Religious historian Diana Butler Bass describes the intimate relationship between Jesus and the Spirit:
The Spirit empowers Jesus to be continually present in the world, and, it must be admitted, the same Spirit has been fully at work since creation…. Indeed, God’s Spirit conceives Jesus, initiates his public ministry, and sustains his spiritual life. The Spirit is the driving force, the animating creative life of the entire cosmos, responsible, in particular, for the vision of those in human history most attuned to the heartbeat of God. Even the apostle Peter recognized this as he preached to the Gentiles: “You know … how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed … for God was with him” (Acts 10:36–38).
To separate Jesus from the Spirit is nearly impossible. Jesus would not exist without the Spirit; Jesus would have been a humble tradesperson sans Spirit; Jesus would not be a continuing presence if not for the Spirit. Christian theology has typically privileged knowledge about Jesus as the way to know the Spirit, but the Christian life works the opposite way. We cannot know Jesus without the Spirit.
In the scriptures, the Spirit is called the ruach, pneuma, and the shekhinah, the “wind,” the “breath,” and the “dwelling.” [1] Theologian Marjorie Suchocki refers to these as God’s power, wisdom, and presence. Those three things are the heart of redemption, of experiencing the full life God intends for all:
God as presence answers alienation and loneliness with love; God as wisdom answers the loss of time with trust; God as power answers injustice with empowering hope. This vision of a redemptive God of presence, wisdom, and power comes from the biblical revelation of God’s presence in Jesus of Nazareth, named the Christ. [2]
When Jesus is understood in relationship with Spirit as presence, wisdom, and power, we can experience Jesus as a dynamic figure, one related to God’s mysterious activity and one who dwells with us, always present.
Butler Bass shares how Jesus’ Jewish followers might have understood his connection to the Spirit:
Jesus, as a Jew, would have been familiar with the idea of shekhinah, the presence of God dwelling with the world. As Amy-Jill Levine says, “Judaism has the idea of the Shekinah, the feminine presence of God descending to earth and dwelling among human beings.” [3]…
Was that not how Jesus’s first followers experienced him?… As a person inhabited by shekhinah? That he somehow was the dwelling place of God, and that there was no real conflict in the mind of his brother and sister Jews between bearing the mystery of the sacred and being fully human? And if that is who he was, is that who he still is? The presence, the wisdom, the divine dwelling with us, the feminine spirit, here and now?
| Jesus Is Not On Your Side |
 Jesus was prompted to tell another parable when a man in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” At that time it was not uncommon for rabbis to settle disputes within families or villages, but Jesus responded emphatically. “Man, who made me judge or arbitrator over you?” Why did Jesus reject this man’s request for help? Why wouldn’t Jesus, who possessed divine wisdom and authority, judge between the brothers?It is important to recognize the form of the man’s request. He did not ask Jesus for help dividing his dead father’s estate. Instead, he asked Jesus to side with him against his brother. In the man’s mind, innocence and guilt were already established. He was right and his brother was wrong. The man merely wanted to use Jesus as leverage against his brother, and Jesus would have none of it.The impulse to employ Jesus as a weapon against those we disagree with remains common today in our personal relationships, theological debates, and politics. Declaring, “I think you’re wrong and so does Jesus!” is a defensive move that excuses me from doing the uncomfortable work of self-examination. It quickly shuts down the inconvenient possibility that I may be in error, or that my own perspective may be warped in some way. It also prevents me from empathizing with my opponent or recognizing any element of truth in his position. Simply put, if God agrees with me then I never have to change.Such arrogance and certainty are antithetical to the Christian life. Instead, Jesus calls us to acknowledge the log in our own eye rather than the speck in our brother’s. And God promises his grace to the humble who confess their wrongs, not to the arrogant who can see no fault in themselves. In fact, God promises to oppose the proud just as Jesus opposed the man wanting to use him against his brother.Like that man, we often want Jesus to join our campaign, bless our agenda, or defend our position, but are we seeking to be instruments of God’s will or merely seeking to make him an instrument of ours? As Abraham Lincoln said when asked if God was on the side of the North in the Civil War, “Sir, my great concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” DAILY SCRIPTURE LUKE 12:13-21 JOSHUA 5:13-15 ROMANS 12:1-2 WEEKLY PRAYERFrom John Baillie (1886 – 1960) God, let me put right before interest, Let me put others before self, Let me put the things of the spirit before the things of the body. Let me put the attainment of noble ends above the enjoyment of present pleasures. Let me put principle above reputation. Let me put you before all else. Amen. |
