Living in the Spirit
October 4, 2018
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. –Hebrews 1:1-4
My Sunday school class is exploring the Holy Spirit. After some discussion of the Genesis opening: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2), one of the participates observed that chaos is the opposite of the Holy Spirit.
We are surviving in a world caught in chaos and we do not know how to what? manage it, defeat it, bring order to it. I could not swim when I went on my senior trip. At a motel pool where we were staying one of my classmates teasingly propelled me into the deep end of the pool where I flailed around frantically bobbing in and out of the water for what seemed like an eternity but was only a few seconds when the guilty party grabbed my hand and one of the other girls pushed me toward the side where I was extracted. I had never been more than my arm’s length from the edge as I created my own chaos.
We find ourselves daily, it seems, being drawn into chaos created by others just as we may be creating it for ourselves or others. In many instances, chaos is a smoke screen to keep us from seeing what is really happening in the world about us.
My college required all students to prove they could swim or take swimming as a mandatory course. You can guess where I landed. I did learn the mechanics of swimming, but I never practiced actually breathing and swimming at the same time. I passed the test because by the end of the semester I had gained the ability to hold my breath the length of the pool while turning my head appropriately. I fear we face the chaos of the world in a similar manner, avoidance of the real problems.
After graduating from college, I moved to a town that had great city swimming programs and I saw in the paper they offered a fraidy-cat class for folks like me. I signed up and encountered a kind and understanding, no-nonsense trainer who said she could teach me to swim while breathing at the same time and she did.
We serve a kind and understanding, no-nonsense God who loves us just as we are and can and will save us from the chaos of the world even enable us to help others out of that chaos.
By the way, the Hebrew word for spirit, ruach, and the Greek word for spirit, pneuma, also means wind and breath.
Prayer: Lord, create in us the order of your love so we are not overpowered by the chaos that surrounds us. Amen.