluate how we handled particularsituations. Some seminarians served inhospital trauma units, others served in retirement communities. I served in a rural hospice organization fromwhich, I visited patients and their families located all over rural MiddleTennessee.
Itwas difficult ministry, it was needed ministry, it was rewarding ministry. I recall one patient who was under the care ofone of our best nurses. My new patient's name was Sue,and she was really struggling to get her meds balanced and the pain was at times,unbearable. I sat with her during one ofour weekly visits and the slight grimaces on her face hidden only by her forcedsmile, told me she was in distress. Shelooked at me with tears in her eyes, but through a deeply committed faith andsaid, “I give thanks to God that I was able to see that beautiful sunrisetoday, did you see it Eric?”
Whenyou find yourself in the middle of difficult times, giving thanks to God may bethe last thing on your mind, but giving thanks to God, even in difficult times,is a sign of the Spirit of Love, in which we are embraced. Sue was filled with a love beyond imagine, andit was that love that shone through, even in the midst of her pain. Sue gave thanksin all things.
Itis easy to give thanks when things are good. When money’s in the bank, the job is going well, there are no healthissues, when we have plenty of sleep, lots of food, and all the basicscovered. When evidence of abundanceabounds all around us, giving thanks to God can be an empty gesture. With awink and a nod, we gaze up and say, “Thank you Jesus!”
Withwhat spirit are we really filled with in those times? Is that the Spirit of Love or a spirit ofbeing well satisfied, self-fulfilled, or maybe an attitude of “ I deserve allthis.” The Spirit of love, which Christ poursout usually becomes most evident in the midst of life, when the bottom falls out. In those times, it may not easy to say, “God,I don’t have much, but for this one meal I have today, I am eternally gratefuland acknowledge you r provision.” The Spiritof Christ’s love in the midst of difficulties gives us the strength to expressgratitude when we would rather complain. Christ fills us with love, gratitude, and humility and thus, we are filledwith the Spirit.
Whenpeople start talking about being filled with the Spirit, some of us Episcopalians canbecome a little antsy or a little uncomfortable. Maybe because when we talk about the Spirit,images of ecstatic spiritual experiences, hand-raising responses, or praisemusic are conjured up. Evidence of beingfilled with the Spirit is something we here about throughout scripture. Whether it was Old Testament prophets or thefollowers of Jesus, people who evidenced a filling of the Spirit, the Spirit oflove, were not mere benefactors of that gift, for their own benefit. If you look closely at those moments of spirit filling, eachperson was being fitted, prepared, equipped so that they might be sent out witha purpose.
The Spirit of Christ’s love fills us not so webecome merely a consumer of Spiritual wares, but so that we might become a conveyorof that same love. We as followers ofChrist are vessels, exchange agents, conduits of God love. We are filled with the Spirit of love, so thatme might “play our role in the mystery of God, ultimately uniting all thingsunder one head in Christ.”1
Ifwe are in fact, all united in Christ, we are not merely a gathering ofindividuals, that are independent, and separate, who like eggs in a crate,happen to occupy common space. No, thechurch is a tapestry of individual threads woven together. We are like a cloth, in which the lines thatseparate our individual gifts, our individual situations, our individual lives becomeblurred, and the whole takes on a new hue. As such, Christ pours out perfect love on the community so that the communitythrives and matures, the community unites in a chorus of voices singing praisesto God for all to hear.
We allhave a part in the mystery of God’s work of salvation. We are co-conspirators with God, co-creators ofgrace, who are filled with God’s Spirit that is lived out and through us. The mission of God to bring unity to all inChrist, is the mission of the church. Weare not left alone to carry this endeavor out by ourselves. We are empowered, charged, and filled byGod’s Spirit to carry out the work we have been given to do, which is to be open books of the GoodNews. We can surely give God thanks andpraise.
Myencounter with Sue on that difficult summer day in 2008, reminded me that weshould in all things, acknowledge Christ’s love for us. We are filled with the Spirit of love, andthat knowledge strengthens and empowers us to face anything; any uncertainty, any fear, anythreat. In all things giving thanks, wecan with humility and peace say, “God I give thanks to you this day, despitethese circumstances in which, I find myself. I give thanks for your love and grace.” “Lord, please give me the strength to liveinto the virtue of hope and patience . . . give me grace to trust you andpraise you in all things.” Give thanksto the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.
1 (Heil, John Paul. "Ephesians 5:18B: "But BeFilled In The Spirit." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 69.3 (2007): 506-516.ATLASerials, Religion Collection. Web. 18 Aug. 2012.)
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