FILL ‘ER UP!

There are some things in our lives we simply can’t live without. One that immediately comes to mind is gasoline…the fuel upon which our society depends. Without it…we don’t move. Without it…nothing moves! If our fuel tanks aren’t filled on a regular basis, life as we know it comes to a screeching halt!

We have just celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, marking the giving of the gift of the Holy Spirit…the ‘fuel’ empowering the faithful in every generation. Without the Lord’s Spirit strengthening and encouraging us, we would be able to accomplish precious little to further the Kingdom of God.

Even though the Spirit is the vital energy behind all successful ministries, He is often misunderstood. Many view the Spirit as something mysterious… something mystical that only came into existence as Jesus ascended to the Father. But the Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God to the same degree as the Father and the Son.

The Christian author, A. W. Tozier wrote that we should “…Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON, He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything…He has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and intelligence, He has hearing, He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a person.”

And the Spirit has not come lately, but has always been. His first mention can be found in Genesis 1:2 as “…the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters…” Along with the Father and Son, the Triune God, He was “…in the beginning” {John 1:1} and had a vital role in Creation as He “breathed into his {Adam’s} nostrils the breath of life.” {Genesis 2:6} While the Spirit’s presence was recognized in the days of the Old Testament, His power would come suddenly and then depart. Wisdom or strength was given for a specific purpose at a time certain, but would not last.

But then, with the sacrifice of Christ Jesus for our sins and His return to the Heavenlies, the Spirit has been given to indwell those who are called by His name. Our Helper…our Advocate is now with us always and forever. He is the ‘fuel’ that enables us to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel…and this is the only ‘fuel’ that will not be exhausted…cannot be improved upon… and never pollutes the environment!

When we follow the disciples’ example and allow the Holy Spirit of God to guide and guard us…to strengthen and encourage us…and to ‘fuel’ the ministry that has been given each of us at Baptism, we become the most powerful force the world has ever encountered. It is the Spirit working in us that strengthens us to embrace the forgotten, love those we find difficult and ‘respect the dignity of every human being’. It is the Spirit that empowers us to be Christ in the world.

Maybe St. Teresa of Avila said it best:

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
No hands but yours,
No feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks out
With compassion on the world.
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.

Faithfully,

Kathy+