The Breath of the Resurrected Christ

Reflections on John 20:19-21:

I have been pondering the impact of the risen Christ's appearance to the disciples squirreled away up in that locked room. The fear in the room prior to Jesus' appearance would surely have been palpable. I can almost see the disciples pacing up and down the length of the room, wringing their hands and wondering what would happen to them. Their skin was sweaty and damp in the stale air of the closed room. They could feel the pressure building in their necks and aching heads.

Would the authorities come and get them, just as they had come to get Jesus? Would there be a knock at the door? Would the door be broken down? Who knew they were there? Who might be betray them? What would happen to their wives and children? Who would keep the fishing businesses and tax collecting businesses going?

And then Jesus appears. Could they hear him come? Was there a whoosh, or was his appearance totally silent? What would his words "Peace Be With You" mean in the stale air of that room, among men who were sweaty with fear? Would the fear start to leak out of the room as Jesus' peace flowed in?

When he breathed on them, did it cool their clammy skin? Did their blood pressure drop? Did the tightness in their foreheads and scalps release?

Their friend, their teacher, was again with them. Did it mean that everything was going to be alright? Would things pick up where they left off? They couldn't know the answers to any of these things. But they could feel the breath of their living, risen friend blowing over them. At least for now, they could stop being afraid.

What does the breath of the living, risen Christ blowing over you and your community mean? What power does this give you? How does it change things in your life?

May the peace of the risen Christ be with you, and may his breath chase away your fears. Amen. Alleluia!

The Holy Spirit in Baptism

Week 5 Lenten Devotions

Lent Day 26: Thursday March 18

Theme for the Week: Holy Baptism--Baptized We Live

Passage for the Day: Luke 3:21-22a

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.

Reflection:

One of the things that I notice in this passage, is that Jesus is praying that the Holy Spirit descends on him. Not while he was being baptized, but while he was processing the entire event in prayer with God, his Father. It is while Jesus is in communication with God and open to the impact of this communication that Spirit comes down to him. We don’t know what Jesus was talking about with God, but we are privy to the answer—the descent of the Spirit. The Spirit is quite active in Luke’s Gospel, starting with the promise that John would be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, continuing with its role in Jesus’ conception, and its descent after Jesus’ baptism. It is the Spirit who leads Jesus around in the wilderness for 40 days. At his death on the cross, according to Luke’s account, Jesus gives up his Spirit. In Luke’s book of Acts, the Holy Spirit descends onto the disciples at Pentecost appearing as tongues of fire.

The Holy Spirit, in the event of Jesus’ baptism, has a bodily, presumably visible and touchable form. The form like a dove is reminiscent of the dove that Noah sent out to check if the flood had ended. The dove guided Noah and his family by revealing when it was safe to leave the ark. The only reference to a dove in the New Testament is in all four Gospel writers’ accounts of Jesus’ baptism. The dove, whether seen only by Jesus and/or John or by all the people present, is the means by which God chose to signal the presence of the Holy Spirit with Jesus. This is the same Holy Spirit who enters into each one of us at our baptisms and in whose name we are baptized. This is the same Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to us to guide us and to advocate for us for all time.

Prayer Themes:

Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pray that I may be able to sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. Pray that I will listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Pray for the presence of the Spirit in the lives of people who have become estranged from God.

Baptized with the Holy Spirit and Fire

Week 5 Lenten Devotions

Lent Day 25: Wednesday March 17

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Theme for the Week: Holy Baptism--Baptized We Live

This week we will be reflecting on the gift of baptism and what baptism means in our lives.

Passage for the Day: Luke 3:16

¹⁶ John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Reflection:

What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire?

Jesus Christ, the Messiah whose coming that John was prophesying, called on his followers to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised his followers the gift of the Holy Spirit as an Advocate and Counselor. Christians, as Jesus’ followers throughout the ages, have been baptized according to his command. Although water is the visible element used in Christian baptism (either through submersion or by pouring water on the person’s head), we believe that the Holy Spirit descends into a person at his or her baptism. This is a baptism that is good forever. Even though the water dries, after baptism, I am permanently changed. The gift of the Holy Spirit never ends for me. Because baptism lasts forever, each day I can call on the Holy Spirit to forgive my sins and to guide me through another day.

