The indwelling presence

Never hesitate or doubt the power of the Spirit.

WORD OF FAITH: A breakdown of each week's upcoming Sunday readings to better understand the Word of God at Mass.

The readings of the Easter Season build like the crescendo of a powerful symphony — from the Easter Vigil to Pentecost. It is hard to describe the momentum of the inbreaking of the Resurrection into the hearts and minds of the Apostles and Jesus’ beloved community. Imagine your own awe as you witness the sun rising over the ocean or the view from the pinnacle of a mountain. Metaphors limp in trying to describe the Resurrection event! Experiencing the Risen Jesus, listening to him, knowing that he is truly alive must have overwhelmed the disciples. We are invited to share this life, this awe and wonder — we are invited to realize that the Resurrection suffuses all of life, even down to the sub-atomic level. We are a people of Resurrection! 

Easter glory is also very subtle. We see this Sunday in our readings. In the Gospel, Jesus is still at the Last Supper table with the Apostles; he anticipates when he will leave them. He reassures them of his love and the Father’s love. He promises that if they keep his word, then he and the Father will come and “make our dwelling place with them.” This “dwelling place” has a rich Biblical meaning. God is the dwelling place of Israel. The Temple is God’s dwelling place among his people. Now the Holy One comes to dwell with and within the followers of Jesus. God abides within us. This is the indwelling presence.  

Richard Rohr, OFM, describes it like this, “For Christians who have gone to their own depths, there is the uncovering of an indwelling presence — a deep, loving, ‘yes’ inherent within us. In Christian theology, this inner presence would be described as the Holy Spirit, which is precisely God as immanent, within, and even our deepest, truest self. God is the very ground of our being.” 

Jesus promises that the “Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have told you.” The Holy Spirit is God immanently within us. The Spirit guides us, strengthens us, and assures us of God’s love and mercy. We are now God’s dwelling place! We are called from this indwelling presence to go out into our world and proclaim with our lives the inclusive love and compassion of Jesus. We are called to let this powerful Spirit be at work now! 

Sometimes we hesitate or doubt the power of the Spirit. But the power of Jesus’ resurrected life, our faith and our tradition encourage us. Our First Reading from the Act of the Apostles testifies to this awesome power. This was a critical moment in the life of the early church community — the Council of Jerusalem. One faction was insisting that the new Gentile converts be circumcised “according to Mosaic practice.” Paul and Barnabas insisted that baptism in Jesus was all that was necessary — grace, not works, was the source of salvation. 

So this weighty debate was carried to Jerusalem to be decided by the Apostles and elders. They affirmed that “it is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood … and from unlawful marriage …” This moment could have torn the nascent church apart, but the power and wisdom of the Spirit prevailed. Peace was restored and Gentile Christians were not saddled with living the Mosaic Law. The breadth and depth of the Spirit alive in the believers then and now sings out in our church and our world!