|
A Feather on the Breath of God
by Captain Margareta Ivarsson
USA East, Greater New York, Williams Residence
Magnificent Music. I stop in my routines as I
hear voices cascading over a wide vocal register with a timbre
so full that it shakes my soul. The power of music revisited,
freshly experienced as nothing less than breathtaking.
The composer is Hildegard of Bingen. The music
is recorded on an album by Sequentia. “Voice of the Blood” is
the appropriate title. In this day and age the music has
something simplified yet complex, a uniqueness and origin that
has a soul cleansing effect on my soul.
Hildegard describes herself telling a story:
“Listen: there was once a king sitting on
his throne. Around him stood great and wonderfully beautiful
columns ornamented with ivory, bearing the banners of the king
with great honor. Then it pleased the king to raise a small
feather from the ground and he commanded it to fly. The
feather flew, not because of anything in itself but because
the air bore it along. Thus am I…
“A feather on the breath of God”
This story is quoted on the cover of another
recording by Gothic Voices, directed by Christopher Page: “A
feather on the breath of God” .
Hildegard of Bingen…
was born of noble parents in Bemersheim,
Germany in the year of 1098. When she was eight years old she
was given to the care of Jutta of Spanheim, the abbess of a
small community of nuns affiliated with the Benedictine
monastery of Disibodenberg, near Bingen, Germany.
Hildegard was a remarkable women of her times
influencing not only her immediate community of nuns but
politicians, popes, emperors, kings, archbishops, abbots and
abbesses. Only centuries later do we know of any female
influence in history like that of Hildegard’s.
Without any formal education she developed her
skills, while serving the Lord, as religious thinker, prophet,
reformer, writer, naturalist, playwright, composer and poet.
At age 39 she succeeded Jutta as the abbess of her community.
When she was a little more than 43 years old; she saw “tounges
of flame descend from the heavens and settle upon her.”
Thereafter she devoted her life to intense and passionate
creativity. She wrote her book of visions, “Scivias”,
for ten years between 1141 and 1151. During her later years
she re-founded a monastery on the Rupertsberg, Germany, and
traveled extensively on missionary journeys in Europe, before
she died in September 1179. The following century she was
proposed by the pope for canonization which never came to
pass. The nomination in itself, however, seen in its
historical context, should be considered utterly remarkable.
What Can We Learn From Hildegard?
What does a woman born in the 11th
century have to do with aggressive Christianity in 2006?
What can contemporary followers of the way,
aspiring to be “A feather on the breath of God?”, learn
from her story?
Let me suggest that if we are in “the war” in
the church in general and in the SA in particular, Hildegard
stands like a beacon of light, illuminating our sometimes dark
reality.
In following Captain Danielle Strickland’s
passionate discussion about “The Married Women’s Ghetto Rant”
(JAC Issue #41) and Major Richard Munn’s clarifying study on
“Men, Women and the Bible” (JAC Issue #43), we continue to
find ourselves in a healthy discussion about male and female
identity in life and ministry.
When the psalmist in Psalm 8 has described the
work of the Creator he continues to depict the fullness of
this work in comparison to human beings, to us, in asking:
“…what is man that you are mindful of him,…”(Psalm 8:4, NIV)
Allow me to personalize: “What then am I, that you are
mindful of me?” The question is asked both in awe of God’s
majesty and in wonder of who we are in the eyes of our
Creator. The following is an attempt to answer this question.
What then am I, that you are
mindful of me?
I. God Is Mindful of My
Character
Our character, or identity, is first influenced
as we are born into this world. Our perception of ourselves
and of God are first founded through the way we interact with
our mothers and subsequently our fathers. Depending on how our
parents raise us we will acquire a positive and caring or
negative and threatening image of who God is. As we enter
adulthood and deal with the crises of life and in making life
decisions, we either confirm a positive image of God and
respond to the Savior calling us to fellowship with him or
turn our back on God in disappointment and rebellion.
While this is a simplified picture, we all have
our character and identity formed through various life
experiences. At certain points in life we develop a need to
think about why we are who we are, why we believe what we
believe and why we do what we do.
