Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 45; Isaiah 11:1-9; John 16:25-31; Acts 1:15-26; Psalm 85
In our non-traditional worship gathering last Tuesday, we worked/worshipped with a piece of scripture that set up tomorrow’s celebration of Pentecost. That piece of scripture was John 14. One of the lines our worshipping community struggled with was Jesus promise that the Holy Spirit would come and “make everything plain to [us]” (John 14:25 – The Message). The group wrestled with that scripture because many felt like even after the coming of the Holy Spirit things weren’t made plain to us – especially regarding the role and work of the Holy Spirit. They acknowledged the Holy Spirit is probably the least understood expression of God. I had a little different take on what it would mean to have everything made plain. I was reminded of my take in today’s passage from John 16. In that passage, Jesus followed the disciples’ comments with these words: “I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace” (John 16:31 – The Message). My take on these two passages is this: the coming of the Holy Spirit doesn’t assure us we’ll suddenly intellectually understand every aspect of God; the coming of the Spirit instead makes our understanding of ourselves in relation to God clearer. That clarity of understanding brought about by faith is what brings that sense of being unshakable and assured – that sense of being deeply at peace. On this weekend when we once again celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit let us consider the unimaginable ways in which things are made known regarding our relationship with self and God and then give thanks for the peace and assurance that flows out of this knowing. Til next time…
In our non-traditional worship gathering last Tuesday, we worked/worshipped with a piece of scripture that set up tomorrow’s celebration of Pentecost. That piece of scripture was John 14. One of the lines our worshipping community struggled with was Jesus promise that the Holy Spirit would come and “make everything plain to [us]” (John 14:25 – The Message). The group wrestled with that scripture because many felt like even after the coming of the Holy Spirit things weren’t made plain to us – especially regarding the role and work of the Holy Spirit. They acknowledged the Holy Spirit is probably the least understood expression of God. I had a little different take on what it would mean to have everything made plain. I was reminded of my take in today’s passage from John 16. In that passage, Jesus followed the disciples’ comments with these words: “I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace” (John 16:31 – The Message). My take on these two passages is this: the coming of the Holy Spirit doesn’t assure us we’ll suddenly intellectually understand every aspect of God; the coming of the Spirit instead makes our understanding of ourselves in relation to God clearer. That clarity of understanding brought about by faith is what brings that sense of being unshakable and assured – that sense of being deeply at peace. On this weekend when we once again celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit let us consider the unimaginable ways in which things are made known regarding our relationship with self and God and then give thanks for the peace and assurance that flows out of this knowing. Til next time…
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