Hi everyone,
St Augustine once said, “My soul is restless until it finds its rest in you, O God.” He was mostly known as a saint because of his great writings, but at the heart of things he was a saint because he devoted himself to that restless soul.
There is a saying that the Christian Church may be a complicated and flawed institution, but at the heart of things, “it is just one poor hungry soul telling another poor hungry soul where to find bread.” Sure, we are an institution, a non-profit, an organization with all the trappings of our western culture, but at the heart of it all is a gospel that feeds our soul, and a set of teachings and practices that channel our restlessness and the powerful fire within us in ways that create and build up and nourish the world around us.
I believe that there is a fire within every person, an energy of desire that makes us want to engage in life in ways that mean something – grab on and make something happen. Every soul has longing that needs healthy expression. It is what compels the farmer every spring to plant again, propels the feet of the dancer, moves in the heart and mind of the teacher, stirs the imagination of the writer… You name it. The energy is in all of us. That is spirit at work.
For me, one of the most important reasons for being the church is to create a community in which people learn to tend that fire in themselves and each other in healthy ways. We are Spirit tenders. People have questioned whether there is a future for the Christian church. I believe that as long as we are tending the holy fire, listening for the movement of that Spirit, creating opportunity for the restless longings within to find expression, people will gather.
So to all restless souls – poor hungry souls in search of bread, bring your questions, your longings, your restlessness, and see you on Sunday.