Is the Spirit of God at
work in you?
In his Last Supper
Discourse in John’s Gospel, Jesus reassures the disciples in ways they can’t
begin to understand; they will only grasp the full meaning of his words after
his death and resurrection. One day, Jesus
tells them, God the Father will give them another Advocate to be with them always, the Spirit of truth who will be in them. Jesus also
asks them to love and to observe his commandments; love and obedience will be a sign that the disciples
have stepped beyond the tangible and are seeing with the Spirit that resides in
their hearts, recognizing God’s love at work in them, participating in that
work, sharing God’s life with him. Come and see the works of God, Psalm 66
proclaims. Once we know the Spirit of
God dwells in us, we are attuned to God’s works, can participate in them, and sing praise to God’s name.
And that praise, that
witness, is important, as the First Letter of Peter explains. Christians need to be clear about what they
believe, conscious of the work of God in their lives, so that they can give
witness to the idea that his holiness fills them: Always
be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your
hope. Christ has been brought to life in the Spirit; to be
Christian is to see oneself as a spiritual essence, to know that one is
essentially spirit. And to live from
that place, filled with the Spirit, is to constantly appreciate that we are
blessed, to spontaneously affirm how much love is revealed in our lives, so
that we might in turn lead others to God.
We see this very scenario played out in the Acts of the Apostles, when
many see the signs Philip is doing in Samaria – conscious of God’s
works, of God’s mercy, they, too, will receive
the Holy Spirit. There is great joy in that city.
We gather at Mass to
participate in God’s activity, and to sing our praise of his tremendous deeds, of his love abiding
and working in us. In Eucharist itself, if we are open to it, God makes us one;
a union of hearts takes place. Consider
this: if participating in God’s love is
the reason we go to Mass, if love is the driving force behind what makes us
church, then God’s Spirit is indeed at work within us, drawing us closer
together in community, connecting us, giving us great reason to cry out to God with joy, and to witness
to all the world, that we might lead them also to God’s love.
This post is based on Fr.
Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
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