Authentic Transformations

“Whoever is not against us is for us.”

Discipleship is about transformation;

and it is a continuous process of transformation.

It doesn’t stop until our final breath.

We have different words for it.

In the religious world, we call it “conversion”;

or in Greek, which is in scripture, it is called “metanoia,”

which really means the changing of one’s heart;

the changing of one’s mind;

and of course, it speaks to this constant state of transformation.

The most important part of this transformation

is that it almost never comes at our desire.

It comes to us but we do not really want it per se

because we get comfortable where we are.

That is when the transformation is needed, the conversion,

the changing of our hearts is needed.

When we want it, we tend to want it because we are in control.

And if you are in control of the transformation

then it is not authentic discipleship.

It is not authentic conversion

because true transformation is about God’s Will.

It is about how the Holy Spirit flows in our life.

And the Holy Spirit blows where it will.

The markers and the fruits of it are joy and peace.

But that comes really towards the end of the transformation,

when we start to be transformed,

then we start to feel it.

The hard part for us is that we want to be in control

both in the transformation for ourselves

but also the transformation of others.

We want others to do as we would have them do.

In that way, we start to control how God works.

We tell God how transformation is going to happen.

We tell God this is how it should go;

we make up the rules

that we believe God would want us to have.

Even good people do this.

For instance, we do it to ourselves.

We do it to others in particular.

We say, “The Holy Spirit is going to do it this way.”

Hmmmm. And that is just not the way it works!

This is what we have in the first reading today;

and that is what we have in the gospel today.

This classic reading from the Book of Numbers about Moses,

who is burdened by the leadership of the people of Israel in the desert.

The Lord gives him an answer to his prayer

and he gives a share of the Spirit to all 70 disciples.

But two were busy that day and were out galivanting

doing something else so they were not at the tent.

They were in the community.

But the Spirit comes upon them in the same way as the other 68.

Joshua, who is Moses’ aide all this time, protested.

He says, “Well look,

they were not with us,

they were not obeying the rules.

They were not in the tent.

They were not at church.

How did they get the Spirit?

Tell them, Moses, to stop doing that.”

Moses goes, “Ahh. Would that every one got a share of the Spirit;

would that everyone got a share in the Spirit,

it would be a grace from God.”

In other words, let God be God and leave him be.

The Spirit will blow where it will.

We would think the disciples, who were good Jews,

would have heard this story and understood.

Instead they are struggling with it.

John, who is Jesus’ best friend within the Apostles.

John, who is his beloved disciple, comes to him and says,

“Hey look, there is somebody driving out demons

and healing in our name and he is not one of us.

We should cast him out.”

Jesus says, “I can’t get over this. You don’t understand!

If they are not against us, they are for us.”

They Spirit will blow where it will.

And, indeed, it does.

Jesus goes on to give this hyperbolic language

like how this transformation is going to take place in their lives;

and there is always a need for transformation.

Every part of us; our hand; our foot ;our eye.

Every part of us needs to be transformed.

He is warning them, John and all of us,

that we always need to be in a state of transformation.

We all fall into this and religious leaders fall into this.

We say, “The rules of our group are this

and if you are not following that

you are not part of us.”

Even Bishops get involved with this.

One would think they would know better from reading the scriptures

when they say well this person, or that person,

cannot receive Communion;

or they cannot do this and they cannot do that.

Really? Haven’t they read the scriptures enough

to understand that Jesus does the will of God,

the One who makes the rules!

It is God who holds us accountable.

The Spirit will flow where it will indeed.

We have to remind ourselves through scripture

that this transformation of our souls;

never mind other people’s transformation;

is important because we are the ones committed to following Jesus.

This is hard for us because the authentic transformation

comes to us most often when we are not in control.

And that makes it really, really hard.

Because we want to be in control of our transformation.

And we want to do a lot of things but that is not the way it works;

and we see this in Eldad and Medad and from John in the gospel.

But here are two biblical illustrations.

They are just wonderful and sort of archetypal

for this type of transformation:

The farmer and the baker:

When the farmer puts the seed in the soil;

he tills the soil, puts the seed in the soil, but he has to wait.

He is not in charge of the transformation any more.

He has done his work and

he has to allow God and nature to do the rest.

If after a week, there are no flowers, he tills it up and says

“Where are the flowers?

C’mon flowers. C’mon. Let’s go.”

he ruins what work he has done.

And in the same way the baker.

When the baker adds the yeast in and

mixes in the flour and the water and puts it into the oven.

If after 10 minutes, they go and open up the oven,

they ruin what has been started

because that is not the way it works.

We do some work and

then we have to allow the transformation to take place.

How does that apply to our lives?

Here is how it most often happens.

The most powerful transformation takes place when we are suffering.

And that is very hard for us to hear

but in fact, we know it to be true;

not only in our own lives but in the lives of those around us.

When we go through the most painful period in our life,

the best thing we can do is to allow God’s Spirit,

God’s grace to operate and

then to allow the transformation to happen;

allow God’s Will to happen and

then what we can do is accept the invitation of the Spirit,

the beginning of the transformation and

then cooperate with the grace of God

so that the transformation continues.

I know some of you are older and will say,

“Father, I’ve done enough time.

I have put in the years.

I’m done transforming.

I’m getting to the end of my years.”

That is not the way it works.

Our spiritual body is always in transformation

until the last breath of our life.

It is not like our physical body, which declines.

I understand there are aches and pains that come with that

but the transformation of our spiritual body is always going on.

What we are called to do whether we are young or whether we are old;

whether we have been on this journey for a short period

or whether we have been on it for a long period

it is to allow the invitation to happen in our lives;

to welcome the Holy Spirit.

Then to allow that Holy Spirit to begin that transformation

and then to respond and to not think we are in control

but to allow with God’s grace for the transformation to take place.

And I promise you, in there will be joy and peace;

but we are not in control and we never will be in control.

The Lord is in control and the Spirit blows where it will.

Today, as we come to the table to receive the strength

to allow this transformation, this conversion, this metanoia to continue,

we do so, knowing that we lose control;

and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives

and to be transformed by the Holy Spirit,

who blows where she does.

“Whoever is not against us is for us.”