John 20:19 - 23
It’s hard thinking about the Holy Spirit. It’s even hard when you read what Jesus said about the Spirit. When we picture the Father, we usually come up with an image of a vigorous elderly male with a long white beard. When we picture the Son, each of us has our own favorite, I’m sure, but the well trimmed beard and northern European features are usually there. But try to visualize the Spirit. Nothing we imagine seems to be someone we can form a relationship with. A dove? A tongue of flame? Jesus himself on more than one occasion even compares the Spirit to water.
Jesus also tells us that the Spirit is the Advocate, or the Helper, who will speak for us. He says that the Spirit gives life. The Spirit will teach us everything we need to know. He is the Spirit of Truth. And of course we conclude from the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, co-equal to the Son and the Father, in everything except relationship. Are you confused yet?
To complicate matters further, there are several references in the Old Testament to the Spirit of God, and yet, we read in the New Testament that the Spirit had not been given to anyone, because Christ had not achieved his glory. And I think that is a way into this mystery.
God formed the Blessed Mother to be the vessel by which the Son would take on our humanity. He made her free from original sin for this purpose. We conclude that because the angel addressed her as “most favorite daughter” or as we say in the Hail Mary, “full of grace”. You can’t be full of grace if you have original sin. Then the angel tells her that she will conceive of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will form Jesus Christ, who is both God and Man, within her. Mary is responsible for Jesus’ humanity, but she and Joseph do more than see that the body is intact. It is in that family, that human family, that Jesus’ mature humanity is formed. It’s teaching of the Church that Mary was free from original sin. The Church hasn’t said that about Joseph, but maybe he also was formed for that purpose. Scripture calls him “righteous” and unlike patriarchs and prophets in the Old Testament, and even Zachariah, the father of John, Joseph never balks or questions the Lord. A dream happens and off he goes to do what God tells him to do. So the holy couple form Jesus human personality, something that has to develop over time, because Jesus is like us in everything but sin. His divinity is there from his conception.
Moving ahead to the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, we find the first Christian community made up of the apostles, some women, the Mother of Jesus, and his brothers. We have already met those brothers in the gospels -- most likely close relatives who were followers of Jesus but not members of the Apostolic band. We know little about them except that one was a leader of the early Church. But this is the group to whom the Holy Spirit is given on that first Pentecost -- the rushing wind, the tongues of flame -- and Mary herself receives the Holy Spirit at that time. And what does the Spirit do? He begins the process of conceiving Jesus Christ in each of them. And that’s what he does with the Saints, with us. Because we are only saved through Jesus Christ, and that means in some way we have to look like Jesus to the Father; and the Holy Spirit does this by entering into our humanity and giving us a share in the divinity of Jesus, or as the Eastern Church puts it, we are divinized -- made divine. Even Mary was divinized by the Holy Spirit at that first Pentecost. We don’t read anything more about her, but we do see the results among the apostles, who Luke takes pains to tell us that they are doing what Christ had been doing -- healing the sick, raising the dead, and preaching the good news. And down through history, that’s the story of the saints.
But wait, there’s more. I ran across a cute analogy. If the spirit is water, you and I are coffee grounds. The product depends on the quality of the beans, how well ground they are, the temperature of the water, and so forth. God is providing the water, the Holy Spirit. All we can do is make sure that there are good beans, ground just right, with the water heated to the right temperature. How do we know we are on the right track? Jesus tells us. “He who believes in me, as the Scriptures foretold, from him will flow living water.” If we believe in Jesus, if we are making an effort to hear his commandments and get to know him and do what he tells us, the more we let the Spirit work in us forming Jesus in us, the more we will be conduits for this living water for others.
So if you want to see what the Holy Spirit looks like, check out your fellow parishioners. The resemblance may not be perfect, but it is getting there. And check out your mirror; the Spirit is forming you if you cooperate, into another Jesus Christ.
