I realize the title of this inspirational piece may sound a little strange. How in the world can one incubate the Spirit? I also realize that some people may not even be sure what the word, incubate, means. Farmers and physicians probably know the term. If you look it up in a dictionary, the first thing usually mentioned is incubating eggs. Farmers think about chickens. A mother hen will sit on the eggs until time for the chick to hatch. In effect, the mother hen is keeping the eggs sufficiently warm---the right temperature---for nature to take its course.
Physicians and folks who work in labs also would be familiar with the term, incubate. It is similar to the mother hen. The scientist keeps cells or bacteria in a tube the right temperature for the process to take its course. Basically, incubation (to use it as a noun) means to control the environment for the purpose of developing whatever is in process. Another way the term is medically used is when the specialist incubates a patient. The means putting a tube into the trachea so the patient can breathe. In the Covid time we heard a great deal about incubated patients. This was not a good stage to be.
It is with this backdrop I want to talk about incubating the Spirit. If I follow this analogy, then I am picturing myself as a mother hen or the scientist or the physician. I am trying to control the mental and spiritual environment in order that some process can develop. In effect, I am using an analogy or even a metaphor, if you like. Let’s pursue it a bit further.
The idea occurred to me when I recently accepted an invitation to speak. It will be a speaking engagement that I actually hope somehow to share something of what God might speak to that group. That sounds a bit audacious, but theologically I do believe that God can speak through various individuals to offer not only inspiration, but also communicate what God desires in the moment.
There is a great deal of precedence for this. The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is full of such examples. One can think of Moses who climbed Sinai for a one-on-one with God. God gave Moses some specific things to take back down the mountain for the entire people. Moses became a spokesperson for God. Also, the whole group of prophets are chosen by God for this very purpose of announcing God’s judgment (often) and, then, what God wants from the people. It is easy to think of the mighty prophets like Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and many more.
Finally, it is a wonderful way to see and understand the person and ministry of Jesus. When John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus is God’s Word or Wisdom incarnate (in person), I choose to understand this as Jesus becomes a Moses-like figure. Jesus is here to tell us what God desires for us---individually and as a people. To put it in a playful way, I might say Jesus is here in order for us to hear. Jesus word becomes God’s word. Pay attention!
And so my invitation to speak is an opportunity to try to do the same thing. Of course, I don’t fancy myself to be Moses, a prophet or, certainly, not Jesus. But I do think I have the same opportunity to speak something God desires for those folks to hear. As I think about getting ready to do that, I see it simply as a two-stage process.
The first stage is allowing some ideas to geminate in my mind. These ideas are like the eggs on which the mother hen will sit. This itself can be a complex issue. Are they simply my ideas, that I later will claim are also God’s ideas? Or does God somehow implant (inspire?) particular ideas to come into my head? I can imagine it happens both ways. Clearly, there are times we think and generate ideas---even good ideas that seem inspired. And just as clearly to me, there are times when it seems as if an idea I get was inspired. I got it and seemingly did nothing to be given it, except to become aware and accept it.
The second step is the incubation step. I “sit” with these ideas, again much like the mother hen. For most of the ideas I get which might be from the Spirit, there is time needed for them to develop. And I do believe the environment has to be favorable. For example, if I spend my entire time watching tv or on social media, then I not only am wasting time, but I am also wasting an opportunity for these “spiritual eggs” to become the word of God to the audience to whom I will speak.
This kind of incubating will happen best if I take some time in prayer or meditation. I can facilitate the process by some spiritual reading. Maybe even talking about things will help maintain a good environment. I suspect even basic things like getting enough sleep and eating correctly are good things to do to be at my best. It is easy to imagine that Jesus did these kinds of things, too.
And so, I am incubating the Spirit. I accept the responsibility to be this kind of “midwife for the Spirit,” if you will. It is both a privilege and a bit daunting. I think I now understand when Isaiah said to God, “Here am I” and I really appreciate the prophet, Jeremiah, saying in effect, “Are you kidding me! You want me?”
Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber. I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s. It was already a famous book by then. I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it. It has been a while since I looked at the book. Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks? I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece. I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation. I wish more people read him and took him seriously. Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election. He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!” I think Brooks puts
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