Thinking About The Spirit

Few Christians I know spend much time thinking about the Trinity.  They don’t deny or disdain it, they just find teachings about it to be of little help to their lives and aren’t concerned with it.  So what can we make of Jesus’ promise to ask the Father to send the Spirit of Truth to his disciples?  Jesus’ word advocate, a supporter or backer, explains a lot.

John’s gospel portrays Jesus’ last supper as a summary of his message to the disciples and a final encouragement of their faith.  As his execution loomed and the passage to his Father neared, he promised that the God he represented to them would never abandon them.

Making God’s love present to the world was an immense task for the disciples but God’s Spirit of Truth would forever inhabit their efforts.

The Spirit of Truth is the source of hope for the ultimate triumph of love and justice when we find no proof or even obvious chance for such a future.

The Spirit of Truth is the source of our deep desire to do the just and loving thing for all. 

The Spirit of Truth moves us to see the good in those those who oppose values that we hold.

The Spirit of Truth urges us to love and pursue justice beyond the limits of safety and self-preservation.

The Spirit of Truth gives us the courage to question our assumptions and be open to change.

The urgings of the Spirit of Truth were the hallmarks of Jesus’ life and unite the Christian community as it strives to be Christ’s presence in the world.

Ignoring the attitudes and behaviors that the Spirit of Truth urges betrays not only our Creator but our very selves.

While we may or may not find the concept of a Trinity useful in speaking of God, these deep urges which have long characterized discussions of the Spirit are central to what human beings and, in particular, what Christians are and long to be.  We pray for the the faith to follow them.