The Holy Spirit
Sunday we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, demonstrated so vividly on that first Day of Pentecost. A sound like the rush of a mighty wind! Tongues as of fire! Everyone hearing in their own language!
But a good understanding of the Holy Spirit remains elusive. How do we get it? How do we know we’ve got it? How do I know what is the Holy Spirit and what is just the wandering of our own mind?
The New Testament promises the Holy Spirit to all Christians. As Episcopalians, a critical part of Baptism comes right after I pour water on the candidate’s head saying, “I baptize you . . .” when I make the sign of the cross on the candidate’s forehand and say “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.”
In fact, one of the major shifts we see from the time before Pentecost and after is that before, the Spirit is given to a few, prophets, kings, etc., and after Pentecost the Spirit is for all believers.
When referring to conversion, the New Testament speaks of “Repent,” “Believe,” and “receive the Holy Spirit,” and the three expressions are often used interchangeably. Together, it is considered a “theological simultaneity” meaning that in God’s eyes they happen together, even if we experience them at different moments.
One of the most difficult things for Christians to learn is how to listen to the Holy Spirit. Most of the time it is not like that first day of Pentecost — dramatic, overwhelming and unquestionable. In the course of the normal Christian life, the Spirit is more often that “still small voice,” the word of a friend, a Scripture read in a new way, a movement within when praying.
How do we listen for this voice, often behind the other voices we hear? How do we separate the voice of the Spirit from the noise of life? More on Sunday, June 5, 10 a.m., In-Person and Livestream!
This column appeared in the June 5, 2022 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
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