Church meetings can feel like car accidents; Everything goes smoothly until it doesn’t. An accident of procedure or wording grinds everything to a halt. Discussions, schedules, and tasks pile upon each other until eventually all forward progression stops. And like just an accident on the freeway, the longer you sit in its effects the more impatient people become.  

I experienced this earlier this year when attending a gathering of Anglicans throughout the country. A motion became contentious, disagreements were voiced, and emotions ran hot. It wasn’t long before everything came to a standstill. We hit the car-accident of parliamentary order, and the longer we sat there, the more stressed and frustrated people felt.

But then, arising from floor of the meeting, a lone voice spoke 5 simple words: “I call for the gospel.” These words changed everything.

See, in our way of governance, someone can request the gospel of the day to be read aloud at any time. With this request, we immediately shifted gears. Instead of speaking and arguing we turned to listening; instead of debate we took a position of prayer. As fractious and irritable as we were, we acted together in listening to the words of Jesus proclaimed in our midst.

Calling for the gospel isn’t something reserved for church meetings or councils. It is something that we can cultivate in our own lives as well.  After all, we all come up against times where our spiritual life seems to be at a standstill. This can occur for any reason. Maybe it was an argument with a loved-one, maybe our heartfelt prayer wasn’t answered, maybe we turned a corner only to find our selves facing more difficulty or struggle than we had anticipated; But whatever the reason, there are times when discouragement or discontent comes crashing into us.

Listening to the gospel reorients us. It shifts our attention and refocuses our vision. When we turn to the gospel, we are reminded that Jesus did not just speak long ago, he speaks today. The words of Jesus enter our lives and addresses us.  Our lives are lived in the light of his care and grace. His presence is with us, and thus his words are light for the present moment. In turning to Jesus’ words, we turn away from the frustration of our discouraged surroundings and open ourselves to his will.

Of course, listening to a gospel reading doesn’t mean our situation will change right away. In the church meeting mentioned above, the reading of the gospel didn’t make the contentious issue vanish. We still had to discuss the matter at hand. People still were on opposite sides of the debate. Yet the temperature of the room had shifted. Grace had extended upon us all.

The gospel may not change the road we are on.  We will still need to walk the path before us. But inevitably, turning to the gospel will change us. Just by hearing Jesus speak into our midst, we become transformed. Opening ourselves to the words of Jesus will help us move from outward restlessness to inward stillness and calm. Peace, one that the world cannot give, will settle in and so the way we interact with whatever we find discouraging, whether it be other people, stressful situations, or standstill parliamentary-like meetings, inevitably falls in line with Christ’s spirit.

Are you walking through a time of discouragement? Has the discouragement caused you a sense of inner friction, anxiety, or turmoil?  If so, what might it look like for you to call for the gospel to be read? Instead of allowing the frustration and discouragement to define your time, how might you open yourself to the words of Jesus and allow his voice to fill the space? Reading the gospel of the day can be a life-giving practice for our spiritual lives. The gospel of the day reminds us that it is not our ups and downs, our ease, or our frustrations, that define our lives, but the ever-constant words of Jesus. The gospel reminds us that we live with Jesus, for Jesus, and in Jesus.

So, if you feel that your spiritual life is at a standstill, and you don’t know how to move forward, call for the gospel. Hear Jesus speak to you. Allow his voice to transform you and lead you on.

The gospel of the day can be found at https://lectionary.anglican.ca/.