“Brought to Life in the Spirit” by Melanie Rigney
God
said to Noah and to his sons with him: "See,
I am now establishing my covenant with you and
your descendants after you and
with every living creature that was with you…” (Genesis 9:8-10)
Good
and upright is the LORD, thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to
justice, and he teaches the humble his way. (Psalm 25:8-9)
Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the
unrighteous, that he might lead
you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he
was brought to life in the Spirit. (1 Peter
3:18)
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee
proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The
kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15)
Piety
Holy Spirit, fill my lungs, my heart, my head, and my
soul.
Study
I took my
first-ever CPR course last week. The instructor, a burly fellow from the
Baltimore Fire Department, had a teaching style that often consisted of
shouting questions at us until we answered almost as loudly.
“What are they
if they’re not breathing?” he asked after telling us that in case of an
emergency to assess safety, summon help, and look for chest rise.
We mumbled
about a bit, then finally someone said softly, “Dead.”
“What?” the
instructor shouted.”
“Dead,” a
little louder.
“What?”
“ Dead,” a little louder.
“WHAT?”
“ DEAD!”
Message
received.
Today’s
lectionary readings remind us of the certainty of death, whether it’s all but
Noah’s family in the great flood, John the Baptist’s ministry, or Jesus’s
crucifixion. And yet, each of those deaths resulted in life: God promises to
never send another earth-clearing flood. John the Baptist’s arrest clears the
way for Jesus’s own public ministry to begin in earnest. Jesus’s physical death
brought His life in the Spirit… and the hope of the same for those of us who
believe and follow.
Life and
death and life again. It’s what Lent is all about. It’s what Christianity is
all about. Our lungs may be full and our
heart pumping here on earth… but without faith, we are as good as dead without
the Lord’s CPR.
Action
Use
the principles of CPR: Is your spiritual situation safe, or are there wires,
trees, or other impediments that are keeping the Lord away? Who should you call
for help? How can you be more open to the spiritual “chest compressions” that
will save you?
Image by Rama (Own work) [CeCILL (http://www.cecill.info/licences/Licence_CeCILL_V2-en.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
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