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“And
My Heart Soars”:
Discerning
the Spirit of God in All That Is
Joan Heptig, CSJ
When
we reflect on the Spirit of God in the Hebrew scriptures we discover,
not a divine person but
rather, a divine presence pervading all of life in the mundane as well
as mysterious working of God in our world.
This Spirit is a
strengthening presence1 poured out prodigiously2
filling us3 in
sometimes subtle but
always unpredictable ways.
This breath of God, ruah, this wind of change creates
unimaginable newness and energy to those
who are open to receiving the gift and animates the pulse of life in all
creation4.
When we consider
the Spirit in the Christian scriptures we find nuances in a further
development as
applied to the person of Jesus, his ministry and his mission.
Jesus’ very
humanity is conceived by the Spirit of God5 and the wind of
change, ruah, drives him into
the desert of prayer and fasting6 preparing
him for his mission of healing, redeeming and liberating
eventually, everything held in bondage.
But not Jesus only.
His followers are empowered by this Spirit7, inspired8
and given insight into the
mysteries of God9.
This Spirit of
wisdom and faith10, consolation11 and joy12
dwells within the temples of the divine
presence: believers,
communities of faith, hope13
and love14, life-giving in all that is alive, all
that
God’s creative breath has brought into existence and sustains in
extravagant love.
If it is true, as
some scientists maintain, that the Earth functions as a single living
organism, that the
microorganisms, plants and animals of which we are a part are possessed
of one soul, then we are
able to embrace oikos (eco-) our home as God’s word, logos,
spoken through the Spirit in Christ,
enabling us to enter into the divine cosmic liturgy offering praise and
glory to the God of all that is.
The immanence of
the Spirit of God present in all life reveals a template of self-giving
that we would
do well to emulate.
When we hold sacred
this indwelling presence of the Spirit by healing reverence, when we
offer
nourishment and inclusion making room for all beings at the table of
earth’s justice and bounty; when
we witness to peace-making and self-giving we feel the wind of change, ruah,
and sense the breath of
God in our lives; when we raise up the neglected and clasp to our hearts
all that is vulnerable, there
the Spirit of God dwells in unimaginable glory. Then our hearts soar and
our spirits rejoice in the
sacred liturgy of life: gifts
of the Spirit offered and placed on the altar of the universe as we are
united
in one holy communion with heaven and earth.
The
beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me
The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
the rhythm of the sea
speaks to me.
The strength of fire,
the taste of salmon,
the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me.
And my heart soars.
Chief
Dan George
1
Chr. 12:17-19.;-2 Is. 44:1-4; Ez. 39:26-29; Joel 3:1-5; 3 Ex. 31:1-5; Is. 61: 1-3; Ez. 36:16-28. 4- Ps. 19, 65, 72, 93,
104, 145, 147, 148; 5- Mt. 1:18-22-;6- Mk.
1:12-13; 7- Acts 1:6-8;
8- Acts 2:17-21; Lk. 12:12; 9-
Lk. 1:39-45; Acts
11:27-30; 10- Acts 6:1-7; 11- Acts 9:31; 12- Acts
13:50-52; 13 -1 Cor. 3:16-17;
6:19-20; Gal. 5:5; 14 - Rm.
5:1-5;
Col. 1:7-8; Gal. 5:13-26
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