Actively engaging with the Spirit

6.15.2015

2nd Sunday after Pentecost

Our Recalling or Remembering Determines How We Show Up Each Day

[Texts]

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Wisdom rejoices in the creation

Psalm 8 Your glory is chanted above the heavens. (Ps. 8:2)

Romans 5:1-5 God’s love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit

John 16:12-15 The Spirit will guide you into the truth

Blessed Trinity Sunday!

May the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit guide our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits as we dwell in the Word of God.

[Now, how much do you remember from the Scriptures you just heard? Or rather, how much can you recall?]

Last week, on my day off, my husband and I went hiking. As always, we chatted about everything on our way up. At one point, he mentioned something I couldn’t remember, and I jokingly blamed my forgetfulness on hot flashes, a rather annoying symptom many women endure. Later, on our way back to the car, we had to cut our hike short because I sprained my ankle. To make up for such an unfortunate day, I suggested stopping for ice cream. That’s when my husband laughed and said, “Oh, now you remember ice cream. What a selective memory you have!”

It’s fascinating to see how our selective memory shapes what we recall and remember. While the two words often seem interchangeable, they’re not quite the same. We tend to remember emotionally charged experiences whether joyful or painful. But recalling specific details takes effort, especially if they weren’t prioritized in our minds.

Just as selective memory shapes how we experience everyday moments, it also influences how we engage with our faith.

Take today, for example, Holy Trinity Sunday. What do you remember about the Holy Trinity? Or what experience with the Triune God comes to mind for you? Because whatever you recall or remember will influence how you carry the rest of the week as a believer.

If you’ve ever taught Sunday School, you probably remember preparing lessons to help little ones make sense of the mystery of the Trinity. Or maybe you recall studying the Triune God in Bible Study, reading articles, or hearing sermons about it.

Some of the most compelling depictions in Scripture revealing God as Three in One begin in Genesis with the creation story and, later, the three visitors who appeared to Abraham with news of his long-awaited son. As we continue recalling, we see their unity more plainly at Jesus’ baptism and throughout his teachings before and after the crucifixion.

Then there’s today’s passage in John 16 where Jesus speaks to his disciples about the divine unity that holds God together. And here’s the beautiful part: that unity isn’t just for God; it’s for us too.

How?

Jesus gives us the answer: through the Spirit. That’s why he extends this invitation to believers everywhere: to actively engage with the Spirit. In verse 12, Jesus says, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” Could Jesus have revealed everything about the Truth? Of course. But believers wouldn’t have taken it all in. (That can be a sermon for another time.)

The point is: if believers want to carry on the mission Jesus started, actively engaging with the Spirit isn’t optional. It’s necessary. But here’s the thing! Active engagement with the Spirit doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not about waving a magic wand and suddenly receiving clarity. It grows out of trust, relationship, and intentional faith.

This kind of engagement is built through small, daily decisions, step by step, act by act, commitment by commitment, trust by trust. Believers both individually and as a community enter into divine connection over time. It happens moment by moment, day by day. And it is deeply relational, profoundly personal, and absolutely vital.

Do you remember two weeks ago when I said: "Perhaps, then, the world would say one day, ‘It’s impossible to behave badly in front of Christians because their hearts are more beautiful than their looks, their words, and their deeds.’" What I should have also said is: There are people engaging with evil spirits, eager to see others behave badly.

We see this reality unfolding even now, as tensions rise across the country.

The No Kings movement has gained traction, coinciding with a military parade in Washington, D.C. The message is loud and clear, "We don’t do kings in America." Most protests remain peaceful, but in some places, things have escalated, especially in Los Angeles, where demonstrators blocked freeways, set vehicles on fire, and clashed with law enforcement.

And whenever riots break out, I don’t just remember. I recall a conversation I had in 2002 with Alice, an elderly sister in Christ. That was one of those moments when I sensed the urgency of God’s mission and why Jesus’ gospel matters.

After hearing sirens all morning, I asked her, “Why is there so much crime here?”

She responded, “That’s why we need people like you and your husband to share the gospel.”

But I would go further. That’s why we have the body of Christ everywhere.

We are called to take Jesus’ new commandments and great commission seriously: to make disciples who actively engage with the Spirit, love as Jesus loves, and share his peace.

That must be how St. Paul felt as he planted churches throughout the Mediterranean. From his personal experience engaging with the Spirit, he wrote words of encouragement to fellow believers in Rome: "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." ~ Romans 5:1-5

Paul was speaking directly to believers, to those who are called to strengthen one another in faith. If God's love, poured into the hearts of believers through the Spirit, isn’t evident, where does a hurting world turn for refuge, one as good as God’s kingdom? When people are in pain, where do they find a safe place?

And here’s the thing! Safety isn’t just about a location. A safe place isn’t defined by the people who provide it. It’s defined by the ones who need it. It takes listening. It takes paying attention to what people actually need not just what we assume. And then, it takes letting Jesus’ gospel restore their souls so that we, the body of Christ, become that refuge in His name.

So, what can make you recall or remember Jesus’ invitation to actively engage with the Spirit? Does it have to be dramatic? Or could it be as simple as staying present among those who are like you and those who are not?

Because whatever we recall or remember determines how we show up each day, each moment.

May the love of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit be with us as we move forward. May we step into each day with the trust and courage to actively engage with the Spirit, knowing God is with us by grace through faith.

So, as you walk into the week ahead, what will you choose to recall? What will you choose to remember? And how will it shape the way you show up?

May Psalm 8:5-6 be a prayer for you and me this week to re-posture ourselves as the body of Christ: "Yet you, O God, have made your people little less than divine; with glory and honor you crown them. You have made them rule over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet."

Amen.