Lesson 4: The Spirit in the Gospels
If you had asked me a year ago what it means to be spiritual, I would have begun discussing different classifications of life, such as physical, mental, and spiritual. Then I would’ve attempted to describe the characteristics of each.
Over the past year, I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the number of people in various situations claiming to be spiritual. My interest was aroused because they usually did not include the characteristics I would list.
I decided a good way to begin sorting this out was to see what the Bible said. Quite frankly, the Old Testament added to the confusion. It speaks of being spiritual as anything from simply being alive to having a divine mission.
You also find this in the gospels. When Jesus dies, He gives up His spirit. When Mary becomes pregnant, it is the work of the Holy Spirit.
A disconcerting new meaning comes with the appearance of evil, supernatural spirits. Influenced by popular ideas from Persian dualism, people can be described as being possessed by both evil and good spirits. Being spiritual is no longer necessarily a good thing. It can also lead to a chaotic or destructive life.
I don’t find that thinking particularly helpful in the 21st century. It simply excuses people from taking responsibility for their actions.
The Gospels introduce a far more helpful meaning when they discuss the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus. Whether it is Mark describing the Spirit descending upon him at his baptism or John proclaiming him a personification of the Spirit of truth ingrained in God’s creation, we are no longer talking about a temporary gift given to perform a special task. It is not that God speaks through Jesus at certain moments so much as Jesus speaks as God during his lifetime.
Both Luke and John claim that the Resurrected Christ, to some extent, passes on this spiritual quality to his followers. In Luke-Acts, this takes place at Pentecost, after the Ascension, when Jesus sends the Spirit upon his followers from the Right Hand of God. In John, Jesus shares this spirit of truth with his followers on Easter evening when he breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Those who receive that Spirit become new creatures. It is then passed on to others through the sacrament of baptism. Unlike circumcision, baptism makes the Spirit available to everyone: both men and women, rich and poor, free and slave, Jew and Gentile.
John defines that Spirit as love at the Last Supper. He has already described Jesus as the personification of the truth ingrained in God‘s creation. He now reworks the Love Commandment to suit that proclamation. It is no longer “Love your neighbor as you love yourself,” but “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
To be spiritual then is to love other people and you can see the proper way to do that by remembering how Jesus did it. To be spiritual is to live as Jesus lived, to love as Jesus loved.
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