God is still at work

Clare L. Hickman

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Ferndale

June 26, 2022—Proper 8C

Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Psalm 16; Luke 9:51-62      

          “For you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your holy one see the Pit. You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16: 10-11).

Today’s psalm speaks to us of delight. Which feels hopeful, but only because we know that the psalmist has also experienced the depths of despair and grief that this world can bring. In fact, there is no emotion we might feel that so vast and unwieldy, or so small and petty, that it cannot find a place to rest in the psalms. The psalmist, whose works are attributed to David but whose identity is unknown, expresses the full breadth of human experience and offers it up to God as a prayer. Sometimes she rejoices, but elsewhere she speaks of seeing the wicked flourish, watching those who oppose and oppress her prosper. And in response, we hear her express a startling but admittedly relatable desire for vengeance, begging God to curse her enemies and trample them underfoot. At other times, we see the psalmist collapse inward, reaching that lowest of points, at which she fears God has abandoned her, leaving her bereft and alone, without hope or future.

And yet, still, the psalmist rises to claim this assurance that we hear today: that life with God is one that contains joy, a life that is filled with pleasure, a life in which God will never abandon you. One in which God, no matter what it may feel like, has never abandoned you.

It reminds me of something my spiritual director said to me a couple of months ago. That God is ALWAYS still at work; especially, perhaps, when everything seems most difficult. Somewhere, somehow, God is slipping in through the cracks … is finding a way around … is making room for something new.

We can’t always see it. Often, that’s because we are overwhelmed, and blinded by despair. But we also run into a different problem, springing from serious disagreements over what sorts of things can faithfully be understood as signs of God’s work in the world.

This reality came into sharp relief this past Friday. Because we as a nation, and we as Christians, are quite definitely not of one mind about where God is moving through the action of the Supreme Court in Dobbs vs. Jackson, which overturned the federal guarantee of a woman’s right to access abortion services.

Many see God’s movement in this decision. From their perspective, the life of the fetus is sacred, outweighing all other ethical considerations. Allowing these children to be born is the primary good, and banning abortion will bring that about, will bring more lives into the world. It will also, perhaps, promote more responsibility and consideration regarding the sexual activity that causes the pregnancies in the first place.

But others see God moving through different parts of this question. See God in the work we could do to provide sex education and contraception, lowering rates of unwanted pregnancy. See the movement of God in the ways we might support women and families who would otherwise not have the means to raise a child to thrive. See God moving through deep moral conversations that include not only fetal life, but bodily autonomy, the good of the family, and the mental and physical health of all involved.

And for those people, this decision feels like the opposite of the movement of God. Feels like something that makes it harder, not easier. Feels like something that actually gets in the way of life and thriving, and gets in the way of care for the poor and the vulnerable (who will, as they so often do, bear the brunt of the fallout from this policy change).

People of faith have vastly different views about where God is on the move in this world. Views that come from our family backgrounds, our life experiences, our political leanings, and we have to admit, from very different ways of reading the Bible. We Christians all look to the same Bible, and we all take those scriptures seriously. But we wind up in very different places.

All of us would do well to pay attention to the words of Paul that we just heard from Galatians, and what it has to teach us about Christian decision-making. Just as Jesus told us we could judge something by its fruits (Mt 7:16-20), Paul prompts us to consider the outcomes of what we prioritize. He warns us against the works of the flesh, which are not in fact a list of mostly sexual sins, but actually all boil down to different aspects of selfishness and greed. To taking what we want rather than acting out of care and concern for others. He contrasts this with the fruits of the Spirit, which are the opposite qualities: those of consideration and interconnectedness.

This is how we recognize the work of God in this world; this is how we can best assess an action or a policy. We’ll know it by its fruits. The movement of God, the action of the Holy Spirit, produces love and peace. Makes generosity flourish. Is marked by kindness, gentleness and self-control.

Holiness can rarely be measured by a “do this/don’t do that” kind of mind-set. If it could, then the Bible wouldn’t need to be such a large and varied collection of writings. But instead we get commandments and we get history, we get poetry and we get parables, and best of all, we get lots and lots of stories, giving us a glimpse into the heart of God and the life of faith.

We read the bible. We worship together. We spend time in whatever prayer connects us best to God and to the world. And all of that forms our hearts, equipping us to consider the holiness of a given thing. In the end, it comes down to the fruits. Comes down to the question of what kinds of fruits are produced by your actions, or any given public policy. What are the effects, intended or un-intended? Are they love and peace? Kindness and generosity? Gentleness and self-control? In other words, do they promote a deeply considered love for one other? Do they prompt us to look beyond ourselves and those closest to us, to see the effects (to seriously consider the effects) on those who are further away?

Those are the fruits of the Spirit, and they will be our guide. In the words of the psalmist, they will show us the path of life; and in the presence of the Spirit, we will find fullness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16: 10-11)

God is always at work, my friends. Somewhere, somehow, God is slipping in through the cracks … is finding a way around whatever barrier there might be … is making room for something new. In this time, and in all times. Amen.