Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday, “a feast of the universal Church which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, fifty days after the Resurrection of Christ.”
I am a fan of the Holy Spirit/Ghost. The more malleable of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to me, “fills in the gaps” where Jesus and God, the other two of the tri-, fall short.
Are you infused with the power of the Spirit?
Have you felt particularly effervescent? Thanks, Holy Spirit.
Have you defended your faith against challenges? Another one for the Spirit.
Have you spoke in nonsensical tongues sent down from Heaven? You’ve been Spirit-ized!
Two years ago, in the 5th grade religious education class I was teaching on Sunday mornings, we were learning about the Trinity.
“I don’t get it,” one girl chimed after my attempt to explain “three-for-the-price-of-one” theology. “How can God be three, but still be one?” she asked.
Funny how kids cut right to the chase. I tried to give her the kind of response that my teachers had given me, the kind that pacifies the troubled mind and yet still inspires. I knew I was bombing: instead of giving her a clear response I spewed out evasive theological nonsense.
The kind of nonsense that makes 10-year-old eyes glaze over.
The sort of gibberish that avoids the fact that I cannot explain the depth of meaning behind the Trinity.
While I knew that I could only lead my students, and throw myself, into a relationship with a God beyond words and comprehension, I gave them a trite, cliché answer to their profound question. When my students stopped paying attention to me and resumed fidgeting, I knew I had escaped, yet failed.
Where were you then, Spirit?
Comments (5)
dbwxfoa qeok lsrq emoxz vgrxkoae lctag mzvl
Posted July 10, 2007 9:28 PM
Posted on July 10, 2007 21:28
dbwxfoa qeok lsrq emoxz vgrxkoae lctag mzvl
Posted July 10, 2007 9:27 PM
Posted on July 10, 2007 21:27
dbwxfoa qeok lsrq emoxz vgrxkoae lctag mzvl
Posted July 10, 2007 9:26 PM
Posted on July 10, 2007 21:26
dbwxfoa qeok lsrq emoxz vgrxkoae lctag mzvl
Posted July 10, 2007 9:25 PM
Posted on July 10, 2007 21:25
You can get a good explanation of the three-in-one message in Watchman Nee's book, The Spiritual Man. Easy - we are also three-in-one. After all, God made us in His own image. Our outward covering is our body, which everyone can see. The middle section is our soul - our mind, emotions, intuition, and the most inner part of man is his spirit, where God indwells those who have accepted his Son as the One who died for their sins. Yet we still only one person. Hope this brief explanation will help you to understand better. Love, Reba, your sister in Jesus Christ
Posted June 2, 2007 10:05 PM
Posted on June 2, 2007 22:05