It's Spirit Week

At all three school districts which this family is affiliated with it is Spirit Week!  Spirit Week is the week leading up to homecoming and the big football game with the crowning of the Homecoming Queen.  The week is designed to get the students involved and excited about athletic rivalries, the kids are given themes for each day such as pajama day, neon day, school color day, mismatch day and yes, as this picture reflects. . . Senior Citizen Day.

The church has a Spirit day, a Spirit season in fact. . . that is Pentecost of course.  A day and a season where we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus' resurrection and ascension.  But wouldn't it be wonderful if every Sunday was a Spirit-day, kicking off every week as a Spirit-week in the lives of Christians?

How much does the average Christian think about the Holy Spirit?  God, the Father, the Creator-- yes; Jesus of Nazareth, of course. . . but the Holy Spirit?  The HS gets less press I think than the other two persons of the Trinity.  I have no scientific way of knowing the answer to the question that I pose but what I do know is that it takes a little while on the faith journey to recognize the moving of the Spirit in the believer's life.

Not long ago a woman in my congregation, who has been a lifelong Lutheran, shared with me a story of her experience with the Holy Spirit.  We have spoken about it multiple times since because she is developing a deeper awareness of the Spirit's presence in her life.  She recounted a moment in the midst of worship where a profound sense of peace simply washed over her, from head to toe she felt the Spirit's love wrap her up in a cocoon of joy.  It had never happened to her before she said.  It was something new, something that caught her attention, something she wanted to feel again.

This happens to me from time to time usually when I am walking my dog on the bike trail, praying, thinking, being.  I cannot will it to happen. . . the Spirit blows where and when it chooses.  But for me it is like a deep sense of tranquility that sweeps over me letting me know that no matter what is going on, I'm going to be alright and that I don't have to be in control.

It's different for everyone I think, the way the Spirit comes to us.  There are some significant similarities though- peace, joy, love, comfort, a feeling of wholeness.  It's the identification process that is the first step toward recognizing the Spirit's presence in our lives.  We might mistake it for the endorphins of exercise, or a joyful moment brought on by some happy event.  It really becomes clear, however, when these "feelings" occur in the midst of trial, temptation, or anxiety.  When things aren't going well for us and we have this feeling is when we might first discern the Spirit's activity because there is no logical, rational, explainable reason for us to feel this way.

So, it's Spirit week ya'll- because I said so. . . veni sancte spiritus!  Come Holy Spirit.  Amen.