40 years. The number sounds familiar? Well, that was also me ignoring the Holy Spirit. In my 20s and 30s, the only times I made the sign of the cross – Father, Son & Holy Spirit, was when I entered the church. It was not until I attended Life in the Spirit Seminar in my 40s, that my eyes were opened. And this year, the Holy Spirit wanted me to know its infinite power, particularly in three areas:

 

Raising Jesus

From the Lenten Reflection booklet during the 5th Sunday of Lent at our neighbourhood prayer gathering, the following words of the power of the Holy Spirit struck me.

‘If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he will give life to your own mortal bodies.’

Hang on. I know at baptism I received the Holy Spirit and at Confirmation, I am strengthened by the Holy Spirit. This is the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead? It didn’t take me long to apologise to the Holy Spirit. I am truly sorry for not acknowledging your power in this area. But the Holy Spirit was not done boggling my mind.

 

Breath of life

Next, the talk on Image of God by Jessica Goh at our church also brought out another dimension of the Holy Spirit. When Jessica touched upon God’s breath – His Spirit that brought life to man, it was clearly a message from above that I had not read Genesis in a long while, and hence had forgotten all about God’s breath, the Holy Spirit.

 Genesis 2: 7
Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

It did though remind me of the talk on Ezekiel by Fr Terence. There was something about dry bones coming together and how the breath of the Lord brought them to life. Perhaps it is time I do not take breathing for granted and realise it is the breath of life from God that sustains me.

 

Parting of the Sea

Fr Sam in one of his homilies before Pentecost mentioned the parting of the sea by the Holy Spirit. I guess I was more taken with the dramatic crossing of the sea. I did not mean to ignore the mighty hand of the Spirit who made it happen.

Exodus 14:21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.

 

Although there are many more examples of the power of the Holy Spirit in the bible, these three stood out for me this year. The Holy Spirit who resurrects. The Holy Spirit who breathes new life. The Holy Spirit who will clear a path for us.

 

Written by Karen R-Fong