Receiving the Spirit

I begin to see that without the Spirit my personal life and my church's life are as inert and dead as lifeless clay.

(Prayer of Katherine Marshall: The Helper)

Jesus Himself is the One Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.  John the Baptist said, "I baptize you with water, but one comes after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie, who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

After His resurrection, Jesus met the Apostles in a locked room, breathed on them, and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

The Comforter...Whom I [Jesus] will send to you.....(Jn. 15:26)

To think that we can receive power / energy/ effectiveness for ministry without Jesus' sending the Spirit to us and in us is foolish.  Without Him, we can do nothing.  As the Father has sent Me, so also I send you.   

I have chosen you that you might bear fruit, and that your fruit might remain.

In the Book of Exodus, Moses "went" to save one of the Jews from the harsh treatment of the Egyptian----but compassionate though he was, he had not been "sent" yet for that mission.  The result was his exile from Egypt for 40 years.

Every one of us has a "mission" in our hearts; we are burdened with sorrow over someone or some situation, but helpless to change the circumstances.  We need the breath of God to blow through us and others if we are to see a change.    The Spirit of God is connected to the life/ breath of Jesus Christ.

If we desire the Spirit, we need to ask the Baptizer, the Bestower of the Spirit, to breathe on us, on others that we love, on situations and circumstances.

I was caught by Katherine Marshall's prayer above because in my own church, we need to replace a catechist and cannot find one person willing to take his place.  Reflecting on this situation, I realized how much we need the Holy Spirit to fill our congregation.  Those who are filled with the Spirit cannot wait to tell others the good news---even to the point sometimes of being obnoxious, before they learn gentleness and trust in God to relay the message.

I'm asking Jesus, the Baptizer, to send His Spirit of truth into the hearts of all those I meet in Church today.  Maybe they should be warned ahead of time!