Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-

           Come Holy Spirit Renew the Creation

                            Genesis. 1:1-5

                              Asha Paulose,

                St John’s MTC, Queens, NY

2“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

  When we reflect on the sacrament of Baptism, do you immediately think about the creation story? If you are like me, you probably breezed through the first two verses of Genesis so you can continue on to the much more exciting parts of creation like when God creates animals or human beings. However, the first two verses of our Holy Bible are unassumingly powerful. God chose to initially create the Earth to be a blank slate only to slowly transform it with the help of the Holy Spirit.

One can only hope this is the experience we all receive during Baptism. Our spiritual existence was formless and empty and the Sprit of God hovered in that Baptismal water to make us spiritually fit for the road ahead. The transformation we first received in Baptism doesn't end there. It is something we must strive to experience over and over again.

 

In Acts, Peter explained to Jesus’ followers that they too could receive this Spirit: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”(Acts 2:38-39).At this historic moment, Peter made God’s Spirit available to all who truly repented even to those who were previously baptized. The Feast of Pentecost, which is celebrated this year on June 4, is our annual reminder that God doesn’t leave us in the state of chaos that we might be in. We may feel completely hopeless and empty like the Earth in verse 2 but if we continue reading Genesis, we know that when God speaks, even the chaos obeys.

 

The Spirit is hovering over us drawing us to stability. Once we render a willingness to transform, God will happily utter the command He has been waiting to say: “Let there be Light”. Will we allow the Spirit to organize the chaos that might be filling our world so that we can be Lighted too?

                              PRAYER

Dear Lord, We praise and exalt You for all the blessings You have showered upon us. We know at times the darkness draws us in and we let instability take over our lives. Help us to not be complacent with the hopelessness we may feel. Holy Spirit, we know that You are hovering over us. Give us the strength to draw closer to You so that God’s Light can transform us into what we were called to do. In Christ always, Amen.

                THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

Popular posts from this blog

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
  Constant, patient and welcoming love of God   St. Luke 15: 11-32  V.21: And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ The parable of the ‘Prodigal son’ is one of the most frequently quoted parables that Jesus told His disciples. The parable contains the rich mine of human virtues and emotions. This parable is lived and re-lived in progressing civilizations from time immemorial and continuing. It brings out in vivid detail the pathetic depth of human sinfulness and the glorious heights of God’s forgiveness.      As a story of human nature, fathers are generally merciful to their children in any circumstance. They are very protective and are eager to provide for and secure the lives of their offspring. Jesus is telling this parable to underscore the superlative love of God to His children. The nature of such love is reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 7:11. Humankind who are evil by nature, give good gifts t
Read more

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
PRIESTHOOD: THE ANOINTED MINISTRY Exodus 40:12-16 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting... wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest (Exodus 40: 12-13). Priesthood among the people of God was a divine command and initiation. God wanted some people to be separated for the special ministry among his people. God appointed Aaron and his descendants to take up this kind of ministry among the people of God. Priests are always separated and appointed as channels that connect God with his people. All throughout the history of Israel, priests played an important role in connecting people with God and to lead and guide them in the statutes of God. But there are incidents in the Bible where the priests failed in their duties and that led the people to go away from God. So the priests have a special and significant ministry to perform in this world among his people. Two important things
Read more

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
Revelation for Liberation Acts 27:18-26 Sherine Thomas Long Island MTC, NY 20  When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. “After winter comes the summer.  After night comes the dawn.  And after every storm, there comes clear open skies” so said a Scottish clergyman from the 1600s. It’s been said, that hope can sometimes be the most dangerous weapon.  However, it’s sometimes the hardest weapon to carry when you’re living with the loss of a loved one, something that almost feels like a terrible nightmare that’ll never go away.  It’s a weapon difficult to carry when day in and day out no one seems to hear or see those tears that are shed or silent cries that are made during a heartfelt prayer. It’s a weapon difficult to carry as you see your loved one lying on that hospital bed.  It’s a weapon difficult to carry as you search and seek out answers to tell a child as to why they’ve been a
Read more