16 May 2018
In another few days we’ll be celebrating Pentecost, the
coming of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit
doesn’t just come and take up residence within our souls. Our souls have to be open enough to “go with
the flow” of the Holy Spirit. And so, there’s
some preparation that needs to happen.
We have to “get the house ready,” so to speak.
And we do that by letting ourselves experience the
bittersweetness of what’s happening in the readings today. Saint Paul was leaving his beloved brothers
and sisters, and “they were all weeping loudly.” And then there’s Jesus’ prayer to the Father,
which brings to mind Jesus saying to Mary Magdalene, “Stop holding on to me; I
have to go to my Father.”
God’s plan has to be allowed to unfold in its due course,
even if it means some temporary separation, some temporary bitterness. And the more we can step back and let “God’s
will be done,” the more we open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit. Of course, it’s not all negative—letting God’s
will be done. It’s not all bitterness
and separation. It’s also the experience
of love and friendship, the joy of being alive and seeing something bigger at
work, other than simply what “I want.”
The Holy Spirit comes, for sure. But he comes especially to hearts and minds
that are able to “go with the flow” of God’s will. And so, in preparation for the Holy Spirit,
we pray not only “Come, Holy Spirit, come,” but also, “thy will be done on
earth…as it is in heaven.”
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