“Oh, and one other thing, after I put my hands on your head, there will be a pause. Actually, hopefully a moment of silence. I’m being intentional about making room for the Spirit for each and every one of you.”
This is the message that anyone I have had the blessing of confirming or ordaining has heard from me.
Too often in life, and even in the church, we do not make room for the Spirit. As a person responsible for laying hands on 75 plus individuals at a time, it would be easy to move to what we call in basketball ‘muscle memory.’ You do it so many times that you no longer have to think about it. Muscle memory is great for shooting a basketball, but is the exact opposite of what I am called to do when I lay hands on a person.
For me, it is critical that everyone who comes before the Church to make an intentional affirmation of faith knows that in that moment the body of the faithful holds them in prayer. Each comes saying ‘YES!’ to being a uniquely created and uniquely gifted child of God desiring to live into the fullness of their baptismal ministry.
Too often we do not leave room for the Spirit. In our fast paced life and our strong personal agendas, we do not invite or leave space for where the Spirit may be leading us. The end result, in my experience, is that we live in a space of ‘our will’ rather than ‘thy will.’
Pause… Open… Create space… Invite… The Spirit’s presence will be made known.