My message this morning expands on a meditation that comes from the writings of Kenneth L. Carder, Bishop of the Mississippi Area of the United Methodist Church, Jackson, Mississippi. He wrote this in “The Upper Room Disciplines’ 2004”. The readings I am referencing are all about the promise and coming of the Holy Spirit, in John 14: 15- 29, Acts 2: 14- 21 and Romans 8: 12- 17. The Meditation is as follows:
“The Spirit enables us to share in God’s creative and renewing action in the world. That action is characterized by love.
“The world is so distorted and damaged that it resists the (Holy) Spirit. But we who know God’s revelation in Jesus Christ recognize the Spirit at work healing and transforming the world into God’s new creation. The Spirit abides with us and within us as we obey the commandment to love one another as Christ loves us.
“The Holy Spirit reminds us of all that Jesus said and did so that we stay focused on our identity as beloved children of God who share in God’s work of transforming the world through Christ’s love. The Holy Spirit comforts us in our sorrow, guides us in our confusion, and forgives us when we contribute to the world’s sin and destruction.
“The Spirit brings peace but not the world’s kind of peace…. The peace of the Spirit comes from knowing that we are loved and that we are not alone. Even when the world around us crumbles, the Spirit assures us that the One who is working on our behalf, healing and renewing, has Himself been broken but has triumphed”. We are assured that God’s peace will prevail.
Blessings! Rev. Rudy Plug
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