In this week’s gospel reading, the Bible
explains that Jesus returned to the Galilee region filled with “the power of
the Spirit.”
When Jesus arrived at his boyhood
hometown of Nazareth, He went into the local synagogue, stood up in front of
the congregation, and read a passage from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me…”
As Jesus finished reading the rest of
the verses, he rolled up the scroll and announced, “Today this Scripture
passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The power of the Spirit—which
theologians later realized was none other than the third person of the Trinity,
the Holy Spirit—was absolutely essential for Jesus to complete His mission.
Without the Holy Spirit as a supernatural bridge between Heaven and earth,
Jesus would have been cut off from His Father. He would have been left with
nothing but His earthly, natural abilities, which means He would have been
unable to perform miracles and, most importantly, unable to rise from the dead
Himself on that first Easter morning.
The same is true for us. If we don’t tap
into the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re left with nothing but our earthly,
natural abilities, which means that we, too, will be unable to perform miracles
and, most importantly, will be unable to rise from the dead at the Final
Judgment.
Why are you looking at me like that? You
don’t think we’re able to perform miracles? Of course we are. I’ve seen it
happen. Miracles definitely happen. As far as the rising from the dead thing,
well, Jesus promised us it can and will happen, so for now, I’m trusting in His
word.
Granted, the miracles I’ve witnessed are
a little less spectacular than the ones Jesus performed. I’ve never seen a
leper instantly cured, nor a crippled man instantly able to walk, nor a dead
guy come to life again. But don’t forget, Jesus is the miracle expert.
Although a little less spectacular, the
miracles I’ve witnessed are nonetheless bona fide supernatural occurrences.
There are no natural explanations for them. For example, I know a guy whose
insatiable craving for alcohol miraculously disappeared when he asked Jesus to
come into his heart. One day he couldn’t live without getting drunk, and the
next day the idea of having a drink repulsed him. A definite miracle. (By the
way, I see this guy quite often—every time I look in the mirror.)
We are very fortunate to be living in
this age of grace. Unlike Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit does not make
brief and sporadic appearances. He is present for all of us all the time. We
are able, just like Jesus, to be filled with “the power of the Spirit,” and to
declare confidently that “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”
Far too many people, however, think the
idea of being “filled with the Spirit” is a little too weird and spooky. It
doesn’t fit with our modern, scientific view of the world, so they steer clear
of it.
What a shame. That’s like pushing your
car down the street because you don’t understand that turning the key will
allow the motor to do the pushing. When you fire up the engine, you have a lot
more power and a lot less frustration.
We should not ignore the Holy Spirit.
Jesus spoke about Him at length. And Jesus said the coming of the Holy Spirit
would be a “gift” (Acts 1:4). We should accept this gift from our Creator with
joy and thanksgiving. The Holy Spirit is available to all believers who
sincerely ask Him to dwell in their hearts. What an amazing blessing!
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