Reflection to the Word on the Sunday of May 25, 2025
THE SPIRIT IS EVERYWHERE
14:26 " But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 14:28 You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I."
There are some popular culture misunderstandings regarding Christian doctrines, and two of them is the idea that the Holy Spirit was born on Pentecost together with the Christian Church. Both concepts can be easily dismissed.
As the Bible begins with the Genesis, and in its very first chapter the very first two verses say that “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
Thusly we can easily get that the Holy Spirit, called the spirit of God or God's spirit had already been present at the very beginning, at the Creation and before. It has been such a long time since the creation of the world, either some think it might have happened at least 17 billion years ago or some might think that it might have happened around 6,000 years ago.
For the end result that is almost anyway, because the Holy Spirit is not around because of the Pentecost event, but the Pentecost event happened because of the Holy Spirit was around, as always, and not only on that particular day but from the very beginning, as the Bible says it so.
The Creation of the inanimate Universe or even parallel inanimate universes is an unparalleled, unimaginable event moment. However, the Biblical account of the creation of the man was even more mysterious and unparalleled, as it is written in the Book of Genesis, chapter 2: "The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
We can understand that the Breath of Life God breathed into the nostrils of the man, was at least the feature of the Spirit of God, because it is also written in the Book of Genesis, chapter six: 3. "The LORD said, 'My Spirit will not strive within the man forever, because he also is flesh; yet will his days be one hundred twenty years.' "
We get it from the Bible, the Spirit of God is from the Beginning, the whole Creation happened by the intervention of the HOLY Spirit, and the life source in the animate, including humans, is the Spirit of God. It also means that the life inside us cannot be killed, though our portion in the life returns to its source when time is up.
Nonetheless, at least a candlelight, spark size of God's Spirit is an innate quality in all humans, even in the wicked ones, who does not listen to the inner voice of the conscience.
When the grieving Apostles were gathered in the PENTECOST HOUSE, it is written that they had flames over their head. It can be taken literally as fire like in the bush Moses met in the desert, which was burning but not consuming, or we can take sensible, as an enlightenment-ish event. As it is written in the BOOK of the ACTS, that :
4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak."
It means, that grief stricken, confused and defeated Apostles came to some victorious and joyful understanding, how to meaningfully continue the mission they received from Jesus.
Losing their leader and their guidance counselor could have been a fatal blow on the movement, but they understood that from now on they have to do it on their own, even if they might count on heavenly support.
So what kind of understanding might they have come to?
Once upon a time in a not too far away desert around the Dead Sea, John the Baptist taught his audience, that if you have two shirts you have to give one of them to the person who has none.
It is a clear teaching of compassion, solidarity, neighborly love.
But, in order to understand the legacy of Jesus, we should do the math together with the for a while grief stricken and defeated Apostles.
The math of John the Baptist goes like this:
“If you, yourself, have only one shirt, still you have to give the half of it to the one who has none. If you have only a half shirt, still you have to give the half of the half to the one who has none. If you have only one quarter of a shirt, still you have to give the half of the quarter to the one who has none. And so on, this kind of compassion could or should never end.”
In order to solve the puzzle, the Apostles understood, that this kind of kindness should never end, but it ends, because the body is nothing. They wished Jesus to stay among them close to forever, but it was not the goal, and it could not be the goal, because the ultimate goal is heaven. And I do not want to say it, but it is true, that in Heaven you do not need earthly shirts, not even one, not even a half, not even a quarter, not even a half of a quarter.
In the Gospel of John,Jesus is very clear about it, that his physical presence was needed anymore, as it is written:
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; …”
He also continued that” the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.”
The Faith generated by the omnipresent and ever present Spirit of God, is this profound understanding in the core of the heart, that the body is nothing, it will be taken away, but the Spirit is everything, and every human being has kindle light share of it.
But in those, who get this level of understanding the kindle light will become bushfire or more. May the Lord help us to calm down for real and listen the WORD of GOD, by the Holy Spirit.
AMEN
