Ordinary Time 
Pause
The greatest mystery of our faith is the identity, work, and purpose of the Holy Spirit.
As elusive as the wind, the Spirit evades our capture yet manages to touch, nudge, comfort, or trip us just the same.
Rather than attempting to capture, predict, or define the Spirit, why not simply affirm that the Spirit is and open your heart, inviting God's mysterious Spirit to take up residence in you.
Listen
He said to me, āHuman one, these bones are the entire house of Israel. They say, āOur bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely finished.ā So now, prophesy and say to them, TheĀ LordĀ God proclaims: Iām opening your graves! I will raise you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to Israelās fertile land.Ā You will know that I am theĀ Lord, when I open your graves and raise you up from your graves, my people.Ā I will put my breathĀ in you, and you will live. I will plant you on your fertile land, and you will know that I am theĀ Lord. Iāve spoken, and I will do it. This is what theĀ LordĀ says.ā
Ezekiel 37:11-14
Think
Organized religion in the United States is in a serious decline. Statistics reveal the facts, but it’s the headlines that explain them. Clergy scandals. Religious celebrities seeking fame by jumping on this or that politicianās bandwagon. People of faith callous to the suffering of anyone who doesn’t look or think like them. Infighting among and within denominations. Pastors living in mansions, flying jets, and buying yachts. It’s no wonder young people aren’t flocking to the church. It’s a wonder any of them believe at all.
And yet, the church goes on…
Hundreds of millions of anonymous believers singing Sunday praises, feeding the local hungry, building homes for the homeless, caring for shut-ins, digging wells for the thirsty, educating the forgotten, every single day… all around our vast planet. Can you imagine the global crisis if Christianity disappeared?
Believers, our bones may be dry or even appear dead, but remember that our God raises the dead! As God told Ezekiel, āAnd I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live.āĀ And live we shall, living to serve, if the Spirit is within us.
Wade Griffith
Pray
God, help me to ignore the noise that says we are dead or dying. As I recall, the same was said of you, but you returned and transformed the world. Reanimate us through your Spirit that we might do the same! Amen.
Go
Today, don't forget that God's Spirit is with you and for you! Receive this gift. Just ask, and off you'll go, arm in arm!
Who knows what adventures, tasks, or opportunities the Spirit might have in store for you today? Let the future begin!