Hildegard of Bingen’s revolutionary experience
of a vision from God in her 43rd year changed the
rest of her life. Into her 80s she continued to have an
influential ministry among men and women alike. In our SA
culture we often pair youth with revolutionary anointing.
That, however, is not the whole truth. A book store owner in a
small Swedish village, Hanna Ouchterlony, was in her fourties
when she received God’s call to start the SA in Sweden in
1882. She was faithful and through her ministry God rose up an
army, still ministering 124 years later. God is mindful of our
character. We are unique in his sight. We are gifted and
designed for different roles.
II. God Is Mindful of My Calling
Scripture tells us that we should always affirm
our calling: “…be all the more eager
to make your calling and election sure.” (II Peter 1:10,NIV)
I find it a healthy exercise to remember how I
came to Christ. For me it was a continuous experience of
confirming what I had been raised and taught to believe. I do
not remember a day in my life when I did not trust God for my
Salvation and everything else in life. In my early twenties I
was privileged to learn about the teaching of the Holy Spirit
and the gifts he administers for the benefit of the church. My
life was never the same again. This was a complete insight
into the fact that God is in charge of my life and of the
whole wide world. My role is to let God be God and join in
God’s purposes for the world, using whatever means he lays
before me.
Hildegard’s calling was affirmed as she
received visions from God. She acted in faith upon this
experience in writing articles, preaching, teaching, guiding,
composing music and directing plays. All of this while living
and ministering within the tradition of a Benedictine
monastery.
I believe that there will be times when our
specific calling is obvious in what we are doing as officers
or lay people. There will be other times when we ask ourselves
how on earth we ended up doing what we are doing. In every
situation, however, we need to find ways to use our stronger
gifts so the body of Christ can be edified and the world can
see the Savior. This is not a matter of position or job
description but of Divine awareness of our spiritual gifts and
obedience to our Divine design. When we minimize ourselves for
whatever reasons, no one wins. We are mindful of our calling
when we often revisit and affirm our first love and passion.
III. God is Mindful of My
Cultural Context
From our perspective, Hildegard would be
considered operating completely out of her own cultural
context in which women had no place outside the home. In
studying her story, it is obvious that she had no fear. When
someone was in need or when authorities made mistakes, she
clearly voiced her concerns while she stayed within her
community in silent obedience, riding out the storm until God
intervened. She continued with persistent faith to find ways
of serving the Lord creatively within her often confined
reality. All that mattered to her was God’s direction.
In our world we will likely encounter cultural
differences and obstacles in ministry. My experience is mainly
based on being a woman in Sweden and in the USA. These two
countries have widely different contexts as well as different
SA subcultures. Being a woman in Sweden is relatively painless
as the general culture has promoted equality for decades. For
me the change of cultures meant that the “non issue” of being
a woman in Sweden radically turned into an “issue” in the USA,
where I sometimes encounter what I perceive as far less
respect, value and general affirmation due to the simple fact
of being a woman. These are of course generalizations built
upon years of cultural practices and traditions. I have also
within the SA been gifted and blessed with Godly male leaders
who operate from a true SA theology of equality. For this I am
truly indebted and thankful. It gives me hope that if there is
a will there is a way. When this theology is lived out by men
and women Christ will be honored. It is up to us, both men and
women to model and continue to shape this culture.
Lynne Hybels, wife of legendary Willow Creek
pastor Bill Hybels, writes on the subject “Dangerous Women” in
her recent book: “Nice Girls Don’t Change the World”.
Her testimony is one of a Christian woman raised in an
evangelical community in the USA. She openly shares her story
of unintentionally living through her husband’s ministry for
so many years, until she realized that she had a calling of
her own and gifts to be used for the Kingdom. Her story is an
encouraging testimony for women, but even more powerful for
the church is the ministry that will take place when men and
women find their own true places within their areas of
giftedness.
