Are We Ready For the Spirit?

John 16:12-15

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."


The trinity is weird. Am I right? I mean, it makes no logical sense and its one of the key points of derision and criticism from non-Christians (and some Christians, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwKNfhbmtrc). However, while the technical terms and doctrinal statements held and debated by many today were established at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, the foundational ideas are present in the scriptures themselves. I believe the finalized decrees on the specific natures of the trinity and other doctrinal conclusions were and are misleading, but the I also believe that a realization of the trinity's reality in scripture is valuable. There is a strain in all the books of the Bible emphasizing the oneness of God; a strict monotheism with no room for rivals or equals (a concept readily embraceable by our Islamic neighbors). However, there is also another strain which emphasizes the multiplicity of Godself. God appears in various forms. God talks to God. There are messengers of God that are called "God". Does this mean there is more than one God?

What are we to make of this apparent contradiction? Well, for one, it is clear that the science (physics, biology, psychology) of God is not that of created things (in our experience). God is not bound by our singular notions of time and space and personhood. Thus, God is one, but his oneness is varied and diverse and relational. One of the highlights of the trinity is that it allows God a certain greater freedom to be and do, and it establishes the communal, relational nature of God. After all, a God of love cannot love without an other to love in return, even if both entities are within Godself. Confused? Relax. Part of the beauty of the trinity is that it is not comprehensible. And who is to say there are not other parts of the trinity simply not revealed to us! God is God! I sure ain't...

What is interesting to me in this passage (and the part that relates to waiting for Pentecost this Sunday), is how Jesus describes the coming Spirit to his disciples. Jesus frequently talks in John about how he speaks only what the Father tells him to speak and does only what the Father tells him to do. There is a submission in Jesus relationship to his Father (appropriate for these parental terms). Likewise, there is a submissive relationship on the part of the Spirit of Truth, who reveals only what Jesus knows, which Jesus knew from the Father. Thus, the parts of the trinity are not distinct gods, but part of one whole, knowing the same things and acting as one.

The end result of faith is that humans can become sons and daughters of God, much like (but not exactly like) Jesus is God's son. Now, this sounds awesome and liberating, which it is. BUT, I wonder if we are ready for it... The parts of God are mutually submissive, they defer to each other and act together, as one. Are we ready to be a part of that kind of relational system?

This Sunday is Pentecost, the day we remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples after Jesus went back into heaven. The disciples were told to wait. Waiting must have been and is infuriating, stressful, anxious... I wonder if the reason they had to wait for the Spirit is that they first had to learn to submit themselves to God's will. To be filled with God's Spirit, God's self, God with us, God within us, we cannot be pursuing our own ends and our own wills. In waiting, we learn to pay attention to God's will, to God's leading, to God's call. Instant gratification is rare in the life of faith. This is good. We wait for the Spirit so that we can make ourselves ready to listen to the Spirit, just as the Spirit listened to Jesus, and Jesus to his Father.

Those who do not wait follow instead their own path, and it is not the Spirit of Truth that leads us in those times, but false spirits. it is difficult to wait. I pray I am ready when the time is right...

Happy waiting!