Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Trinity




"Brothers and sisters: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons [and daughters] of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, 'Abba, Father!' The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." -[Romans 8: 14-17].

Growing up, all I wanted was to belong to someone. I wanted to be fed but heard my father telling my mother, "Do not feed her."

I wanted someone to tell me, "I love you", to pick me up when I fell. Instead what I was told was, "You are ugly." Or,  "Get up, you are not hurt."

Sometimes, as a child I would try to make things better by mending a family member's clothes or tending my mother's garden. Sometimes, I could simply leave the house and hide, under a tree, or up on a flat rooftop reachable by a set of metal steps, or within a thicket. Most often, I gave up on the capacity of humans to provide what I needed or to show any Love. I cared for myself, finding food, putting myself down for naps.

Mine is an extreme story. But, we all want to belong to Someone, who calls us Son or Daughter, and who loves us unconditionally.

When I first read Romans, I understood that St. Paul, when he talks about the slavery, was talking literally about the Hebrews who escaped from slavery in Egypt and who ran into forty years of wandering in the desert, bereft and afraid.

It was when Moses first encountered God, that God told Moses, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard heir cry on account of their taskmasters and I have come down to deliver them out of Egypt. I will be with you." -[Exodus 3: 7-12].

Then God began to travel with His people, "in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." -[Exodus 13: 21-22].

Then, God sent His Only Son to walk along side us. Before His death, Jesus said, " No longer do I call you servants. Instead, I have called you friends." -[ John  15: 15].

And then came the Holy Spirit. Paraphrasing from C.S. Lewis, 'God walks ahead of us, Jesus walks beside us, but the Holy Spirit lives within us.'

St. Paul says in Romans 10:8, "The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart."

I grew up very fearful of being alone. I still fear abandonment. But then I read the words of Jesus saying, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever - the Spirit of Truth. The world neither sees Him or knows Him but He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans." -[ John 14:16-18]. And I am thrilled to know this and live with these words!

I can often feel the Spirit working within me. Perhaps I don't know what to say in a situation, such as when a friend comes to me to share her troubles. Perhaps I don't know what to do?

Somehow, I blurt out the right thing. Or, my friend says, How did you know that was exactly what I needed?

The Holy Spirit helps me to pray. Once when my son was young, he misplaced his precious stuffed animal. I always get a bad feeling in my gut when something is lost. Perhaps, that feeling reminds me of the abandonment I felt as a child, feelings of being lost and wandering, alone.

We looked high and low all week for the little friend. I even prayed that we would find my son's treasured toy. Finally, I asked the Spirit, "Come, Holy Spirit, come." I had Faith that his toy was in this house somewhere. I then told my son, "Your little friend is in plain sight but hidden. Your little friend is under something. If you would clean up your room, as I told you to do days ago, you will find him."

My son and I went into his room. There were toys everywhere! I walked over to a little blanket in the center of the floor and lifted it up. There was my son's little friend, underneath! We felt utter Joy!

"The gifts of the Spirit [include] wisdom, knowledge, miracles. The life led by the Spirit is the life of God's free children, free from fear. . ." -[ Sean P. Kelly, C.S.Sp.]

I would have long ago written off finding my son's little toy as a coincidence. BUT every time something is lost, I quiet myself to hear the Spirit, I pray, and suddenly, I am able walk right over to where the lost object is, and uncover it.

The Holy Spirit enables us to pray. The Holy Spirit will even pray for us when we don't know what to pray for.

The Holy Spirit is a lot more than "What would Jesus Do?"  The Holy Spirit is the Advocate, the Comforter, the Prayer Intercessor, the Guide of Truth, the Witness of things to come, and the Teacher - - WITHIN us.

Finally, the Holy Spirit reminds me that I am never alone. I reside in a world full of Brothers and Sisters, co-heirs and adopted children of God. When I come up against those old feelings of fear and abandonment, I tell myself, "You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, you received a spirit of adoption and can cry out, 'Father!'"

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.
 






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