Holy Pneuma!

“When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” (Psalm 104: 30)

Life beyond death….This Eastertide leading up to Pentecost inspires me to ponder God’s giving of the Spirit at Pentecost. It is just so amazing! To be so known and understood, to be so loved and provided for! Our human need for a presence with us after Jesus leaves this earth is a human need well known and understood by our loving God. So we are given the ruach (in Hebrew) or the pneuma (in Greek), the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, as our comforter, advocate, counselor and companion. Doesn’t that just take your breath away!! What a gift! The third part of the Trinity!

There are over 260 references to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. In addition to the Hebrew and Greek scriptures referring to the Spirit of God, Hindu, Taoist, Islam and Bahai faiths also refer to the Spirit as an agent of divine action. The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and a universal symbol of peace as well. In Acts it is described as coming down from heaven into the room where the disciples saw tongues of fire! The Holy Spirit is both powerful and peaceful, communicating God’s power but also God’s sensitivity to our needs. God sent this spirit to create and renew. God provided this powerful reassuring presence in the cloud guiding the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. God sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples when they were despairing after the death of Jesus so they would never feel alone. And we have that same spirit guiding, supporting, and sustaining us. The Holy Spirit illumines the scriptures so we can apply them to our daily lives, prays for us when we have no words, communicates God’s grace to us when we have communion, and inspires forgiveness, outreach, and love at times when revenge, fear, and hate would be the most instinctual response. I love the Holy Spirit!

Spirit of God, you are the breath of creation, the wind of change that blows through our lives, opening us up to new dreams, new hopes, and new life through faith in Jesus Christ. Thank you, God, for understanding the needs of your fragile and finite creatures and responding with ineffable love in the form of your breath. Spirit of new life, forgive us and break down the prison walls of our selfishness, that we might be open to your love and energized to serve your children who are hungry for your Word of hope and care, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(For more information on the Holy Spirit and image copyright see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit#Judaism)