My own multi-cultural context is at The
Williams Residence, an independent living facility for seniors
in New York City. As we provide Christian, Jewish and Catholic
Services within our walls, the performing arts are at the
center of forming relationships and building community. We
pray that our seniors will know the saving knowledge of Christ
before it is too late. Some may think that this is not
Christianity aggressive enough, as we embrace all walks of
life, but I would disagree. We boldly preach the Word, people
listen and lives are changed because we listened first. God is
mindful of our cultural context whatever it may look like. God
is working through us. We are there for his reasons and God is
mindful of us.
IV. God Is Mindful of
My Creativity
Needless to say, our movement was a study in
creativity as it took form. My favorite story is that of
Richard Slater, whose musical gifts immediately was
strategically placed, positioned and set free. What an
explosion of quality in song writing and musical leadership
that immediately followed and filled an obvious need!
Yes, we are trying to do this again, with
various rate of success in various places. Still, we have so
much to learn, especially on the front of encouragement.
We are all awarded the gift of creativity. It
is the very essence in the genes our Creator gave us. As young
children we are invincible. We know everything and can do
anything until we reach school age and assimilation to society
takes place. We become more and more aware that we are not
doing things right, if at all we have the capacity to do them.
Hopefully, along the way, are some wise teachers, parents and
encouragers who take their responsibility to install hope and
a “can do’ mentality. Through my years as a music educator,
however, I have lost count of the number of adults who have
told me that someone in school told them that they could not
sing. They stopped. For most of them it installed a fear of
creativity that killed hopes and dreams and reduced them to
people with low self-esteem. Amazingly, however, it just takes
some gentle encouragement to re-discover your “song” and for
hope to start living again.
I believe this applies to all kinds of
creativity and especially within the church.
So many of us set aside our God given interests
and talents in order to do “work” that we fell obligated to do
or perceive as more important. Yes, we have many
responsibilities and the work is never done. But what if we
rediscover our creative genes and through that power take on
all other tasks?
I believe that within our ranks we have an army
of latent creativity just waiting to explode. I see that
happen among our seniors at the Williams. Remarkable things
emerge when you show an interest and ask someone to share
their craft.
Recently I had the opportunity to listen to
Nancy Beach, the Creative Arts Director in Willow Creek
Community Church. In a send out session from an arts
conference she spoke words from God to women about creativity.
She spoke about the struggles and she spoke about the power
and hope that lies within women devoted to God and their
craft, whether it means to lead, serve or direct men, women or
both genders.
How do we know what our “craft” is? We search
until we find it. Listen to music, read books, climb a wall,
run a marathon, set up your Internet Blog, take a dance class,
write your heart out; whatever you need to do to discover and
nurture your creativity. I believe that our survival and
excellence in ministry depends upon our creativity. It is time
for us to realize that God is mindful of our creativity.
In Summary
Hildegard saw herself as “A feather on the
breath of God”. I treasure this image, because it makes me my
heart feel light, like I am soaring on eagles’ wings. So as we
ask ourselves the question: “What then am I, that you are
mindful of me?”, may we know that God is mindful of our
character, our calling, our cultural context and our
creativity.
The truth is that many changes in SA structure
need to happen fast in order for the potential of our ministry
to have a far greater impact. History tells us, though, that
structural changes happen in slow motion. In the meantime,
however, let us not give the enemy the benefit of a doubt in
convincing us that we are trapped in any way. As God is
mindful of us, may we be mindful too of God and the gifts he
bestows upon us for the benefit of the church. May we set our
hearts on discovering and releasing our full potential for His
Kingdom.
DISCOGRAPHY
“Voice Of The Blood”. Sequentia. Hildegard of
Bingen. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi. Bertelsmann Music Group.
1995.
“A Feather On the Breath of God”. Gothic Voices
with Emma Kirby directed by Christopher Page. Sequences and
Hymns by Abbess Hildegard of Bingen. Hyperion Records Ltd.
London 1986.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Flanagan, Sabina. Secrets of God, Writings
of Hildegard of Bingen
Shambhala Boston & London, 1996
Fox, Matthew. Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of
Divine Works with Letters and Songs
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bear &
Company, Inc. 1987
Hybels. Lynne. nice
girls don’t change the world, Willow Creek Association
Lynne Hybels, 2005
Newman. Barbara. Voice of the Living Light
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
The Regents of the University
of California, 1998
|
