This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit.
As the Christmas season draws to a close Saint John reminds us of the “Spirit.” We’ve heard much of the Christmas Spirit lately, including the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Marley’s ghost and his three spirit companions. We have been exhorted to jingle bell rock and go out and shop. Not to mention the spirits that was added to our nogs, grogs and bloody marys. There has been plenty of spirit!
As the season ends, Saint John urges us to remain in the spirit; and by now most of us would rather not! Once a year is sufficient.
The doctrine of the Holy Spirit as we find it in scripture is one of the most difficult to define. We kind of know it when we see it, unless we don’t. Sometimes people speak of the Holy Spirit as in, “He was slain by the Holy Spirit;” while others bite their tongues and try not to engage in theological wrangling. Even the word Spirit contends with Ghost as a better rendition of the Greek pneuma and the Hebrew ruah. But if we speak of wind and breath, the mystery also appears as fire, water and oil in the Bible. It's all very perplexing and, if we can speak such a word, mysterious.
In recent centuries enthusiastic sects of the Protestant wing of the Church staked a claim on the Holy Spirit while mainline Protestant churches avoided the subject. Susan Cain, in her very readable book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, describes her encounter with a group of Christians who seem to have expelled or suppressed all their introvert members. She finds a religion that believes it is “filled by the Holy Spirit” when it is only drunk on its own excitement. It teeters on the brink of absurdity.
The Catholic Church wisely prays for the guidance and energy of the Holy Spirit, and encourages her faithful to a committed life of service. Our experience of the Holy Spirit is more about dedication than excitement, and far less spectacular. Commitment entails intense and prolonged preparation through prayer and study. It requires weekly mass, daily prayer and continual alertness to threats of evil and opportunities for good. Commitment gladly runs the risk of being taken for granted and regarded as ordinary.
As the Christmas season ends I hope you feel renewed in the Spirit by our prayers and liturgies. We have a new year upon us now, a year of grace and opportunity. Hopefully, by January 2014, we will say, "It was a pretty ordinary year."
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.