The Spirit is an invisible power
“When the day of Pentecost had come they were together. Suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit”(Acts 2.1-4).
There is no idea more misunderstood and no experience more grossly portrayed than that of God the Holy Spirit.
It is difficult because we must use ordinary language to describe the indescribable experience of God being with us.
So Luke likens the coming of the Holy Spirit to“tongues of fire” (Luke 2.3) while at Jesus’baptism the Spirit is likened to a“dove” (Matthew 3.16).
At the time of Jesus, the Jewish nation hoped for the return of the Spirit.
According to the rabbinic teaching, the Spirit had ceased to be active with the last of the prophets.
The Spirit would return only at the end-time when God would come to judge the nations of the world.
The prophet Joel had expressed this expectation:“In the last days”, God declares,“I will pour out my Spirit upon all people”(Joel 2.28-29 and Acts 2.17-21).
The coming of God the Lord would be a terrible day of judgment against evil and inequity.
But for those who trusted the Lord in obedience and love it would be a day of salvation.
“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”(Joel 2.32 and Acts 2.21).
The Spirit is the power of God in human history and the presence of God in individual lives.
The Spirit is the living and active presence of God in human nature.
That is why we speak of the ‘Holy’Spirit.
Invisible, yet powerful; unheard, yet shaping lives; unseen, but determining the course of nations and individuals, God is now with us here and now.
The Spirit does not belong to anyone and is controlled by no-one.
Allow me give a personal example. Three years ago, my dear wife died.
But the memory of my wife lives with me in my love and thought.
In a deeper way that is precisely what God the Spirit does for us.
The Holy Spirit keeps alive the memory of Jesus.
The Spirit leads us to Jesus, so that we can feel that we are with Jesus in Galilee.
We read the gospel account of Jesus as if we were there.
Standing with the shepherds on that Christmas morning. Filled with wonder that Jesus would be baptised with poor people.
We read the Sermon on the Mount, but we feel we are on that hillside in the crowd with the disciples.
The story of Calvary is so real we feel we are standing at the foot of that cross.
On Easter Sunday, we feel that we are at the empty tomb.
How do we identify in this way with the gospel narrative about Jesus?
Because God himself, in his presence and power, His Spirit, keeps the memory of Jesus alive, so we are there with Jesus.
God as Spirit takes us by the hand and leads us to Jesus his Son.
But we do not live in the past — even in the past with Jesus. That is simply day-dreaming.
So God the Spirit brings Jesus into the here and now of our days.
We live in a harsh world. It is bad and will probably get worse — the cost of living is already increasing.
But through God’s presence with us and power within us, Jesus is here.
Jesus does not help us with the shopping, or when we are at the Jobcentre.
But Jesus does communicate with us and speaks to us in our mind and will, in our character and conscience.
Why do we feel better after mass or communion?
From where came the inner resolve that enabled you to overcome that terrible experience?
Who created your inner peace during that lovely family gathering?
It was Jesus who came close to be with you and to strengthen you with his presence.
The way God works in our lives is clearly described by Isaiah.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted, to bind up the broken hearted to proclaim the time of God’s favour”(Isaiah 61.1-3).