The weather has been glorious lately. A bit chilly here and there, perhaps, but we have had some beautiful days. People have been out walking or riding bicycles, and I have heard lots of people say how much they have been enjoying their gardens, even saying that their gardens have never looked so good.
Today we celebrate Rogation Sunday, the day in the church that traditionally we ask for blessings on our crops and our fields, and indeed on the whole parish. And so we do that first today, saying,
Lord God, we pray today that you will send a blessing on our crops, our fields, our livestock, and indeed on the livelihoods of all of us. Give us seasonable weather during this time of cultivation, we pray, so that at harvest time in the autumn may we reap abundantly from the bounty of your good earth. And bless our parish, too, we pray. Bless the people, the households, the land, and the shops and businesses, especially during these troubled and uncertain times, dear Lord. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Even as we cultivate crops at this time of year, sowing and planting, we have also been in a time that has called on us to tend to another type of cultivation. We have been called to cultivate the life of the Spirit, the Spirit of God within us and among us. In the Gospel today, Jesus is talking to his disciples on the night before he is to die. He promises them that they will not be orphaned, but that God will send the Spirit to live within them and among them.
The Holy Spirit is the presence of God, the life of Jesus, living in us, guiding us, protecting us, blessing us, inspiring us, giving us life. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God among us, uniting us, bringing harmony and reconciliation between people, breathing new life into all situations.
For the past two months, we have been in lockdown because of the coronavirus, ever since March 13th. It has been an odd time. The word I have heard people use most often about these past months has been “strange,” as in, “What strange times we are living in.” And how often I have said, or have heard people say, how fortunate we have been that this happened in springtime, rather than back in February. You remember February. We had one winter storm after another. At least during the lockdown, we have been able to enjoy some good weather and to get outside, instructions to “cocoon” permitting.
It has also been a time to cultivate the life of the Spirit. What else could we do? In such strange times, in the midst of such uncertainty, it has been a chance to pray more, to worship more, even if the worship is online and on television. After all, Jesus told us that God would send the Holy Spirit to comfort us and to guide us. We have needed comfort and guidance. What better time to cultivate the life of the Spirit.
The life of the Spirit within us must be cultivated. The Holy Spirit has already been planted in us, through baptism, just as we plant seeds in the ground. But when we plant seeds, they must be given good soil in which to grow; they must be watered; weeds must be cleared away so that the plant has a chance to grow. Yesterday, at the Rectory, we were out in the garden doing just these things: moving soil, pulling weeds, watering new plants.
Just so, the Holy Spirit of God is in us, but needs the good soil of a willing host. The Spirit needs to have the weeds of negativity and anger and despair, and all such things, flung away. The Spirit needs the watering of prayer and worship and Scripture and fellowship with one another. The Spirit of God is already within us, a gift from God, but we can, with God’s grace, cultivate its growth within us and among us.
During these past two months, I have been aware of this for myself. I have been more conscious of praying, especially praying for people; Kirk and I have worshipped in the Rectory each day; and I took the opportunity to do some continuing education online on the subject of prayer.
I say all this today not only because of the Gospel reading, with Jesus talking to the disciples about the Spirit. I say it also because of what happens tomorrow. Tomorrow the first phase out of the lockdown begins. In truth, some of it has already started happening. I have seen more cars on the road, more people in the village and elsewhere. I think people have been chomping at the bit to have this lockdown eased, yes?
And so as we emerge from lockdown, the danger is doing exactly what everyone says they want, and that is to return to life as normal. No. Don’t do it. We will not be returning to the world as it was before. And so the life of the Spirit is just as essential now, if not more so, than it has been for the past two months.
For the past two months, if we prayed more or worshipped more, it was in the quiet or seclusion of our own homes, I would assume. Now we will have the chance to go out into the world, but it will be a world of social distancing and long queues and possibly nervous and anxious people. The world might well be stranger than what we have experienced so far.
So instead of just returning to the usual mad rush, don’t forget to pray. Don’t forget to worship. Don’t forget to ask for God’s presence with you as you begin each day, and don’t forget to say thank you to God at the end of each day for the day’s blessings.
On the Online Worship page is a recording of a Late Evening Office, to be said before going to sleep at night.
This coming week, I plan to put up some services for the morning, some simple morning devotions. I recommend using them, or something similar, to cultivate the Spirit within you, and to ask for God’s presence and grace with you, each day.
I close with a prayer of self-dedication:
Almighty and eternal God,
so draw your hearts to you,
so guide our minds,
so fill our imaginations,
so control our wills,
that we may be wholly yours,
utterly dedicated to you;
and then use us, we pray, as you will,
and always to your glory
and the welfare of your people;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.