Turtle and the Spirit of Truth

Baptism, confirmation, and affirmation of faith liturgies have a prayer where the gathered community prays:

Stir up in your people the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.

When the Gospel of John speaks of truth – and specifically the Spirit of truth – I interpret that to mean, the spirit working in people of faith and in faith communities as described in the prayer prayed at baptisms and confirmations.

The Gospel has Jesus say that: When the Spirit of truth comes, the Spirit will guide you into all the truth. This Spirit of truth enters the lives of Jesus’ followers, stirring up, animating, energizing, compelling, working through hearts and minds and hands – thoughts, words, and deeds- with a spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of the Lord, and joy in God’s presence. Have you experienced the Spirit of truth working in and through you? Or felt the Spirit of truth moving in and through this faith community?

 

Today begins our journey of Seven Sundays reflecting on the Seven Sacred Teachings of our Indigenous siblings: week one is the teaching of Truth, represented by Turtle.

Circle for Reconciliation and Justice – Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

 

Yes! I have experienced the Spirit of truth. I have a story – a combination of connected experiences - where the Spirit of truth and Turtle meet.

As a teenager, I spent my summers working at Camp Edgewood, a Lutheran church camp near Guelph, ON. The camp was 52 acres that included a human-made pond, called ‘Scoody Pond.’ The pond was not for swimming – it was used for canoeing and catching red and yellow spotted painter turtles. The water was murky and slimy. It was also the home to snapping turtles.

My first summer was the year of Master Snapper. Master Snapper was the name given to a very large snapping turtle, rumoured to live in the bottom of the pond. It was a turtle of legend. In the safety presentation before canoeing, lifeguards showed campers an oar with a semi-circular bite out of it – yes, allegedly made by a large turtle; with the purpose of cautioning campers to not put their hands in the pond water or dare to pick up a turtle without red or yellow spots.

For whatever reason, that was the summer that a large snapping turtle left tracks in the mud at the edge of the pond, and on one occasion was found by the lifeguards. The lifeguards decided to move Turtle to the least travelled portion of the pond. They thought they would transport Turtle with the help of a large garbage can. When they lifted Turtle to put it in the can, its shell sat on the opening – that is a big turtle. They carried Turtle to a new entry spot and let Turtle go.

My last summer was the year of a dedicated nature room in the main lodge, and I was nature director. Each week campers engaged in activities to grow their relationship with creation. One of the favourite activity centres was the ‘look what we found’ table. Feathers, seeds, snake skins, dried cicada and dragonflies, bones, and the favourite a snapping turtle shell; top and bottom still connected. There were few campers who were not intrigued by the shell. Campers liked to hold it, feel the variety of textures, view it from different angles, observe its intricacies. It was pretty cool! I loved to watch their changing faces as thoughts and emotions passed as they explored Turtle’s shell.

These two stories are personal Turtle stories and believe it or not they speak to me of Truth and the Spirit of truth lived in and through me, and in and through community.

Preparing this sermon had me realize how much these two Turtle stories contributed to my understanding of things, particularly God-things; my theology, my pedagogy, my pastoring.

The story of Master Snapper had staff and campers questioning, "is the story true or is it a story crafted over the years and handed down?" As a group, campers wrestle with what is truth and how to discern and figure it out, adding their own stories and experiences. Is the story based on truth, exaggerated, embellished in each telling? Campers pondered a mystery of what maybe isn’t right here, right now, but was, and is currently true elsewhere, or could be a possibility here later. It never ceased to amaze me that Master Snapper conversations crept into Bible story discussions. Campers were captivated by the stories of Jesus: were they true, exaggerated, etcetera? They added their own experiences and stories. Staff, like myself, became good story tellers – the Spirit of truth working through us and moving through the campers. God-stories were not just those from the Bible. All our stories held truth, applying our faith, and articulating our understanding and relationship with Creator and with others. It strikes me that this is what we do as a faith community – we use story and wrestle with story, with truth, as we try to navigate life amidst the troubles and the sufferings of the world.

Paul wrote to the Romans: Whole creation groans, we groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies… but if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Campers had little choice, but to be patient. Year after year campers returned hoping to meet Master Snapper; hoping for what we do not see – the tracks in the mud certainly buoyed hope. Year after year campers returned to have ‘that camp feeling;’ belonging, connection, grounding. There was no question that the Spirit of truth came through ecology and creation; we could sense when the pond needed water, when the creatures were well or unwell. We pondered the theology of big things – abundance; creatures seen and unseen. Excitedly we dreamed of what other mystery is waiting to be investigated. With hearts seeking truth we contemplated what happens to Turtle, to the whole creation around the pond, as the pond is naturally reclaimed as land.

We believed that In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. It is not hard, in fact it is a pleasure to expand understanding to witness that the Seven Sacred Grandfathers share that Turtle represents truth because Turtle is one of the oldest animals, so old it witnessed Creation, in the beginning.

Sacred Grandmother tells us that creation is written in the scales of Turtle’s shell. Turtle’s shell was a portal for the wonder and awe of creation and the spectacular nature of other creatures. Campers -holding the shell- felt a connection. Some of the most powerful experiences of all my years at camp were because of Turtle. The miraculous shell led to deep and meaningful conversations. At the top of the list were conversations with 7-16 year olds about death and dying– starting with Turtle (including all the details of a decomposing corpse) and moving into their fears around death, their experiences with death, losing pets and grandparents, siblings; hopes and dreams for their futures, and daring to ponder the mysteries of death, what is beyond; what is God’s part in all of this? And with a sigh articulating, “I am sad that Turtle died.”

The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

 

The Gospel directs us, You also are to testify because you have been with me since the beginning -the Master Snapper legend was passed down each summer from staff to staff, camper to camper, long before Turtle was seen on shore; here too testimony was given through living faith, loving, singing camp songs, telling Jesus’ stories, participating in Bible study, morning chapel, canoeing, Turtle’s shell, and bedtime devotions with prayer – all this merged and emerged as truth. The Spirit of truth working in and through the staff, in and through campers; a whole community where the sacred teaching of truth was applied to daily living.

 Grounded, methodical, careful, and attentive to details – at summer camp the Spirit of truth was given the gift of camper’s attention – where Turtle taking centre stage became the back on which wonder and awe were grown, where connection was made, where the Spirit of truth was free to move. When campers fondly tell the Master Snapper tale (now some 30-50 years later) the Spirit of truth rushes in with everything experienced, the prayer, the friends, the love, the questions, God conversations, the belonging, the safety; knowledge, wisdom, understanding, fear of the Lord, and joy in God’s presence. One remembers the learning -the guiding of the Spirit of truth- to be true to themselves, true to others and creation, and true to God.

 

Have you experienced the Spirit of truth working in and through you? Or felt the Spirit of truth moving in and through this faith community?

Yes! You have experienced the Spirit of truth. You have a story – a combination of connected experiences to tell, testifying to the truth.

 

Stir up in your people – in us- the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.