Finishing the Part

 Devotions for November 25, 2020

 

Prayer

Gracious Holy Trinity, we come before you in admiration and adoration. You are more wonderful than we can say. All that you are is just and loving. So, we lift our petitions before you,… All praise and honor and glory to you O God. Amen.

John 5:19-40

Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life. “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent. “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

 

Reflection

There is a lot more clarification between the Father and Son of the Trinity. I wish that there were more written about the Holy Spirit, I don’t understand her quite as much. I know others might have issues with the Godhead and how the Incarnation works in detail, and I know that such information about their communication and relationship are important. I get that when many people walk into a situation, they want to figure out who is actually “calling the shots.” Yes, it is significant to have a clear picture of how God is working in such an unexpected and new way. I don’t mean to minimize that. What I am thinking of is the length of the sections of the creeds, for example. Line after line for the humanity and divinity clarifications around/in/with the Son of Humanity roll on for our understanding. Then, the Holy Spirit gets the print of what amounts to a summary. Often times in ministerial work, I feel like we are still learning the breadth and depth of the Spirit’s interaction. So much of it all is mystery and yet right in our face. Gentle and wispy like a breeze, blowing wherever it wants to and also smacking us on the back of the head and poking us in the side. Why is it so hard to believe in something that is in our form (Jesus), and yet easy to believe in something that we can only point to what it has moved (the Paraclete).

This pandemic has brought a new and different Spirit awareness for me. It used to be easy to tell when a message was reaching all the people, heads would nod, maybe a “mmm huh!” here and perhaps even an “Amen!” there. Now, however, I have to listen to the Spirit tell me. The digital reality is genuine and I do certainly miss the full in-person experience. But, and maybe this is a really big but, I think a new day is coming when we will be able to fill out the unfinished third part of the creeds. We will come to a greater understanding of the workings of the Holy Spirit. Her power and wisdom are continuously being revealed! The all over presence of the Risen Christ comes about through the Spirit. Pay attention! Write it down! Perhaps by Pentecost we can share additional lines for the Third Part of the creeds.