Resurrection changes everything. It changes the way we see the past, the present, and the future. In the new life of Christ we are all offered the promise that death is not the end.
It really is only the beginning.
Begin now to see God at work to bring life again, to you and to every one.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
John 20:21-23
Not many Scriptures mention all three persons of the Trinity, but this post-resurrection story sets a scene where each is present and has a distinct role. God the Father sends Jesus, the Son, who breathes the Holy Spirit and empowers the disciples to extend forgiveness to others.
As Christians we believe all three persons of the Trinity exist as One. Usually we let the theologians and academics worry about the conundrum of how three can equal one, but there is a very practical reason for you and me to pay attention too.
The Trinity models what it means for us to live in loving relationship with God. Father, Son, and Spirit exist together in one love, and we are invited to participate in that union. The greatest evidence of divine love is forgiveness. The same Holy Spirit whom Jesus breathes into the disciples is also breathed into you and me. Every time you forgive someone, it’s as if you are breathing the Holy Spirit on to them and widening the circle of love God has made known to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Tammy Wiens-Sorge
Loving God, I believe that you are eternal, infinite, and incomprehensible, and yet you sent Jesus to become human, just like me, so that I might know you. Breathe your Holy Spirit into my life this day so that I might breathe your love and forgiveness on others. Amen.
But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Romans 8:10-11