Monday, October 22, 2012

Reformation Sunday

Reformation might have started out as celebrating division.  Today it seems healthier to celebrate the movement of the Holy Spirit in our Church and our hearts. It is this movement of the Holy Spirit that brings us newness and renewal, both in our personal lives and in the life of the Church. When we pray, "Come, Holy Spirit!" we know that the whole Church is always in need of reform, and we each are always in need of dying again in Christ.

This poem by Hildegard of Bingen comes to mind:

The Holy Spirit is life that gives life,
Moving all things,
It is the root in every creature
And purifies all things,
Wiping away our sins, anointing wounds,
It is radiant life, worthy of praise,
Awakening and enlivening all things.

Knowing a little bit of what worship might be like this coming Sunday I keep humming "I Mighty Fortress" in my head. Here's an interesting contemporary version of this much loved hymn.