Spirit Dwells in You
As we reflect on the profound truth that the Holy Spirit empowers Jesus to be continually present in our world, we are filled with a sense of awe and gratitude. The same Spirit that has been at work since the dawn of creation is the very force that conceived Christ, initiated His public ministry, and sustained His spiritual life. We cannot separate Jesus from the Spirit, for He would not exist without it. The Spirit is the animating life force of the cosmos itself, responsible for granting vision and insight to those throughout history who have been most attuned to the heartbeat of God.
We see now that the Christian life is not about gaining knowledge of Jesus to know the Spirit, but rather the opposite - we cannot truly know Jesus without first knowing the Spirit. The Spirit, referred to in Scripture as ruach, pneuma, and shekhinah - the wind, the breath, the dwelling place of God - is the embodiment of God's power, wisdom, and presence. These three divine attributes lie at the heart of redemption and the fullness of life that God intends for all of us. God's presence answers our alienation and loneliness with love. God's wisdom helps us find trust amidst the relentless march of time. And God's power imbues us with hope to overcome injustice.
This redemptive vision of God's presence, wisdom and power is revealed to us through the Christ. When we understand His relationship with the Spirit, we encounter a dynamic, living figure intimately connected to the mysteries of God and yet dwelling among us, always present. As a Jew, Jesus would have been familiar with the concept of Shekhinah - the feminine, indwelling presence of God on Earth. Could it be that His earliest followers experienced Him as one inhabited by this Divine Presence? That He was the dwelling place of God incarnate, bearing the sacred mystery while being fully human?
If this is who Jesus was, then is He not still that for us today? The presence that loves us in our loneliness, the wisdom that steadies us amidst life's upheavals, the power that empowers our struggle for justice - the feminine, life-giving Spirit that dwells among us, here and now? As we open our hearts to this reality, may we be transformed by the continual presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit, alive and at work in our lives and in our world.
Paul: “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