To be baptized with fire, is likely another reference to the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost, the Spirit descended onto the disciples like tongues of fire. The Spirit is a fiery presence in my life, refining and purifying me daily.

Prayer Themes: Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit that entered my life in baptism. Pray for the refining and purifying action of the Spirit in my life. Pray that I might hear and respond to the Holy Spirit’s ongoing guidance. Pray for those preparing for baptism in this Lenten season and for those who are newly baptized.

The Spirit Helps Us to Pray

Week 4 Lenten Devotions

Lent Day 24: Tuesday March 16

Theme for the Week: The Lord’s Prayer as a Way to Ask for Help

Passage for the Day: Romans 8:26-27

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷ And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Reflection:

I am thinking of those days when praying seems to be just one more hurdle that I can’t get over. Maybe I am feeling frazzled, without so much as a minute to brush my teeth, much less stop to pray. Maybe I am so upset, or in so much pain, or in such deep grief that I don’t know where to start to pray or maybe I am afraid that anger might spill over into my prayers. Where do I turn? This is the time to call on the Spirit and just outright ask for help—Holy Spirit, its your turn now—I can’t go pray myself. God promises that the Spirit will jump right into the middle of things and pray for us—with “sighs too deep for words.” This is a very comforting picture and the gift of a God who does not want us to suffer alone. God will understand the pleas of the Spirit on our behalf, and God promises to respond. This is a powerful promise and one I should feel free to turn to when I am feeling frazzled, weak or in despair.

Prayer Themes:

Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit—the Advocate, Counselor, Guide. Pray for a trust in the Spirit and the willingness to turn to the Spirit. Pray for those who have somehow blocked the Spirit’s presence in their lives.

God the Holy Spirit

Week 3 Lenten Devotions

Lent Day 18: Tuesday March 9

Theme for the Week: The Apostles’ Creed as a Statement of our Faith

Passage for the Day: John 14:15-17

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”

Reflection: In the third Article of the Apostles Creed, we confess “I believe in the Holy Spirit…” What does it look like to believe in the Holy Spirit? Is it to acknowledge that I believe in the promise that Jesus made to send an Advocate (the paraclete), who will be with me for ever. In this passage from John, Jesus describes the Advocate as the “Spirit of truth.” Jesus also tells me that this “Spirit of truth” will dwell with me and be in me. Can I accept that there is a Spirit who dwells with me, advocates for me, counsels me, and guides me? How do I know the Spirit is there? I can’t see the Spirit, but I know, because Jesus promised, and because I can sense the presence of the Spirit, even if I can’t see the Spirit. The Spirit is the one who sort of sits on my shoulder giving advice. You know that kind of advice—the advice that says “maybe that isn’t the best idea,” or who says “even though it’s difficult, this is the direction you should really go.” It is the Spirit who brings me to faith, and keeps me from lapsing. When I confess that I believe in the Holy Spirit, I am saying that I trust Jesus’ promise of a Holy Guide and Advocate. A summary of the third article of the Apostles’ Creed is “God makes me holy”!! (I am made holy through the actions of the Spirit or Advocate.)

Prayer Themes: Pray that I am able to confess that “I believe in the Holy Spirit…”. Pray that I will be able to listen to the guidance of the Spirit. Pray for others that they may know the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Reflections on Peace and Forgiveness--Lent Day 6

Reflection for Lent Day 6 (Tuesday February 23)

Theme for the Week: Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Passage for the Day: John 20:21-23

²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Reflection:

In the church that I serve, we read this passage from the Gospel of John during our Ash Wednesday Service as we began our Lenten Journey last week. These are powerful words in several ways.

First, Jesus tells his disciples of every time and place that his own peace is poured into them. This is the peace that will sustain them as they go about their work. Jesus is sending his original disciples out into the world in the same way that God sent him. But these words are not intended just for Jesus’ historic disciples in the First Century. Jesus calls to all of his followers, in any age, to continue his work in the world. Secondly, Jesus gives to all who continue his work, the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen them and lead them. Have you ever felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? How does the Spirit guide and lead you? Have you ever been called on to forgive someone’s sins? Have you felt the guidance of the Holy Spirit in granting this forgiveness?

Prayer Themes: Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide and lead you. Pray for the peace of Christ in your life and the lives of those around you. Pray for those who request forgiveness of sins.