We believe in the Holy Spirit. Yes, but what does that mean? Some time ago I went with a group of friends to see the move The Shack. You may be familiar with that movie and the book by the same title which came out years before the film. Briefly, the story is about a man who loses a daughter but finds God at an old shack in the woods. This God is no old man played by George Burns. Rather, God is represented by an unexpected trinity of characters. God the Father, named Papa in the film, is played by an African-American woman. Jesus is played by a Tunisian born Israeli man, and the Holy Spirit by a Japanese woman. In the book, the character of the Holy Spirit is less human than, well, animated spirit. Some folks liked both the book and movie and others did not. What I appreciate about both is that they took a chance on trusting that while God is beyond any of our attempts at portrayal, to try to do so in a bold and fresh way may help us to grow to know God more clearly and to be drawn to love God more dearly. Our growth in the knowledge and love God is clearly part of the Bible narrative and can be seen in the creeds of the church.
Many may know that it was the early church councils who worked out an understanding of how Jesus could be both fully human and divine, and how the Son of God was both coequal and coeternal with God the Father. There were strong disagreements on these and other matters with some proclaiming their position orthodox and labeling others as heterodox. The Nicene Creed of 325 is one product of those working councils. What you may not know is that the original form of that creed ended simply with the words “And in the Holy Spirit.” What you may not know is that there was a time when some Christians denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit and so in 381 at Constantinople the church added the words concerning the Holy Spirit - “The Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets.” We learn and we grow.
When I worked with youth confirmands, one exercise we did was to form our own council of the church, including adopted bishop names for each youth, and then negotiate a statement of the faith. It was an expression of what these 12-14 year olds believed as 12-14 year olds about God. I imagine they have grown beyond that statement, retaining and refining some elements and adding or deleting others. I hope that they, and all of us, find the Creeds of the church a solid foundation and returning point for our continued questioning and growing in faith. And it seems so divinely ordered that the Creeds should end with a statement about the Holy Spirit given that it is the Spirit that inspires us even to continue to pushing the boundaries of our understanding of God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in the Holy Spirit. What does that mean for you?
Grace and peace, Fr. Bill+