ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT

1 Peter 3:18

 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.

When I think of the word alive, it has a lot of life in it. From plants that are alive and thriving to the quote from the movie Frankenstein, “It’s alive! It’s alive,” the word alive has a certain electricity to it. To be alive is to be growing, moving and be full of energy. It is more than just existing and sitting idle but to be alive is to be bright and welcoming of new things and direction.

The text from today reminds us how alive the Holy Spirit is. It isn’t just that Jesus conquered death and that he died in the flesh, but it tells us that he was “made alive in the spirit.” The language here is so powerful as it reminds us how active and alive that God and the Holy Spirit truly are in our world. The work of God is not just a one time movement, but the work of God through the Spirit is an everyday and every moment kind of energy that is inescapable and constant. The Holy Spirit is constantly working in the world and alive with energy that if we pause to realize it is life-giving. Most of the time we just have to put our own brains aside and witness this alive energy that we can miss when we aren’t paying attention or wrapped up in our own thoughts and feelings.

As I was entering a building today, there was a person that needed some assistance getting in and out of the elevator. I watched as multiple people held the door, offered to press the button, allowed this person to enter ahead of themselves without once showing signs of being in a hurry or impatient. You could witness the gratitude on this person’s face as they felt they were being supported by complete strangers. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is alive and working in the world. Even now this story radiates through my witness and into your reading eyes. We could spend time dwelling on the times when these moments don’t happen this way, but today was a day of patience and grace. Yes, God is working indeed.

Prayer

God of energy, we thank you for being alive in the world. We thank you for the gift of your son and how you are still working in this world in so many ways to connect, support and sustain us in this journey. We thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit and how it works in our lives. In love, Amen.