The Crossings Community

Pentecost 2000 Newsletter

C is for Con-Spire
When I learned that Cathy Lessmann, omnicompetent Executive Secretary of Crossings Community, shared my love of sailing, I asked her to write up those similarities between sailing and living the Christian life that theological sailors think about.
R is for Ruach
On days when the wind is nice and steady but not overwhelming and the waves are gentle and low, also not overwhelming, sailing can be most enjoyable and invigorating. (There are other kinds of sailing, too; I will get to that.) One can set the sails, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. It was on one such sailing day that I sat and thought about all the many great metaphors sailing has for the Christian life, and since this is the season of Pentecost, I thought I should explain.
O is for Only
This brings up an embarassing question: Why does not the Spirit give that life to all people? Why is this benefit given only to believers in Christ?
S is for Sanctifying
We do not know the wind by seeing. We know of its existence only by feeling it and observing the effects it has on things we can see, such as sails, trees, waters, etc. The same goes for the Holy Spirit -- the "modest" member of the Trinity. We really don't know all that much about her, in fact, we don't even know what his/ her/its gender is! I've chosen to use the feminine because the Hebrew word is feminine. (In Greek it's neuter).
S is for Stuck
Just because of these important, life-giving effects the Spirit gives, the possibility of "losing the wind" is so disastrous. Sailors describe a sailboat that comes to a complete stop while sailing as being "dead in the water." This happens under two different circumstances. In the first, the wind is blowing but the boat turns into the wrong direction: straight up into (against) the wind. When that happens, sailors say they are "in irons" because they are helpless since they have no motion and therefore cannot even steer the boat. (This is embarrassing to captain and crew; see under "contrition" below.) But there is a way out: the wind!
IN is for In-Spired
We pray for the Spirit even though the Spirit, to get us where we need to go, cannot always be a gentle zephyr.
G is for Guarantee
There is one crucial difference between the wind used by a sailboat and the Holying Wind, and here is where my analogy falls apart. But I'm so glad it does. On a sailboat, one doesn't know the "intent" of the wind, one can never trust it completely, one has to be constantly on guard lest the wind drown you. Hence sailing can be risky business with no guarantee that you are going to survive the trip. On many stormy sails I recall thinking that if only I had the assurance that we were going to survive I would really enjoy the wild ride as an awesome experience.
S is for Sounding
Last month the Crossings Community, Inc. took a sounding of our current position. Here is President Steven Kuhl's report: