It would be my guess that leadership in the Church did not factor in a young child’s fertile imagination when the term “Holy Ghost” became the designation of the third person of the Trinity. It never made a lot of sense to me as that child. Ghosts were for Halloween. Ghosts wore white sheets. Ghosts could be scary, but they also could be friendly (proof of this was a favorite cartoon about Casper the Friendly Ghost). When we would dutifully recite our belief in God, Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, I wasn’t too sure what we were saying. Fortunately, we now use Holy Spirit although I’m not so sure how much that is an improvement.
At the midpoint of a Seminary experience most seminarians get a check-in with their advisor. How are things going? Do you still sense your call to ministry? What things that you have been learning have made you uncomfortable and can you figure out why? My “Middler” conference was at Pacific School of Religion. The advisor assigned to me happened to also be a friend (he was a member of the congregation I had served in Orinda, California). That meant the conference was not so intimidating. It did turn out to be memorable.
He asked me how I felt about the Trinity. No, not the esoteric theories of how the three Persons of God came to be. He wanted me to talk to him about my relationship to God made known as Father/Creator; God made known as Son (Jesus the Christ); God made known as Holy Spirit. Two out of three were easy to talk about. The third, Holy Spirit, less so. He asked if I ever addressed prayers to the Holy Spirit? The answer was no, never really thought about it. And he suggested I give it a try. Good advice.
Over the years since, I have intentionally invoked the Holy Spirit to give me guidance, comfort, wisdom, courage and many other things. And over the years I have come to realize that I don’t actually lift prayers to the Holy Spirit as much as I am moved to pray WITH the Holy Spirit. The needs and concerns I tend to send the way of the Holy Spirit are needs and concerns the Spirit already knows about and is already carrying to the wholeness of God. The Spirit has become more of a companion in prayer than an addressee.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
Rev. Clara
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