Ordinary Time

Pause

Holy Spirit, come breathe on me.

Awaken me to your presence.

Steady me in your truth.

Holy Spirit, come breathe on me.

Listen

All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children.

Romans 8:14-16

Think

How do you typically refer to your friend’s parents? Mr. and Mrs. So & So, right? I never felt quite comfortable calling my friend’s parents by their first names, and I still don’t as an adult today! It feels a little disrespectful, as if we are on a casual level as peers. Something about it just does not feel quite right to me, even when they genuinely insist.

Today’s Scripture passage also includes a genuine insistence. It tells us that the Spirit of God leads us to cry out “Abba, Father,” when we think of God. Abba is an intimate way of calling God our Father, our Care Taker, our “daddy,” the one who provides, protects, and loves us. There are no boundaries with God, and the relationship is as close as two best friends, even deeper.

Sisters and brothers, the Spirit of God insists that we call God our Abba, for God knows us more deeply than we can ever imagine. Abba knows and loves us still.

Aram Bae

Pray

Thank you, God, for loving me in such an intimate and gentle way that I can call you Abba. May my life reflect your love and kindness so that others may seek you and call you Abba, too. Amen.

Go

Spirit of the living God, be alive and real in my life.

Spirit of a loving God, be near and true to your word.

Spirit of a just God, be honored in what I say and do.