The Wild Goose
The Way of the Wild Goose - Part 3
June 2, 2024
Acts 16:6- 15. Philemon 1:15-16, Galatians 4:6-7, Exodus 20:2
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the regions of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit kept them from speaking the word in the province of Asia. When they approached the province of Mysia, they tried to enter the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them. Passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas instead. A vision of a man from Macedonia came to Paul during the night. He stood urging Paul, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”
Acts 16:6-9 (CEB)
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Too often we act like believing in Jesus and following Jesus are entirely different things. Following or answering God’s call is for church leaders or ministers. That’s not for me. I’m just a regular person, not some “super-Christian.” The sheer number of people in churches, even among the leadership, who say, for example, that “Bible study is just not their thing,” speaks to this artificial distinction between “believer” and “follower”.
If belief is about trust, then there is no difference between believing and following. When Jesus says, “Believe in me,” it is the same as saying, “Come, follow me.” Belief requires trust. Trust requires action. Action requires stepping out in faith. I once heard faith defined as “risk with direction.” Faith always requires risk, and it always requires us to move in a particular direction. Remaining content with the status quo is not an act of faith. Being comfortable with our “beliefs” and unwilling to be challenged or grow beyond our present stage of faith does not demonstrate genuine trust in the God who says, “Go to the land I will show you” (Gen. 12:1).
While God’s call in Genesis 12 was specifically to Abram, it is also the call of the Wild Goose to every person who puts their faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was the call Jesus gave to his disciples when he said, “Come, follow me” (Matt. 4:19). It was the call Saul received when he was blinded on the road to Damascus that set his life on a radically different path (Acts 9:1-19) and the call he later followed over and over again on his missionary journeys as the Spirit continually redirects his path the places where God was already at work (i.e. Acts 16:6-9). It was the call of St. Patrick who saw a man from Ireland bearing letters that summoned him to return and proclaim the love of Christ to the very people who had enslaved him as a boy.
These calls, along with many others in scripture and throughout history, are not calls to comfort and ease. They do not lull us to sleep or to a false sense of peace and security like the sound of a dove. On the contrary, these calls startle us, awaken us from sleep in a cold sweat, blind us along the road, and tell us to leave our nets behind and take nothing with us for the journey.
The Spirit calls us to wake up and stay alert to God’s work in the world. The Spirit calls us together as one body with one hope, one Lord, one faith, and one Baptism (Ephesians 4:5). The Spirit calls to give us clear direction and to help us know which way to go. The Spirit calls to protect us and keep us from danger. And the Spirit calls to attract or draw others into the flock where they can find love, peace, and rest. The Wild Goose calls when we least expect it for all sorts of reasons. Remember, geese tend to bite those who try to put them in cages.
How is the Wild Goose calling you this week?
~ excerpts from The Wild Goose: Embracing the Untambed Beauty of the Holy Spirit