Thought for Today
Genesis 1:2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Psalm 51:11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
I know that I can drive because I took classes on driving in school, obtained a learner’s permit, passed a test and have an official driver’s license with my picture on it. Now there are even gold stars on some of our driver’s licenses to signify that they are Real IDs.
How do I know whether or not I have ‘received the Holy Spirit?’ In the Bible, especially in Acts, having received the Holy Spirit is the ‘seal of authentication’ indicating whether a person or a congregation is truly Christian. In chemistry classes, we could test whether a liquid was an acid or a base by dipping into it a strip of sensitized paper (litmus paper) and seeing what color the paper turned. We have all sorts of tests for materials, to determine their composition and their physical properties. Various careers and professions have certification tests. Lawyers have the Bar Exam. Engineers have professional tests specific to their branch of engineering. Most trades have examinations and even mandated apprenticeships. Doctors have an especially rigorous period of supervised training and apprenticeship. The denomination in which I was ordained even has a series of 5 Ordination Exams. How do you or I know whether or not we have ‘received the Holy Spirit?
Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you were baptized. Many Christians are baptized as infants. Others of us were baptized in our youth. Did we receive the Holy Spirit at baptism? If I did, I don’t remember it. I don’t remember much of my baptism as a youth, beyond how long the minister held my head below the water and how cold the water in that font truly was. How does any Christian know they have received the Holy Spirit?
The majority of faith traditions identifying themselves as Christian are Trinitarian in belief. We believe in God the Father, Jesus the Son and in the Holy Spirit. Most Christian baptisms are Trinitarian, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet our baptism rituals and traditions merely resound with words spoken. How does any Christian know that (or when) they have received the Holy Spirit?
We have just gone through Lent and Easter. This week one of our lectionary choices includes John 20:19-31, especially “21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” I cannot help but wonder whether those disciples felt any different after Jesus breathed on them and uttered those words to them. Did they know they had received that Holy Spirit?
I sometimes think it would be a good idea if we received some sort of authenticated Holy Spirit Real ID. Then I realize that receiving the Holy Spirit is not an issue of identification cards, qualification exams or training courses. Receiving the Holy Spirit is not a question of when we receive it, our age or anything other than our faith in Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. I’m not sure whether or not the psalmist was correct or not, whether or not we can lose God’s Holy Spirit. I’m not even sure that receiving the Holy Spirit is a ‘one and done’ sort of thing.
I do know that I can look back over my own life and see evidence of multiple times I have been led by the Holy Spirit. Times where my life has changed direction or been given a ‘nitro-boost’ to empower me during hard or difficult times. And, I am confident that the same will be true in the future. God equips the called . . . and we are all called by God to serve God and each other.
Stay safe, watch and listen for Spirit moments, trust God,
Pastor Ray