Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit Come

Pentecost

June 1, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? . . . All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ 13But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’ –Acts 2:1-8, 12-13

I turned off the TV after hearing about the protests of the police killing of George Floyd, another black man killed in a long string of black people being killed primarily for being black. That coupled with the knowledge that: Nearly 23% of reported Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. are African American as of May 20, even though black people make up roughly 13% of the U.S. population, according to the data* probably as the saying goes, broke the camels back. We now have protests across our land, some turning into riots. Some being infiltrated with extremists trying to make them worse. The protestors in Oklahoma City were at an intersection about a mile from my house when I went to bed. I could not hear them, but I listened to the helicopters circling above my home.

I flashed back to when I was a 20-year-old college student in 1968, lying in bed in my apartment located about a mile from where the black residents of Enid lived. Martin Luther King Jr. had been killed earlier that day. There was rioting in the black part of town with fires and explosions that I could hear. I did not understand why the blacks were destroying their own buildings. Loss of hope, perhaps that discrimination will never end. There is history to give credence to that fear. This year Tulsa, Oklahoma is observing the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riots. There the black section of Tulsa was called the Black Wall Street.  It was thriving when a group of white people burned it down.

Is Pentecost still real? Are we capable of creating and living in a world where all can communicate and understand one another? The Holy Spirit can always empower us to see Christ in all of God’s children. We can appreciate each person and all people for the gifts that God instilled in them at their creation. Let us make it so.

Prayer: God, forgive us for our foolish ways**, grant us wisdom, grant us courage*** for the facing of this hour. Amen.

*https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/27/as-us-coronavirus-deaths-cross-100000-black-americans-bear-disproportionate-share-of-fatalities.html
**From the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind see at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind
***From God of Grace and God of Glory see at https://hymnary.org/text/god_of_grace_and_god_of_glory

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Waiting for the Spirit

Eastertide

May 18, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Acts 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ –Acts 1:1-5

This scripture indicates that the Holy Spirit was with the Disciples at Christ’s ascension and that they are now awaiting the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is mentioned throughout the Hebrew Bible over 200 times. As Christ was with God from the creation, so also was the Spirit. Christ was preparing the Disciples for taking over the reins of his quest to further the Kingdom of God throughout our world. We recall that Jesus’s ministry was introduced with the arrival of a dove from heaven and a voice saying, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

This pattern of preparation in service to God also tracks throughout the Bible. I like the example of the airline staff giving instructions at the beginning of a flight when they say something to the effect that, if necessary, a mask will drop down from the ceiling of the plane. Put the mask on yourself before you try to help another put their mask on. The message is that we will be no good to anyone else if we faint from lack of oxygen. Establishing our link with the Holy Spirit is key to our success in service to God.

Paul would probably add here a metaphor about athletes always staying in training. Just as they need to be honed to the point of responding through muscle memory, we need to be ready to respond to life’s challenges through the Spirit memory that we receive and nurture for growth through the practice of spiritual disciplines like prayer and study.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Spirit Led

Kingdom Building

July 5, 2019

Scripture Reading: Galatians 6:1-17

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. –Galatians 6:7-10

This is a well packed scripture within which I see three main points. The first is rather universal but one about which we often live in denial: we do reap what we sow no matter how many ways we try to get around it. When I am impatient with a process it usually takes me more time to accomplish it then would have been required had I taken my time and completed the tasks needed in the right order in the first place.

The second point, however, is one we may never even consider. When we strive to have a good working relationship with the Spirit of God, we always have a partner in our life experiences who gently or forcefully nudges us to the better way. I am in a motel room getting ready to take the next drive on a trip. My online maps show me the ways to get to my next destination. Going one way will get me there in one hour and 22 minutes going another way would take 55 more minutes. In this instance the longer time is associated with a longer distance but perhaps a more scenic route. My decision may be base on my goal. I have seen directions on this trip where the time factor relates to taking an interstate rather than state roads. While the distance is shorter on the state roads, I should get to my destination faster on the interstate. The Spirit assists in similar ways regarding life decisions. Sometimes it is really our choice and the Spirit helps us discern which is the better way. Sometimes the issue is a part of our calling as a follower of God and the Spirit is more assertive in nudging us to respond appropriately. And sometimes the action we are contemplating is just wrong, and the Spirit will let us know that also.  I think Matthew 11:28-30 addresses this idea well: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Finally, we are to do everything we do for the good of all not just our fellow faith partners. Indeed, the scripture does go on to say we are especially called to do good for our faith family, but it is not to the detriment of others.

