Chapter 47 The Conspiracy Spirit

       “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” I would imagine it was my mother who taught me that. And I can remember saying it as a young boy. Whenever a friend would get mad at me and say something mean about me, I would say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” As we get older we discover that those words really aren’t true. Words do harm us…and we harm others with our words.
      I think that is one of the points McLaren makes in this chapter. He writes on page 237, “Speaking of our words, one of the most important ways the Spirit moves us to care for people in all these circles is by training us to control our tongues.” I imagine I have hurt more people with my tongue than in any other way. I hope that I have helped quite a few people with my tongue as well.
      I liked the various circles of people that McLaren says the Spirit conspires to touch with our lives: family, co-workers, neighbors, the vulnerable, and our critics, opponents and enemies. It is certainly that last group that I struggle with the most. Perhaps we all do.
     It is a struggle to show kindness to people we don’t “get” and people who don’t “get” us. It is hard to have kind words to say about those who don’t have kind words to say about us. I was reading a book recently and in this book, they called these people EGR-Extra Grace Required. May God send me and extra dose of the Spirit to assist me in dealing with the EGR’s in my life. And may I be a little less trouble to those that find me to be an EGR to them.

Chapter 46 Spirit of Service

The Spirit leads us downward. I guess this is what scripture scholars and theologians call the great reversal. The poor will become powerful. The rich are sent away empty. The blind see and those with sight are made blind. The deaf hear and the hearing cannot understand, cannot "hear" the words of Jesus. The Spirit moves us downward not only to pray, but just as importantly to serve.
     One of the things that I think has helped our parish move in the direction that God is calling is our emphasis on service. Exit Zero, St. Elizabeth/Catholic Charities, Community Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, St. Joseph the Worker, Haiti, the Franciscan Kitchen, Marie's Ministry...all places where our parishioners have been pushed downward into service.
     My prayer for each of us is that God will continue to lead us downward where we can find in our midst the ones that Jesus would serve.