The Expansive Power of the Holy Spirit

Dear Friend,

I heard a story last week from a priest in San Diego about a cargo ship hauling agricultural products across the ocean. At some point along the way the ship began to take on water which then penetrated a load of beans. As the beans expanded, the hull began to crack and it was near disaster until the crew figured out what was going on.   

The story was a dramatic illustration of what can happen when the expansive power of the Holy Spirit takes hold in a community. (The phrase a hill of beans, said the storyteller, took on a whole new meaning for him!) 

This week we celebrate Trinity Sunday and the expansive and surprising power that can get released in us when we get involved through word, sacrament, and service with the love poured out through Jesus Christ. In a trinitarian vision of divine life, Jesus Christ becomes the gateway to a cargo (an inheritance in Saint Paul’s imagery in Romans) of generosity, compassion, and hope intended by God to be shared with the world through us. Facing all this on the mountaintop in Matthew’s gospel, it’s no wonder the disciples worshiped and at the same time doubted. This is unsettling stuff!

Unsettling, but also joyful. At the 11:00 am Mass last Sunday, the church was full and, given the 200-year-old shape of our “hull,” a little uncomfortable. But you couldn’t top the joy of those families who saw their next generation receiving their first communion. Connecting our lives – including the incompleteness, messiness, and pain – with the love generated by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – receiving it, truly present and expansive - is meant to be the joy of our lives and, as we become what we receive, life and hope for the world.  

Gratefully,

Father Dan, Pastor