A Friendship So Real

Pentecost 2019                                                                                                            June 9, 2019
Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette

In college, my favorite job was Raising Cane’s. It was fun and I liked my coworkers. One guy in particular was my favorite to work with. Together, we were the most efficient and effective combination of cooks. His name was Moe, as in Mohammed. He was a devout Muslim.

That made things interesting. I learned to respect his faith because it gave him a well-developed sense a duty and responsibility. Islam emphasizes serving God well and it was obvious that Moe really enjoyed being a diligent and careful employee.

Working together we had some good conversations and developed a friendship – one I regret losing. Still, there is one conversation in particular that I remember very clearly. While taking trash out to the dumpster, Moe asked: what is the Holy Spirit? That is a great question. Can you answer it? I struggled. I started with basic Trinitarian theology: Third Person of the Trinity, but equally the one God with the other two.

He was familiar with that explanation. He said something like, “yeah, I know that, but like what is it for you, in your own words and experience?” When I reached into my experience, what I came up with is, “It’s like some kind of divine energy or power.” Because I tended to focus more on tasks than on relationships, I instinctively thought in terms of energy to get stuff done. Now, it’s not exactly heresy, but it’s not a great answer.

Why? Because, like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is a person, someone we can have a personal relationship with. This is a key difference between Islam and Christianity. For Islam, God is master & lord. Love of Allah is about good and dutiful service, which isn’t bad. For Christianity too, God is master and lord, but He is also three persons with whom we have a personal relationship. It is that difference, that personal nature of God that most often causes Muslims to convert.

So, how would you explain the Holy Spirit? It’s not easy because the Holy Spirit doesn’t focus on himself. He gives us the words of the Father. He reminds us of the teachings of Jesus. He prays on our behalf, usually in ways we don’t understand. The Holy Spirit tends to be indirect. That makes pinning down a definition pretty difficult.

Well, how would I answer that question now? With a question: What is your closest relationship? A best friend, a sibling, a close parent, a spouse? Someone you feel close to, you know well, you are comfortable being around. You know who they are and what they do. Now take a step back and look not at the close friend, but at the relationship itself. Think of times when you were together, resting comfortably in each other’s company, times you simply enjoyed the fact that you knew each other.

With a little reflection, the relationship itself becomes a thing you can talk about, experience, and describe. Not the person, but the relationship with the person. It’s something you cherish. It takes up room in your mind and heart. It affects your decision making, not because the friend does or says something, but because the relationship itself matters to you. That is a great way to describe the Holy Spirit.

In Trinitarian theology, one of the best ways to describe the Holy Spirit is the love, the relationship between the Father and the Son. Yes, the Holy Spirit does often manifest with energy and power, particularly in the miracles we see in Scripture: tongues of fire, many languages, healings, shaking buildings. In daily experience, however, it’s best to pay attention to the relationship itself you have with Jesus and the Father. Only “by the Holy Spirit” can you say, ‘Jesus is Lord.” Realize that that relationship to Jesus is so real, it’s another person.

When you can feel God’s love and mercy, that is the Holy Spirit. When your conscience nudges you away from sin, that’s the Holy Spirit. Even the miracles are done in the name of Jesus: it’s about relationships not power and energy. So, treating the Holy Spirit like power, or energy, nor some kind of magic doesn’t work. It’s impersonal and objectifying. You can’t control the Holy Spirit just as you can’t really control the relationship you have with your friend.

So, how do we have an experience of the Holy Spirit? By being in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Treat that relationship as if it were real, as if it matters in daily life. Not hiding behind memorized prayers and comfortable routine, good as those things are, but engaging with Jesus: speaking to him, listening, letting him actually affect your decisions. When the relationship is real to us, the Holy Spirit is real too.

Two practical steps: Pray, obviously. When alone, every human being has a constant inner monologue, a stream of consciousness. Try turning that monologue into a dialogue with Jesus. Think at him. Babble to him. Talk to him. This makes his presence more real and it makes the Holy Spirit more real. Also, say “come Holy Spirit.” Say it a lot. Every decision, every worry, every joy – pray, “come Holy Spirit.”

Then, take risks and be vulnerable. Personal relationship without vulnerability is not really a relationship, it’s a transaction, a contract. Sing for God when you have a bad voice. Admit you need help in your faith and life. Pray for people in person, not from a comfortable distance. Do what you think the Holy Spirit is asking, even if it could be embarrassing. Let other Christians in. Our relationship with the Holy Spirit, and with Jesus, requires relationships with others.

Ultimately, the Holy Spirit is immense and powerful and the source of true joy. If you want that joy, then don’t look for energy and power, look to your relationships with others, your relationship with the Church, your relationship with God. That is where you’ll find the Holy Spirit, for “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” When the end finally comes, your stuff… your plans, the won’t matter. Your relationships will. In that conversation with Moe, with all my focus on getting the work done, I misunderstood the Holy Spirit was and I missed a chance to share him with a friend. Don’t make that mistake. Love people, not things. Love God. Recognize that love he has for you is real, it’s personal, and it’s powerful. Talk to him, take risks for him, and let his love, let the Holy Spirit be real to you, because he is.