There was a time when I thought that spirit was the possession of a few—the initiates, the chosen. Exclusivity seems common in all religions; the “haves” and the “have nots.” It occurs in lots of ways: we have the truth, you have not. We have the scriptures, you have not. We have the correct rituals, you have not. One of the Christian tellings is “we have the spirit, you have not.”
Thinking about this Day of Pentecost—when Christians celebrate “the coming of the spirit”—I realize that my view is now quite different. During the week or so from Ascension day to Pentecost, the readings in our New Way of Living focus on scriptural passages relating to the spirit. I was struck again this year how expansive and non-exclusive the early Christian understanding of spirit was. The Jewish prophet Joel spoke of a day when G*d would “pour my spirit on all flesh.” The early Christians said the day had come with the risen Christ and all were enlivened. Not just a few, but all. Not just Jewish or Christian flesh, but all flesh. Not just believing flesh, but non-believing flesh too. This expansiveness means that the spirit of G*d is in all if we have eyes to see.
St. Paul said, “to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good.” The common good is an important and often overlooked idea. The common good is unfashionable in our culture, where we have moved increasingly toward a selfish individualism. Spirituality, too, has often been reduced to my own way to feel good. St. Paul saw that spirit is the engine of service. Spirit enlivens me to care for you and you for me.
Spirit is also our deepest longing. I am suspicious of prayers that seem to know more than G*d knows; prayers that inform G*d and tell G*d what G*d ought to do. Better to admit that we do not know how to pray as we ought. Better to be silent and allow the “sighs too deep for words” to emerge from the deepest part of our psyche, from the spirit, the place deeper than knowledge.
The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We might call this “fruit” the character traits of the spiritual person. What does a spiritual person look like? They are a generous person. He is gentle. She is kind. They have deep joy. She is self-controlled. Turning this around, when you meet someone who is faithful you meet a spiritual person. When you see gentleness in your friend, there you see her spirituality. This fruit of the spirit is no respecter of religion or no religion; it is not based on beliefs of one kind or another; this fruit knows no creed or dogma; it is not based in race, nationality, culture, sexual preference or gender. The fruit of the spirit is as expansive as “all flesh.” “G*d is spirit, and where the spirit of G*d is, there is freedom.” Ultimately, spirit loosens the bonds that keep us locked up. Spirit is on the side of freedom. Wherever there is movement toward freedom, there is spirit.
+Ab. Andy