Prayer: Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me; guide me, nudge me forward when I an hesitant to answer your call, and hold me back from doing anything that is counter to your way of love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Grief

Kingdom building

June 15, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 16:12-15
‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Jesus understood grief. I wonder if that is just apart of being all-knowing as God or from experiencing grief in his humanness or both. Joseph had apparently died between Jesus’ visit at the age of 12 to the temple and the beginning of his ministry. The loss of John the Baptist was surely deep felt. Grief has a numbing affect until humans become strong enough to deal with loss. I think the 40 days after the Resurrection was a similar time for the Disciples. They had lost Jesus, then he returned, then they lost his immediate presence again. It took time for them to recover from the shock of all of that to be able to accept the Holy Spirit.

Cultures experience loss that they must grieve and then let go. Several years ago, I attended a training workshop on how to help staff transition to new ways of working. It even suggested holding a mock funeral to help people accept the reality of the new. When I started working for the State Department of Human Services, we kept a handwritten file of alphabetized cards color-coded by type of case in five-draw filing cabinets. We transitioned to digital information in the early 1970’s but it was not until probably 1980 or so that we gave up those cards. Most staff stopped using them after a year or so of digital records.

Hanging on to negative culture forces hurt societies and can cripple them from progressing. Racism, misogyny, and other forms of denigrating people and discriminating against them is holding our society back from gaining all the wealth of worth in each person God created. The time has come to let the old ways go and to welcome the Holy Spirit’s guidance to becoming one in Christ.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see what we are clinging to that is holding back the full realization of your Kingdom. Free us from our bigotry and send all that wasted energy into building a new and better world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Jesus’ Commandments

Pentecost

June 9, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 14:8-17, 25-27

‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. –John 14:25-27

Jesus indicates in this scripture he realizes our love through our keeping his commandments. I think most of us know he summarized his understanding of the traditional Jewish commandments in Matthew 22:37-40. He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ If we read through the gospels, we see quoted several other of Jesus’ own commandments like Go and make Disciples (Matthew 28:19–20) but I wonder how many of those we follow.

Most of Jesus’ commandments that I can recall describe ways we should live and actions we should take. Jesus was very specific that we were not to judge one another. It seems to me we invest a lot of time in judging others and not much in living as Jesus commanded in our lives and in our interactions with others.

Our scripture above includes two commandments that we may tend to forget: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Both are easier said than done and both rely heavily on our trusting that Jesus is the Christ and following his commandments is our hope for tomorrow.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!*

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for the great gift of your Spirit to guide and encourage us as we strive to do your work in our world today. Amen

*Third verse of Great is Thy Faithfulness by Thomas Obediah Chisholm. See at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/19

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God’ Guidance

Eastertide

April 29, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:1-20

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.  –Acts 9:1-9

I am usually confident about what I think is right. I try to always check my facts, if I have any question about what I and saying or writing and make corrections as indicated. I get in trouble on the gray areas of life, what I think someone’s intentions are, not understanding the long history behind someone’s behavior that sort of thing. I have made some mistakes in my life for which I had to make apologies or amends. Some wrongs I committed had no rectification. I pray that if I am guilty of wrongs that not only affect the lives of others directly but also have consequences that could impact the whole world, God would bring me up short and show me the errors of my ways. That is exactly what he did with Paul.

The closest I have come to immediate correction was once when I prayed that someone, I knew who was committing adultery be forgiven for his behavior. In my mind I received an immediate message that asking for forgiveness for someone else was not my purview.

I have spent restless nights, like Jacob wrestling with the angel*, dealing with some action I had taken or more often wanted to take that was not the right thing to do. I think the Holy Spirit had something to do with my coming to a better decision by morning.

The positive conclusion I can make about Saul’s experience described in the above scripture is that God loved him enough to confront him and set him on a better way of serving God.

Prayer: Holy One, guide me to your righteousness, protect me from being so distracted by the things of the world that I do not perceive your communion with me. Amen.

