Thoughts for the Day

At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, from New Revised Standard version)

Thoughts

Years ago I wrote a Confirmation book* which was published by Mowbrays, and was designed primarily for young people who wanted to learn more about their faith in an experiential way. So instead of talking about God, they were encouraged to explore. For example, could they find evidence for God, perhaps in a beautiful sunset, or the love of one person for another?

Then I received a note from a Vicar who explained how the churches in his Deanery had used my book to prepare some adults who had learning difficulties for Confirmation, and how successful this had been. I was pleasantly surprised at the way they had used the book.

Our reading from St Luke's gospel reminds us of two things: First the Holy Spirit is God, and his role is as the powerhouse; or in today's terms, the electricity that makes all the things in our world work. When we pray and God answers our petitions it is God-the-Holy-Spirit that acts.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is experienced, which is to do with our heart rather than our head! When we forget to try and prove God's existence, we will find Him waiting for us!

* 'Calling You'

Lord God,
we often place our intelligence
above everything else,
expecting that we can
use our brain to sort out
all our problems.
But You teach us that
faith is something experienced.
Enable us to grow in faith
and to learn to trust
in the work of YourHoly Spirit.
Amen.