We celebrate Jesus’ commandments to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we struggle to know how to do that or even what that means. To truly love those in need, we must acknowledge our own need for transformation. God showed us how to love in truth and action, not just in word or speech. God created us with a word and then re-created us through the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
Still today, the Holy Spirit (named by the feminine Sophia or ruah in the Old Testament) blows through our lives in the most unexpected ways; she shapes and forms our passions, our hopes and our dreams.
This life-giving Spirit fills us with the energy to do the work to which she has called and prepared us. She provides us with the courage we need to face our fears and to critically assess our action. We can love in truth and action, despite our fears, because of the creative, redeeming and sustaining work of God.
This message was adapted from, “Faith Reflections: Joining voices as ONE” by Sarah Stadler-Ammon from the May 2006 issue of Cafe.