The Jackals are a group of superfans at Spurs games. If you get a chance to meet them, they hand you a paper before the game starts. It has chants, responses, traditions, and moments when everyone stands together. It teaches you to participate in the game's experience instead of just watching it.
I thought about that when I read from Ezekiel this morning. God says through the prophet, "I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel."
Notice what God promises. Yes, the people will have renewal and forgiveness. But they'll also have communion with God. The Spirit of God is drawing people back into a shared life with God.
Too many of us treat faith as sitting quietly in the stands while heaven performs on the court, so to speak. But the Spirit does something deeper. The Spirit teaches us the rhythms of communion with God. The Spirit shows us when and how to stand in courage, to cry out in prayer, when to sing, when to grieve, when to rejoice, and when to love our neighbor. The Spirit forms us into participants instead of spectators.
Before Pentecost, the disciples had been waiting behind locked doors. After the Spirit was poured out on them, they found their voice and their courage.
My friend, that is still what the Spirit of God does today. The Spirit teaches us the language of the kingdom.
Whereas the world trains us in fear, outrage, consumption, and isolation, the Spirit shows us the power of forgiveness, generosity, worship, justice, compassion, and hope.
The Spirit opens our eyes to the presence of God that has always surrounded us, reminding us that God has not turned away from us. Like the Jackals, the Spirit teaches us how to join in.
Stay blessed...john
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