Wild Geese

“Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!

 Be happy! Rejoice out loud!

 Sing your praises! With trumpets and a horn blast,

 shout triumphantly before the Lord, the king! Psalm 98:4,6 (CEB version)

We gathered in the graveyard for Sunrise Easter service. We gathered in the graveyard, because that is where Mary and Peter were when they discovered the tomb was empty. They were not at the cross, they were at the cemetery. The story of the Church begins in the graveyard, at an empty tomb, early in the morning. So, this past Sunday, the faithful Shiloh community gathered in the graveyard and we looked to the East. We saw the pink, yellow, and blue start to paint across the horizon. I planned for us to stand in silence for a minute to appreciate the sunrise.  The silence was broken by trumpets. Two wild geese sounded their trumpets and then splashed down on the pond. Then our worship began, with trumpets and great fanfare. I knew it was a special moment.  Later that evening, I was conversing with a friend, who told me how touched she was at her church’s sunrise service, by the sound of wild geese. Then she said to me, “Did you know the Celtic Christians thought wild geese represented the Holy Spirit?” I did not know this. But, now that I do, I am totally awed by God’s grace that welcomed us to worship, early on Easter morning, with the sound of heavenly trumpets. Sometimes the best worship is in the cathedral of God’s creation.

I have been researching these Holy Spirit geese and came across this quote that has given me great pause for prayer this week:  

“Jesus said that those Christians who were led by the Spirit were like the wind—you don’t know where it comes from and you don’t know where it’s going. A Christian who follows the wild goose is wild and free themselves. They have lives that are less than predictable. They live life to the full (John 10:10). They are wild and free, untamable either by society that would bind them with lies or by religion that would chain them with duty and obligation. 

A life following in the tailwind of the wild goose. That’s the kind of life that calls to our innermost being and awakens the lethargic longings within. The problem is, we know few—if any—Christians who have discovered the flight path.” from Flight of the Wild Goose 

by Bill Tenny-Brittian (http://www.hcna.us/articles/flight-of-the-wild-goose.htm)

Pray: God of resurrection and new life, I stand in awe of your amazing creation. Forgive me when I rush past your spring glory and complain about the rain. Today, may I follow the Holy Spirit’s tailwind. Awaken my innermost being and open my ears to the sounds of worship and praise all around me. Amen