Holy Spirit

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, came to the disciples. Since then, the church has argued about the Spirit’s presence, power, and gifts. Who has the Spirit? How does one get it or receive it? And in our own time, the question is even more ambiguous. Is there a spiritual realm and, if so, how are people spiritual in nature? People will try to connect to a deeper sense of self-identity in many ways. Some Christians consider themselves the exclusive recipients of the Holy Spirit, to the exclusion of the rest of us. This causes divisive strife and, likely, is the source of much disenchantment with religion and church. In a related expression, I’ve heard people say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” Or “You don’t have to go to church to be a spiritual person.” I wonder why there is such a disconnect between the church and the spirit-filled life?
Marva Dawn, in her book “Talking the Walk: Letting Christian Language live again” writes about the ways that we reject the Spirit dwelling within and among us. “Consequently, we renounce the Spirit when we do not let the Inspirer through the Word in biblical texts form our language and lives, when we are not attuned enough to the Spirit to let the Holy Guide direct our attitudes, speech, and deeds. We admire certain people who seem to be Spirit-filled, but do not comprehend that the Spirit’s indwelling is a gift fully available to us all. We also repudiate the Spirit when we do not submit to the Empowerer’s gifting so that we might work out of God’s strength rather than our own. How often we rely on our own skills, experience, understanding, or talent rather than letting the Spirit have full sway in our lives and deeds. Sometimes we hide the Spirit’s gifts and don’t let them work through us for the well-being of the community or even ourselves.”
The Holy Spirit is not a feeling or emotion, not a tickle in the gut or a chill up the spine. We often expect some feeling to accompany the Spirit’s presence. But what if God’s Spirit is at work in your daily life devoid of any strong feeling? The Spirit gives us many things: a sense of peace or conviction or courage or endurance or guidance or quiet or hope or willful submission. Would you like to discover how Jesus’ Spirit, gifted to you for LIFE at Holy Baptism, is at work in you? Wouldn’t you like to be inspired, to experience a connection with Jesus, and to embrace a new way of life that is full of purpose and meaning? Wouldn’t you like to identify yourself as a spirit-filled person with spiritual gifts, assets, and abilities to share for the betterment of others? Wouldn’t you like this congregation to be known as a people full of the Spirit and life of Jesus, a place to which the Spirit draws people into fellowship?