When we lived in West Palm Beach,
some friends, neighbors and co-workers had mango trees in their yards. When it
was mango season, we had mangos galore!
But
the one thing I always disliked about mangos is cutting them up. I’ve tried
everything, but I always ended up with a juicy mess of crushed and mangled
mango. A few weeks ago, Lesa our Parish Administrator, made lunch for the staff
and clergy and there were these beautifully cut up pieces of mango. Lesa shared
her trick with us – cut the length of the mango so that the long thin seed is
in the middle. Take the 2 large pieces with skin on and score the fruit into
small squares, but don’t cut through the skin. Push the skin up so that the
scored pieces pop off the skin. Voila, perfect mango pieces! I tried it this
morning at breakfast and it worked like magic!
I
think this is often the case in our lives too. We keep doing some things the
same way, and we keep ending up with a mess or problems or difficulties each
time despite our best intentions. Sometimes we need to talk with God, ask for
help, find a spiritual advisor or director, worship in community, see what
Scripture has to say, or connect with fellow Christians who can walk with us a
while. Although our spiritual formation can happen anywhere, I think that it is
when we are in community with other Christians that those “a-ha” moments are
most likely to happen. And there is a reason for this – it is the Holy Spirit.
Today
is Ascension Day when we celebrate Jesus ascending to heaven. And, we are
looking forward to Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, Sunday, May 24, when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide
and help his followers (John 15:26-27 & 16:4-15). I think that it is with the help and
guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in a church community, that we are given what we need to
help and guide us in our lives and in the world.
As
we look forward to Pentecost and celebrating the Holy Spirit, perhaps there are
a few questions we can ponder: Where do we need help in our life? Where would
some guidance be useful? What is our spiritual growing edge? What new thing is
God calling us into, or what is God calling us out of?
Peace,
The Reverend Brent Owens
No comments:
Post a Comment