Seeking Loaves And Fishes

When this finds you on Monday morning, the Spiritus staff will be away at our annual retreat at Camp Asbury for a few days. It’s an intentional time to step back from our everyday life and get some time together to reflect, unplug and vision together. It’s a time we look forward to each year, and we’re grateful to all of you for supporting us in doing this.

I remember many years ago having time together during the crisis at Corpus Christi. Our retreat time together helped to spark a vision of what a new model of church could be. Spiritus Christi emerged from that time, and each year since our time away has given birth to some new ideas that have helped to shape the church community that we have come to know. It has helped us get clearer on our vision and has given us a boldness to do new things.

Part of the time we spend in nature. We’re encouraged to sit by the lake, take walks and engage the world around us – drawing inspiration and strength from creation. Part of the time is spent building community together – strengthening our bonds, telling stories and laughing together. And part of the time is spent visioning where we want to go together and dreaming about what is next for us in our ministries and as a collective.

It is meant to be a time of listening for a deeper call and drawing upon a deeper wisdom that strengthens us for the journey ahead with all of you.

Our readings for today carry similar themes.

In our first reading today from Acts 19, Paul encounters some believers in Ephesus and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answer, “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So he presses them, “Well, then, how were you baptized?” And they respond, “With the baptism of John.” Paul proceeds to lay his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit comes upon them in a new way.

Then in the gospel from John 16, the disciples hear Jesus talking plainly and have their hearts and minds opened to a new level of truth. The directness of the teaching cuts through to enlighten them in a new way. Jesus warns them that some tough times are ahead for them but says, “take courage, I have conquered the world.”

For me these readings point to levels of insight and power that are available to us – if we know where to look and if we intentionally seek them.

I have often loved the old saying, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”

Just as our staff is taking time out from our everyday lives to seek the Spirit and strengthen ourselves for the journey, I would invite you to do the same. Maybe you can join us in a similar journey this week and reflect on similar questions that we will reflect upon.

How is the state of your heart these days? What is going well in your life? What is challenging these days?

Where do you see your ministry (however you define that in your life) going over the next year? What are some things that you would like to accomplish? What will you need to make that happen? What dreams are emerging in your life these days (even if you are not sure how they will come about)?

What are your hopes for our faith community? Are there things that you’d love to see happen that may not be happening right now? Are there some things that you would want to see amplified or supported? Are there questions or challenges coming up for you?

What does the wider community need from our faith community and how might we respond to that?

What will help you face the challenges that are ahead for you (personally or as you try to navigate the world)? How can “church” support you in that?

I know that these are not “light” questions. They require thought and reflection – as individuals and as a collective. But failing to ask them might short-circuit a creative process that is vital to our transformation and change.

When I was a counselor in training, my mentors would often say, “You can’t take people where you haven’t gone.” This was an invitation to do the inner work so that we could meet people where they were in their lives and not ask them to do what we ourselves were not willing to do.

Hopefully our time away will give us access to new power in the Spirit – power that helps us live more fully into our calling and leadership. And hopefully our time away will help us envision a future that responds more fully to you and to the world around us.

For my part, I look forward to partnering with you on this journey – wherever it takes us together.

As part of my meditation for this time away, I took the words of the poet David Whyte with me as part of my meditation. In his poem, Loaves and Fishes, he says,

This is not
the age of information.

This is not
the age of information.

Forget the news,
and the radio,
and the blurred screen.

This is the time of loaves
and fishes.

People are hungry,
and one good word is bread
for a thousand.

May we all hear the “one good word” that is bread in our lives!