*See Genesis 32:22-31

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Holy Spirit vs Chaos

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.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

New Day Dawning

Eastertide
May 15, 2018

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-21

17 “In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Luke quotes Joel 3:1-5 above when he addresses the questions of the people observing the disciples’ behavior at Pentecost.  Joel is predicting the dawning of a new day; Luke is indicating that it began with the coming of the Spirit.

I listened at worship this morning as the Pastor gave the invitation to Communion closing with his own words that reflected Acts 2:21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved and are welcomed to share in Christ’s love feast. My church’s tradition is to celebrate this renewal of Spirit called Holy Communion, The Last Supper, the Eucharist, the Love Feast or Agape Feast each week. Actually, we benefit from remembering that dawning of a new day with the Spirit each day the sun rises.

I like history and thus accept the importance of remembering from where we derived and what experiences shapes our now. The problem seems to be that we do not learn from our past and often repeat the same mistakes. What Joel and Amos talked about thousands of years ago painfully describes our world today.

As we journey toward Pentecost, this week let us recognize that we live in the light of a new day dawning.

Prayer: Lord, help us grow in Spirit and in Truth as we strive to be your functionaries in our world today. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Holy Spirit

Eastertide
May 14, 2018

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. —Acts 2:1-4

Books, written about the Holy Spirit, try to explain it, often like Acts, reporting incidents of its acknowledged presence and work. The Holy Spirit is hard to understand. Perhaps we are to accept it just as it is. Visible when the Holy Spirit deems it necessary, the Holy Spirit is always present but often not noticed except through hindsight.

I got a new smartphone a couple of months ago. I have never used the verbal aid called Siri and chose not to set it up. I do not think Siri liked my choice to ignore it. Routinely it interrupts what I am doing to ask if I would like to set it up. Every time I receive a software update, I get a reminder that I have not yet set up Siri. I wonder if Siri was modeled after the Holy Spirit with its greatest desire to be part of our lives, trying to help us follow the best paths and gigging us when we fail to do the things in our daily plans?

I would probably never make a meeting if my digital calendar did not remind me to go. When I leave my phone at home, I feel uncomfortable. What would I do if I had car trouble? In those moments, I usually remind myself that I lived for some 55 years without a portable telephone, but having one was helpful when my steering wheel got locked while I was Christmas shopping. I sped dialed triple-A and was back in full shopping mode very quickly.

I do not mean to be flippant about the Holy Spirit. I do think we each need to understand that while modern conveniences are helpful, the most important counselor, advocate we have has been with us since our beginning and will always be with us. Seeking the Holy Spirit’s counsel is one thing we should carefully include in our daily list of activities.

Prayer: Holy One, thank you for your constant presence, show me the way I can best be the person I was created to be as a part of God’s great plan. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Holy Spirit in Our Daily Walk

Eastertide
May 4, 2018

Scripture Reading: 1 John 5:1-6

This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. –1 John 5:6

I have only experienced a small number of interactions with the Spirit that I would describe as sharp and clear. Once, for example, when I prayed for the forgiveness of the sin of another person, I got the instant response that I was not the person who needed to pray that prayer. Stunned would best describe my reaction and I have never prayed such a prayer since. Most of my communications with the Spirit involves a nagging feeling that something is amiss, and I need to figure out what it is and correct it. The Spirit is also with me in joy when something goes well, and I experience a resounding Yes! within my being. I have also been so caught up in the moment that I did not realize the Spirit had been at play with me through a major issue until later when I had time to look back over the event and see touches of the Spirit in many places.

I share this with you because I fear the Holy Spirit has gotten a bad rap in our rational world. I am incapable of defining God or the Spirit or God Incarnate but that does not mean they do not exist. I do love Jesus and would probably have followed his teachings and way of being had he never been associated with God. I know others who do just that, identifying themselves as a Christian atheist. Jesus, however, depended fully on God. I am greatly comforted by the experience and knowledge of a force which is love shepherding my life and the lives of all who encounter God in their daily walk.

 O love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be. 

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
my heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
may brighter, fairer be*.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your persistence when I am oblivious and your presence when I am overwhelmed. Amen.

*First and second verses of O Love that Wilt not Let Me Go by George Matheson, See at https://hymnary.org/text/o_love_that_wilt_not_let_me_go

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.