Reading John 3:6-8
"Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit...The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
The flesh, the physical in general and the sinful in particular, is subject to a certain kind of explanation. There is a certain logic to what the natural man does. The way of the flesh makes sense to the flesh, is defensable by the flesh. The Spirit, on the other hand, is confusing to the flesh: "It blows wherever it pleases..." It does not allow the flesh to set its own course anymore. This is one of the reasons that the Spiritual life is so difficult. The call to live it comes from beyond everything that we have understood, everything that we are familiar with. This is why so many of the things that Jesus spoke strike us as being unrealistically radical. We are dumbfounded by them. We view them as optional or at least as accesible only to "saints." We take these sayings with a grain of salt, as Spiritual hyperbole, as literary exageration to have a certain disorienting effect on us. What we don't do is take them seriously, as if they were really intended to be applied to our day to day life.
However, should the church begin to follow the Spirit and live by his logic then it becomes a spectacle, a novelty, something to take notice of. This is what is intended by:
1. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35
2. "If we are out of our mind it is for the sake of God" II Cor. 5:13
3. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." I Cor. 2:14
4. "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" I Cor. 1:20
5. "For we are to God the aroma of Christ (we have the smell of something from another world) among those who are being saved and those who are perishing: to the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life...AND WHO IS EQUAL TO SUCH A TASK?"
II Cor. 15-16
Here is the recognition that it is not a human task, at least not a task for the flesh. Are our lives explainable entirely on the basis of the flesh? Is there any smell of the other world on us?
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HOLY SPIRIT
About 3 years ago I dropped into a black hole – four months of absolute terror. I wanted to end my life, but somehow [Holy Spirit], I reached out to a friend who took me to hospital. I had three visits [hospital] in four months – I actually thought I was in hell. I imagine I was going through some sort of metamorphosis [mental, physical & spiritual]. I had been seeing a therapist [1994] on a regular basis, up until this point in time. I actually thought I would be locked away – but the hospital staff was very supportive [I had no control over my process]. I was released from hospital 16th September 1994, but my fear, pain & shame had only subsided a little. I remember this particular morning waking up [home] & my process would start up again [fear, pain, & shame]. No one could help me, not even my therapist [I was terrified]. I asked Jesus Christ to have mercy on me & forgive me my sins. Slowly, all my fear has dissipated & I believe Jesus delivered me from my “psychological prison.” I am a practicing Catholic & the Holy Spirit is my friend & strength; every day since then has been a joy & blessing. I deserve to go to hell for the life I have led, but Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross, delivered me from my inequities. John 3: 8, John 15: 26, are verses I can relate to, organically. He’s a real person who is with me all the time. I have so much joy & peace in my life, today, after a childhood spent in orphanages [England & Australia]. Fear, pain, & shame, are no longer my constant companions. I just wanted to share my experience with you [Luke 8: 16 – 17].
Peace Be With You
Patrick
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