Through all of history God has been trying to give away God. The Father gifts us the Son. Jesus gifts himself to us on the cross. The church is given the Holy Spirit. Jesus shows us that the gift of the Spirit is as close to us as our breath. In John 20: 21-22 we read Jesus breathed on them and said to his disciples, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’. In today’s gospel, Jesus says, ‘I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of Truth…you know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you’. (John 14: 17).
The trouble is most of us are too distracted to receive God. We are pressured by other things: social media, money, work, security, and other anxieties.
I like this quote from Richard Rohr:
‘The Holy Spirit …is as available as our breath, and that’s why the Risen Christ gives the Holy Spirit by breathing upon the disciples. He’s saying, in effect, “Here it is! Here it is! Can you breathe in what I have breathed out?”’
The Holy Spirit has been given to us freely. As we grow on our path with God, may we deeply cherish the fact that the very breath of God is the air that we breathe. God is everywhere. In all circumstances. It is our life source. It wants to be given away and shared. At Bread for the World last Wednesday Maddie Naisbitt, our pastoral assistant, preached a thoughtful sermon on the gift of joy and the discipline of finding joy even in adversity. It’s worth a listen. May this be an invitation to you this Pentecost to nurture the discipline of joy and to nurture attention and awareness to the presence of God in our midst, in each breath we take. Today let us rejoice in our diversity and togetherness this morning.
Revd Catherine Duce
