Rhythm Church

the Spirit has been given

…to daughters, sons, servants and slaves,
immigrants, outsiders, the barren,
widows and divorced, abused, neglected,
the single and the spouses,
pastors and politicians,
janitors and judges,
the oppressor and the oppressed

            beyond the box of religious duty & fearful obedience

the wind blew and filled the whole house
the breath of heaven was a violent, crazy sound
         not restrained and timid
the fire of the holy, good, beautiful, lovely and sweet
that only could be encountered from a distance
came to rest like a tiny flame on every single person

who came from all the world

to worship in one temple, one city, one holy ground
but every Jewish pilgrim, from every nation, heard the sound
the presence of God outside
          outside the walls
          outside what they had been taught
          outside their systems
          outside the holy temple
the presence of God encountered
          right on the street
           the common somehow sacred
           where heaven meets with me

where the Spirit of the Lord is…
          there is forgiveness and there is freedom
          there is healing, a home where we belong

our human spaces changing
          through our risen King
          and these wonder-things
          point us back to You
          so we will worship
                  when we serve, or when we sit
                  when we give, when we forgive
                  when we work, and when we rest

            holy, breathing things

You are crafting us together
             Your people, we gather, we go
              we pray, we eat, we sing
Your presence left a building
              You’re living now in me