I would invite everyone here to take a deep breath. Breathe in Holy Spirit, the source of life. Remember that we depend on that divine gift for all that we are and all that we have. Breathe deep, for the spirit is blowing a fresh wind, and bringing new creation out of the chaos of the deep. Contemplating that chaos frightens some, for we never know what is coming, but there is no creation without it ”“ like the death that must precede resurrected life.
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Let that breath get the heart beating and the blood moving, for we will never be God’s mission partners otherwise. Let that circulating blood connect us with the other parts of this body, here and far beyond this place. Go look for connections with your sparring partners ”“ for the left hook and the right jab both come from the same body. Link up with somebody from another part of the theological spectrum ”“ this big tent is the dwelling place of the holy, and we will never be who we were created to be if we only work with the fingers of the right hand or the left. Search out those you have wounded or who have wounded you ”“ seek them out and let the grudges go ”“ there isn’t much life in hanging on to them. It’s like that old tale about swallowing rat poison and expecting somebody else to die. Go find the supposed source of wounds and build a bridge together ”“ notice the blood that’s been shed, and let it form a good scab to draw flesh together. Continue to pick at the wound and it will never heal. Let it go and keep breathing.
If this convention is The Episcopal Church’s family reunion, then go find somebody who represents the outlaw side of the family for you and spend a few minutes learning your relative’s story. You might promise to pray for each other through the coming days. Perhaps you can find time for a cup of coffee or a meal together. That kind of reconciling work will have a greater effect on our readiness for mission than any legislation we may pass here.
I am sure the Presiding Bishop has some good qualities, but she can’t preach her way out of a box.
Is that meant to be the start of a sermon?
“Search out those you have wounded or who have wounded you – seek them out and let the grudges go”…then send them up on charges. Her words do not represent her actions.
Obviously, this is not the Holy Spirit KJS is talking about. I have always objected to the use of “Spirit” or “Holy Spirit” without “the” since it depersonalized God and implies that Spirit is some form of resource, like air or water.
But her words here work as a denial of the very credal formula that the existence of the Church is dependent on.
1) in the theology espoused in the PB’s statement, the Holy Spirit is not a person of the Godhead, but a gaseous atmospheric substance.
2) According to the Creed, the Holy Spirit is not the gift, but the giver, life is the gift. (the Lord, the giver of life).
3) Most important- Human beings do not decide when the Holy Spirit will or will not impact our lives- He does. We do not “tank up” on the Holy Spirit by breathing Him (or as she would apparently have things, “it”) in. It is God’s decision, not ours.
4) In what way do deep breaths “worship and glorify??”
5) He has spoken through the prophets. Methinks she perhaps has a rather high opinion of herself, and if she thinks every breath she takes breathes in Holy Spirit, she also believe every word she speaks breathes out Holy Spirit. Plus a little carbon dioxide, she is a scientist, after all.
If one of the real theologians out there wants to take a crack at this, there should be enough material in this one speech to justify a charge of heresy. The doctrine presented is clearly not the doctrine of even the ’79 BCP, and is therefore a violation of her consecration vows.
Count me out tj – reading this stuff is like having your head pushed through mush. Somewhere in there is a point, but who has the patience and hours required to find out what it is? Although it does remind me of something …
Pure gibberish from a random cliche and nonsense phrase generator. A complete waste of bandwidth and oxygen. Read the comments at the source article. Four fawning sycophants and one clear-headed Puddleglum.
She is either not taking her meds or taking too many of them. I guess the best adjective I can think of is tragicomic. I can’t tell if this is more like something from Kung Fu Panda or a psychedelic flashback from a bad acid trip. It kind of reminds me of the Moody Blues song “Late Lament” (lyrics below). Now, more than ever, I offer a heartfelt “Oh, I’m so sorry” whenever someone tells me they’re an Episcopalian.
Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watch lights fade from every room
Bedsitter people look back and lament
Another day’s useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colors from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white,
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?
She’s taken the Hebrew word for ‘breath’ and divinized it — I guess. What a strange amalgamation of quarter-truths, or ‘a lot of wind.’
“Breathe deep, for the spirit is blowing a fresh wind, and bringing new creation out of the chaos of the deep.” This jumped out at me. apparently the PB has absorbed deeply the evolutionary idea that the cosmos emerged from chaos and that chaos is the raw material out of which creative humans will fashion emerging reality. As a creationist, I believe that there was nothing before the creative fiat of God – no chaos, nothing. Creation, the cosmos and truth emerged from the Word of God, and He has revealed some of that to us in Scripture.
How many times must the canon balls fly,
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
This is what happens when someone without spiritual formation takes classes at a seminary, and learns selectively.
Remember, there’s the Holy Spirit, and there’s also that other one. To her credit, she does mention “Holy Spirit” once.
Reading this in conjunction with her Easter sermon of 2008 casts some light — along the lines of certain kinds of hot air contributing to global warming.
She breathes in oxygen, but what comes out is nothing but hot air…….no substance or sound reasoning except for her perverted view of what is supposed to be Christian theology.
There’s a saying in German that basically says “If you raise your hand into the prevailing winds to catch the Holy Spirit( Heilige Geist ) you will only catch the Spirit of the Age ( Zeitgeist ).
On another note, her reference to a church in Frankfurt puzzles me as the only Anglican church I know of in that town is “Christ the King” not ‘Christ Church’ as stated.