Tuesday, April 05, 2005
AOTGA - Act 2
Father had confided in me that one of my best friends had received the gift of the Spirit. At the time I had been furious -- how could she have done anything that important without telling me? I was still angry with her, but at the same time I wanted to know more. So I went to her house and asked questions. She didn't have much in the way of answers but did offer to take me to a prayer group if I would promise not to ask to leave until she was ready to go home. That seemed simple enough, so I promised.
Everything that happened at the prayer meeting (as they called it) upset me. They began by reading Evening Prayer sitting down. I was disturbed. I thought they should have knelt at the places where we kneel in church. I didn't think they were being properly reverent. One man quietly said, "Praise God," and it really frightened me. I didn't know it was possible to praise God without a prayer book. But what bothered me the most was that everyone seemed so happy. Whoever heard of being happy at a prayer meeting?
I had expected them to say Evening Prayer (kneeling reverently), have coffee, gossip a bit, and go home. Those peculiar Episcopalians prayed and talked until nearly 2:30 in the morning: I discovered later that I had been such a damper on everything that they had gone home early.
The evening produced some odd events. One woman, while breathing rather heavily, spoke in a strange Oriental-sounding language. It was weird to witness. It made such an impression on me (primarily unfavorable) that it was months before I discovered that if God wants someone to speak in tongues in public, it is possible for them to do so without panting.
The strangest feature of the evening, to my mind, was the behavior of my friends. I later discovered the reason. John Baker, one half of the couple from Monterey Park who had started it all, was there. There were perhaps a dozen people in the room -- all Episcopalians -- and they had all received this gift when John Baker had laid hands on their heads and prayed to God to send the Holy Spirit upon them.
Now my friends thought I had come to receive the gift. I hadn't. I didn't know what I was doing there. They thought that I was probably shy, would like to receive with no one else around, and that John Baker could pray for me alone. However, they didn't bother to tell me their reasoning. But a number of times during the evening one of them would lean forward and whisper to me, "Jean, don't you want to go into the kitchen with John?" I had never seen John before in my entire life and the last thing I wanted to do was go into the kitchen with him. I privately decided this speaking in tongues had unhinged their minds. I didn't want to go into the kitchen with John and I didn't know why anyone would want me to. I thought they were all irreverent and strange and I couldn't get away because I had promised my friend that I wouldn't leave until she did.
It got worse. They wanted to pray for me to receive this gift. They actually wanted to put their hands on my head. I wouldn't have allowed anyone but a priest to put his hands upon my head for any reason whatsoever, and I certainly didn't want anything these odd people had. I refused. They silently prayed. I knew what they were praying. They were praying for me to receive the Holy Spirit. I was also praying. I was praying, "Lord Jesus, get me out of here. These people are crazy."
The more they urged me to receive the gift the more annoyed I became. I was sure I had everything. After all, I had been in the church all of my life and some of these people were just new converts. I was sure that I worked harder for and prayed more to God than any of them. Eventually they disbanded, and I took my pride and self-righteousness and left.
Click here for the Table of Contents
Everything that happened at the prayer meeting (as they called it) upset me. They began by reading Evening Prayer sitting down. I was disturbed. I thought they should have knelt at the places where we kneel in church. I didn't think they were being properly reverent. One man quietly said, "Praise God," and it really frightened me. I didn't know it was possible to praise God without a prayer book. But what bothered me the most was that everyone seemed so happy. Whoever heard of being happy at a prayer meeting?
I had expected them to say Evening Prayer (kneeling reverently), have coffee, gossip a bit, and go home. Those peculiar Episcopalians prayed and talked until nearly 2:30 in the morning: I discovered later that I had been such a damper on everything that they had gone home early.
The evening produced some odd events. One woman, while breathing rather heavily, spoke in a strange Oriental-sounding language. It was weird to witness. It made such an impression on me (primarily unfavorable) that it was months before I discovered that if God wants someone to speak in tongues in public, it is possible for them to do so without panting.
The strangest feature of the evening, to my mind, was the behavior of my friends. I later discovered the reason. John Baker, one half of the couple from Monterey Park who had started it all, was there. There were perhaps a dozen people in the room -- all Episcopalians -- and they had all received this gift when John Baker had laid hands on their heads and prayed to God to send the Holy Spirit upon them.
Now my friends thought I had come to receive the gift. I hadn't. I didn't know what I was doing there. They thought that I was probably shy, would like to receive with no one else around, and that John Baker could pray for me alone. However, they didn't bother to tell me their reasoning. But a number of times during the evening one of them would lean forward and whisper to me, "Jean, don't you want to go into the kitchen with John?" I had never seen John before in my entire life and the last thing I wanted to do was go into the kitchen with him. I privately decided this speaking in tongues had unhinged their minds. I didn't want to go into the kitchen with John and I didn't know why anyone would want me to. I thought they were all irreverent and strange and I couldn't get away because I had promised my friend that I wouldn't leave until she did.
It got worse. They wanted to pray for me to receive this gift. They actually wanted to put their hands on my head. I wouldn't have allowed anyone but a priest to put his hands upon my head for any reason whatsoever, and I certainly didn't want anything these odd people had. I refused. They silently prayed. I knew what they were praying. They were praying for me to receive the Holy Spirit. I was also praying. I was praying, "Lord Jesus, get me out of here. These people are crazy."
The more they urged me to receive the gift the more annoyed I became. I was sure I had everything. After all, I had been in the church all of my life and some of these people were just new converts. I was sure that I worked harder for and prayed more to God than any of them. Eventually they disbanded, and I took my pride and self-righteousness and left.
Click here for the Table of Contents
# posted by LeeSun @ 2:34 pm 
