Cry Freedom

The idea the there is more to God that a distant and sometimes angry deity is deeply emeshed in the text and experience of the Bible. From the very beginning there is that word in Hebrew Ruah - the breath of god across the waters - the idea that God moves and breathes in creation. the New Testament picks up this same theme as the word for spirit here is pneuma - the same word from which we get pneumatic - air filled - in a very real sense then the Bible is about pneumatic people - people but filled with hot air but with the love and grace of the Holy Spirit.
But the Holy Spirit, even in the Old Testament, is not some sort of quiet companion, a silent partner in God's work. The prophet Isaiah is clear where his words are coming from and it is this that Jesus quotes in the synagogue -
The spirit of the Lord is upon me  because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
The year of the Lord's favour can be interpreted in more than one way - but lets think about it in terms of the year of Jubilee, that time every fifty years when the people were told to forgive debts and let captives free. Jubilee year was a time of celebration and restoration and this same celebration and restoration is true for those who live in the Spirit of God now.
It is interesting that in this year of our own jubilee we are focussing on the party and celebration aspect but talking very little about the real aspects of Biblical Jubilee. A few years ago there was a movement called the Jubilee project which called for the forgiveness of debt from foreign banks which was crippling the economies of developing nations, many of whom were spending more that their GDP simply to try to keep up with interest payments.
There have been campaigns over the past few years to really bring Jubilee to the developing world but the sad fact of the matter is that many country's debts have not been cancelled and western countries are subtracting the cost of debt cancellation from their overseas aid contributions. There is still a lot of work to be done and even more in terms of sorting out the way that global markets and trading practices prejudice poorer nations.
Much more could be said on this - but it is important because as people who are offered God's Spirit it is important to realize that our life is not one of withdrawal from the problems of the world - it is one of engagement.
We too, are sent to bring Good News to the poor and release to the captives and all in the power of the Spirit. And when we cry that the greedy and rich and powerful systems in which we all exist to be changed or even dismantled to share the riches of the Earth more fairly, to share god's abundance abundantly, then we will meet anger and opposition from those who maintain positions of priviledge.
Jesus was almost pushed over a cliff for saying what he did in the synagogue - but he walked away. We too, when we cry with the voice of the Spirit, will be taken to challenging places, but this is our story and this is our song.