Spirit of Truth
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. John 14:15-21
Like the rain that falls from heaven,
like the sunlight from the sky,
so the Spirit, too, is given,
coming on us from on high. Manie P. Ferguson
God is Spirit. Thus God is the power of the power of life itself. God has breathed and continues to breathe life into his creation. In-spires it. The spirit of God is highly contagious. God’s Spirit comes to us as presence, guide, comforter, and an inspiration to love as Jesus loved. It is by such loving that the Holy Spirit becomes contagious. I Grows within each of us, within our church, and the world when we love each other. Frederick Buechner
Holy Spirit, Truth divine,
dawn upon this soul of mine;
Word of God and inward light,
wake by spirit, clear my sight. Samuel Longfellow
Spirit is an invisible force made visible in all life…I believe that spirit is one and is everywhere present. That it never leaves me. That in my ignorance I may withdraw from it, but I can realize its presence the instant I return to my senses. It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable. I cannot separate what I conceive as Spirit from my concept of God. Thus, I believe that God is Spirit. Maya Angelou
The Holy Spirit, God’s energizing presence among us, the life force that drives us beyond ourselves, that whispers us into the great quest within, that makes life alive with a purpose not seen but deeply, consciously, stubbornly felt even in the midst of chaos, even at the edge of despair, sounds the truth in us that we are more than we seem to be…Do I believe in the Holy Spirit? You bet I do…God’s spirit does not abandon us, cannot abandon us, if God is really God.
Joan Chittister
God, who touchest earth with beauty, make my heart anew; keep me ever, by thy spirit, pure and strong and true. Amen Mary S. Edgar
Note: These reflections are for use during the week of May 17- May 23 and are based on the scriptures for worship on May 17.
Joyce D. Sohl, Laywoman-in-Residence
Joyce D. Sohl has been Laywoman-in-Residence since 2009 as a full-time volunteer. She retired as CEO of United Methodist Women in 2004. She is the author of 4 books, a teacher, retreat leader, writer and non-professional musician. Here at the Center her work is in the area of Spirituality & the Arts with such programs as Tuesdays in the Chapel, Vespers & All That Jazz, Poet’s Corner, quarterly retreats, and art exhibits.