Led by the Spirit

Each spring we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. So today I want to  take an in-depth look at the Holy Spirit and what it means to us, believers, to receive  the Holy Spirit into our lives. As I was reflecting and reading other writings on this topic, I came across this commentary from Martin Luther that I found quite profound. Martin  Luther wrote:  

I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort  

believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. 

But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, 

enlightened me with his gifts, 

and sanctified and kept me in true faith. 

in the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies 

the whole Christian church on earth, 

and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. 

In this Christian church day after day 

he fully forgives me sins and the sins of all believers. 

On the last day he will raise me and all the dead 

and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life. 

This is most certainly true. 

That is quite a testimony to the power and role that the Holy Spirit plays in our faith,  and yet many people seem to overlook the Holy Spirit like the invisible partner in the  trinity. But have you ever stopped to consider why we say this Holy Spirit? In part I  think we do this because we have a sense of knowing and experiencing the divine in mysterious and extraordinary ways like a spirit. Holy because we recognize it as  something pure, unique and benevolent or good.  

In Scripture there are many metaphors we employ to understand God, Jesus, and the  Holy Spirit. So, We know the images that are used for the Day of Pentecost, a great  wind and tongues of fire resting on each person’s head. Or at Jesus’ baptism where we  read that the Holy Spirit, appears as a dove. 

We use metaphors to help us create a picture or understanding of key characteristics  of something, especially from the spiritual realm. So, when we identify something as a  metaphor, we also need to name the characteristic that the two, otherwise unrelated  objects, share. How is the Holy Spirit like fire, like oil, like wind, like a ghost, a  paraclete or comforter, and like a dove. By looking at these metaphors and how these  images are used in scripture it helps us to get a better understanding of God the Holy  Spirit.  

A dove is used as a symbol of peace, taken first from the story of Noah when the dove  returns with an olive branch. Spiritually it represents the work of reconciliation that the  Holy Spirit and the church are called to do as we proclaim the resurrection of Christ. It  

is through the work of the Holy Spirit that we experience peace with God.  The second image of the Holy spirit, that we see in the story of Pentecost, is the mighty  wind. The wind of the Holy Spirit blowing in our hearts. In John’s Gospel Jesus blows upon the disciples and says “receive the Holy Spirit”. In the Acts account it is  experienced first as a mighty wind blowing. Jesus also talks about the Holy Spirit to  Nicodemus as a wind that one cannot see, comprehend, or control. The passage in  John 3:8 reads “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear it, but you do not  know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the  Spirit.” 

The third image that is most common for the Holy Spirit is fire. We have fire  representing God in the burning bush with Moses. We have a pillar of fire that leads the  way for the Israelites as they are in the wilderness after being liberated from Egypt.  

Finally, we have the fire of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. This imagery of fire  represents God’s holiness, purity and truth.  

Another way of understanding this aspect of the Divinity of God is to name what the  Holy Spirit does. We all know about the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Paul talks  about the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 at length. But here is the list of gifts: Things like,  speaking in tongues, wisdom, prophecy, powerful deeds, healing, discerning of spirits and interpreting of tongues. According to 1 Corinthians these are given by the Holy  Spirit for the common good of the congregation. At the end of that Chapter, Paul raises  the bar even higher. Having the gift of the holy spirit is not enough. Above all else we  need the gift of Love. Love is the more excellent way. He reminds the reader that all  these gifts are tools until the fullness of God is revealed and then we will only be left  with Faith, Hope and Love, the greatest of these is Love. 

The fruits of the Spirit refers to how we are able to confirm that someone has received  the Holy Spirit or is a believer. These will be evident in their lives. Paul writes about the  fruits in Galatians chapter 5. The fruits of the spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience,  kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

All of this, the metaphors, the gifts, and the fruits along with our own personal  experiences of God’s spirit at work in our lives helps us to understand and discern the  presence of the Holy Spirit in the world still today. It allows us to know more about God  and Jesus also. It gives us a more personal and intimate understanding of God at work  in us and through us, not just back in the times of Jesus, but today. That is what I find  so amazing.  

In our two readings today, we hear about some other aspects of the Holy Spirit that  again I find vital to our spiritual life as individuals and as a community of faith. First  comes from John’s Gospel. Here the Holy Spirit is called the paraclete or advocate.  

Paraclete is a transliteration of the Greek word Parakletos. Advocate is a pretty good  concept. It means that the Holy Spirit advocates, defends or supports you in a court of  law. Sometimes it is translated to helper or comforter. The writer in John’s Gospel goes on for quite a while about the Holy Spirit and it is with us to help us defend the Gospel  to others and to give us the words and understanding to proclaim with confidence all  that Jesus did.  

Lastly we see in Romans how the power of the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and all of  creation to give birth to a new world, the Kingdom of God, here on earth. Lets admit it,  we often are at a loss for words to know how we ought to pray or struggle to find the  words that express the depth of our hearts. We often moan with grief and struggle to  pray about the immense struggles we face in the world today. 

I say all this on this day because we need the Holy Spirit more than ever. We need  someone we can turn to for help. As the church we need wisdom and guidance. We  need the gifts of the spirit to help us, and we need the fruits of the spirit at work in our  lives to help us proclaim the Good News boldly in a way that others understand and  can receive deep within their hearts.  

In closing I want us to hear again what Martin Luther said regarding the Holy Spirit:  I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort  

believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. 

But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, 

enlightened me with his gifts, 

and sanctified and kept me in true faith. 

in the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies 

the whole Christian church on earth, 

and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. 

In this Christian church day after day 

he fully forgives me sins and the sins of all believers. 

On the last day he will raise me and all the dead 

and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life. 

This is most certainly true.