Our Spirituality
When asked if we’re part of a church,
many of us are quick to say, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual.” We don’t want
to be connected to any particular church or religious group, but we don’t want
to throw out God altogether. Instinctively, we know there is more to life and
to us than we can see and touch. Scientists have not been able to explain
everything, so we talk about a greater power, a life force, and… spirituality.
Last Sunday, the Christian church
celebrated Pentecost. Now there’s a church word. It refers to an event in the
Bible that occurred fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection. The story has all the
elements of a Stephen Spielberg movie, with tongues of fire dancing on people’s
heads and strange languages spilling forth from the mouths of uneducated
people. The essence of the story is that God’s Spirit came to a terrified group
of Jesus’ followers who were hiding in a locked room in Jerusalem
Jesus was a man of deep
spirituality. In fact, he declared that it is the Spirit of the law, not the
letter of the law that we are to follow. That same Holy Spirit is given by God
to all people. We aren’t born religious. Religious teaching reflects our human
understanding of God. Jesus spoke out against the religiosity of the Pharisees.
Each year, as we celebrate
Pentecost, Christians are reminded that we have been equipped by God’s Spirit.
God calls us to nurture that Holy Spirit, so it will burst into flames of
unconditional love for all of God’s beautiful world. Pentecost reminds us that
our Christian religion gives us a framework for God’s message of love. Our
religion supports us with teaching and companionship as we answer God’s call.
For us, God’s message came as Jesus, God’s gift to the world.
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