Rev. Debbie Cato
Acts 16:6-16
Fairfield Community
Church
February 6, 2022
Let us Pray: Holy God.
You call us through your Word read and proclaimed. May our
eyes be opened and our hearts willing to follow where your Spirit leads. Amen.
Following
the Spirit
Every 1st
and 3rd Thursday from 9:30 – 11:00. I spend time with other ELCA
pastors sharing what’s happening in our churches and ministries and offering
support to one another. But then we
spend anywhere from 30 – 45 minutes “dwelling in the word” together. This is rich, spiritual time. For 3 months we have been reading this
passage together, one person reads it and then a few minutes later another
person reads it. After a few moments of
silence, we share what we hear the Spirit saying to us through this
passage.
During the five weeks that I’ve participated in this practice with my colleagues, I’ve felt the Spirit highlight how the Holy Spirit actually forbid Paul and his followers from entering and doing mission in Asia. I was fascinated with the idea that the Holy Spirit would prevent ministry from happening. It’s an odd idea that the Holy Spirit would actually prevent you from doing ministry, isn’t it?!
Another week, I noticed how Paul immediately left for Macedonia after he had the vision, because they were convinced that God had called them to proclaim the good news to the Macedonians. They didn’t verify Paul’s vision. They didn’t do any planning. They didn’t wait for a better time or for funding. They immediately set off for Macedonia. They went because they were convinced that the Holy Spirit had given Paul the vision and that God was calling them to Macedonia. It wasn’t what they planned, but they trusted the Holy Spirit. And they went without hesitation.
I also noticed that Paul and his friends went to where they expected to find people. “On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer”. They didn’t stay where they were and hoped people would come to them, they went where there would be people that they could share the good news with.
But then I noticed something that really interested me. Paul would have expected to find men at the place of prayer. That would have been the common practice in Paul’s day. Men gathered to prayer. But instead, Paul and his companions found women who had gathered there on the sabbath. And so, they sat down and spoke to the women and shared the gospel with them. Paul and his followers were truly open to wherever God led them! To a different destination than they planned. To a place where people would be. But they were also open to whoever the Spirit led them to; a group of women rather than a group of men. Because of this, a gentile woman named Lydia became a wonderful convert and founder of the first house church!
I’ve found that sometimes the Holy Spirit will put a passage on my mind and heart for a reason. So, imagine my surprise when a week ago, during the ReBoot Workshop that KayDee, Marci and I are attending, the opening devotion used – you guessed it – Acts 16:6-16! O.K., Holy Spirit! I’m paying attention!
Rev. Miguel Gomez-Acosta, the Director of Evangelical Mission of the Grand Canyon Synod led the devotion. He told us about a church in Flag Staff, AZ. Living Christ Lutheran Church. They are a small church that went through a denominational redevelopment process between 2016 – 2019. They were located outside of Flagstaff just outside of the Navajo reservation. They kept trying to be a traditional church, but they just weren’t. But they wanted to be and they thought they should be. Covid came and it brought a gift to this congregation. Like every other church, they closed and went online and Facebook. After a time, they realized they were reaching more than 500 people each week! Even their finances improved!
You see, they were a church that attracted young people and non-traditional people. LGBTQ individuals felt comfortable at their church and when they went online, individuals worshipped with them online from all parts of the country. And they supported them financially.
As Rev. Gomez-Acosta worked with this congregation, they realized that the Holy Spirit was preventing them from becoming a traditional church because that was not what God was calling them to be. Through Covid, they heard God calling them to sell their property and move downtown where they could reach more people and be where other organizations that serve the people God was calling them to minister to were also located. This was a bold move. But they saw a vision, felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit, and followed the call. This was their Macedonia. They had found their Lydia.
Rev Gomez-Acosta told us we needed to have “constant curiosity” so that we were aware of the Holy Spirit. What is the Spirit preventing you from doing, he asked. Where is your Macedonia? Who is your Lydia? Who is God calling you to engage? Who have we not noticed?
Those are really good questions for us as we move forward into 2022. What is the Spirit preventing us from doing? Where is our Macedonia? Who is our Lydia? Who is God calling us to engage? Who have we not noticed?
Another pastor, John from Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Indiana said their congregation started asking “I noticed, I wonder…” as they started to explore where God was leading them. What do we notice about our community? What do we wonder about our community? Perhaps things we notice or things we wonder about are things that the Holy Spirit is putting on our minds or putting on our hearts. Perhaps those are the nudges we need to be watching for, paying attention to.
At my first council meeting in November, I asked for goals for my first six weeks and my first 3 months. One of the goals was youth. A nudge. A wonder. Would there be interest in a youth group? January 9th, seven youth; middle and high schoolers, gathered in my home for pizza and brain storming. They were excited to have a youth group. A number of them kept thanking me for doing this. They decided they wanted to meet twice a month. On Sundays from 4-6. In the church. We are going to spend half our time on Bible study and half our time on games/having fun. They think a bunch of other kids would love to come. They’ll invite them.
I sense youth are our Lydia. I believe God is calling us to engage with Middle and high schoolers. The Holy Spirit seems to have opened the door! But, I can’t do it alone. I need helpers. I reached out to our young adults. Would they help with the games; the fun, and I will do the Bible study?
But I don’t think this is all God is calling us to do. We need to have “constant curiosity” as Rev. Gomez-Acosta says, so that we are aware of the Holy Spirit. We each need to be asking ourselves “I noticed, I wonder…” as we start to explore where God is leading us. What do you notice about our community? What do you wonder about our community? Perhaps things you notice or things you wonder about are things that the Holy Spirit is putting on your mind or putting on your heart. Perhaps those are the nudges we need to be watching for, paying attention to.
Where is our Macedonia? Who is our Lydia? Who is God calling us to engage? Who have we not noticed? These are the questions we need to keep asking ourselves as we move forward into 2022. These are the questions I’m asking you to pray about moving forward. God where are you calling us to serve? Who are you calling us to engage? Who have we not noticed? Amen.
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