Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Discernment

Discernment, divine insight or experiential guess-work?  Answer: Yes.  

Over the years, I have found that I catalogue peoples responses to particular situations by possible motivations.  My kids also know that I provide human commentary to animal antics that we observe in our yard but that is another story.  My library of experience, is not only full of Psych 101 type observations (people who respond with anger may be responding because of underlying fear or pain) but is primarily full of my reflections on my own responses, why did I say or do what I did?   I also have been privileged to walk with individuals in their difficult times and have been privy to their reflections.  All added to my library of possibilities, a library that I seem to draw on more these days.  While I thank God continually for these experiences and the gift of being able to catalogue the events for quick retrieval, I recognize that my library has significant limitations.  Its use can be based on the assumption that most people respond similarly thus the recognition of the library's name becomes important; it is just "guess-work". So many times my library lets me down, I am lost for a response.  It is at those humbling moments when God's glory shines.  God love for the individual I interact with stops me from saying something unhelpful and before I can think the most perfect words have come from my mouth.  Not words of idle commentary or of "guess-work" but words a gift from God for God's people, divine insight.  

I light of my conversation about ordination, I see this as another demonstration of God's faithfulness to his people.   The ordained are set apart because they have gifts that point to God; gifts the Church can recognize.  One of those gifts for me - discernment. Praise be to God.  

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Ordination

What an awesome God.  Over the centuries he has faithfully provided leadership for his church. I think the fact that there is such continuity is overlooked by many.  Below is a bit of para 14 of the Basis of Union.  It says the Church bears witness to God’s faithfulness and declares the hope by which it lives; however, this is reflected through the participation of the ordained. 


In this act of ordination the Church praises the ascended Christ for conferring gifts upon men and women. It recognises Christ's call of the individual to be his minister; it prays for the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to equip the minister for that service. By the participation in the act of ordination of those already ordained, the Church bears witness to God's faithfulness and declares the hope by which it lives.


The Basis goes on to say 

In company with other Christians the Uniting Church will seek for a renewed understanding of the way in which the congregation participates in ordination and of the significance of ordination in the life of the Church. 


The understanding of ordination to the life of the Church and the congregations  participation, well, it seems at the time of union (1977) was highlighted for more discussion. 


In my discussions with ordained about ordination, I find that they by in large are in awe of God’s faithfulness to the church.  But, in my last discussion, there was a comment along the lines that in ordination the Church recognizes gifts of leadership (and others).  But this bothered me, somehow so later in the conversation, I asked, “The Church recognizes leadership but do congregations?”  My friend commented that he found many congregations that think of the ordained as some sort of “Divine polyfiller” that comes in and fills up all the gaps and needs.


I recognize that a congregation is a place that many arrive at spiritually empty and perhaps, it may be a bit much to expect more from them but I hope that my ordination service will point to God’s faithfulness and bring hope to the congregation as well as all the things identified above.