Opening the Door

 Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone will open to Me, I will come in and sup with him and he with Me (Rev. 3:20).

At our church, there are two groups who are reading Your Life in the Holy Spirit by Alan Schreck.  You might call these groups "book clubs," but really, the book serves more as meditation and awareness of how the Holy Spirit operates in our lives, so our purpose is to draw closer to the Holy Spirit.  As we reflect together on where we have seen and heard the Spirit of God in our lives, we draw strength from the stories we hear.

One man told us last week that he had come to the first group meeting but not to the second, because the group meets early Sunday morning, not his best time.  However, as he was reading the book, he suddenly became aware for the first time in his life of the Holy Spirit.  You might say the Holy Spirit became present to him for the first time.  Looking up, he glanced out the window and saw a single dove alight right outside his window, more or less confirming the awareness that had just come upon him.  

If the story stopped there, one might say it was a nice story, a moment in his life.  But the story continues.... This man had been raised Catholic, going to church, but like many people, had stopped attending church for many years until recently.  He married a Baptist woman but didn't like the Baptist church so they attended a Methodist church for awhile.  However, he found that he missed the Catholic Mass because he said he couldn't pray in the Methodist church --- too much was going on there.  When they both started going to the Catholic church, his wife fell in love with the church and became Catholic.  And then continued to grow, becoming eventually a catechist and active in the church, kind of leaving him behind in his lack of interest.  

Suddenly, however, after this "moment" of awareness of the Holy Spirit, he cannot get enough.  He continues to read the book with enthusiasm; he showed up early Sunday morning for the third meeting of the group, and he finds himself following the Mass with interest and devotion.  That kind of dynamism is typical of those who suddenly (or gradually) encounter the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Jesus told the apostles that they would receive "power" when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.  In the Greek text, the word we translate "power" is dunamis, our root word for "dynamite."  Even for life-long Catholics or church-goers, there is no dynamite in their faith without the presence and action of the Holy Spirit.  The work of the Holy Spirit is to transform our bland worship into matters of deep personal conviction and knowledge.  Faith without knowledge is okay, but faith with knowledge and understanding brings joy.

The question remains, "How do we open the door to the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives?"  Evidently, it does not take much, as this gentleman was reading only the first chapter of Your Life in the Holy Spirit.  But it seems to me that if we even crack open the door of our hearts a little, the Spirit rushes in.  The word "enthusiasm" literally means "God within."  God does not really enjoy our bland worship, but trying to manufacture enthusiasm with music and emotional appeals does not work for very long.  It takes the Holy Spirit within to awaken a real and lasting love for God and for others.

Jesus' promise to come in if we but open the door is encouraging -- our house does not need to be in order; we just have to allow Him entrance, and He will do the rest!