Luke 1:35. And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
As we approach Christmas together, we will spend the next eight days considering the wonders of Christ’s incarnation and birth and its implications for us in Christ. God’s desire is, and always has been, to dwell with us. To live his life in and through us as we manifest his presence on earth. But how? How does God do this? How does God manifest his presence with us? The angel tells young Mary the answer, and it’s the same answer we’ve seen through all of history and all of scripture – by the Spirit.
Who is the Holy Spirit? He’s God. The third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the living and personal volition and action of God. In the Bible, the word Spirit and the word wind are the same Hebrew word (ruach). So the presence of God is usually seen as some form of rushing wind, hovering smoke, or even a breath.
- At creation, the Spirit of God hovers over the chaos bringing life from emptiness.
- In the Garden of Eden, the Spirit of God meets Adam and Eve in the wind or “cool of the day” (ruach).
- In Exodus, the Spirit of God blows and leads the people through the sea on dry ground.
- In the tabernacle and temple, the Spirit of God manifests his presence as smoke in the Holy of Holies.
But something’s missing from our list above, isn’t it? Mary. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary bringing the life of Christ into her as a seed. You see, mountaintop wind, temples filled with smoke, these were never God’s final plan for dwelling with us. The Spirit of God IN us, conceived in us, growing in us, born of us, just like the Son of God in Mary, that is God’s plan for each of us who are in Christ.
Mary’s story is your story. She has found grace. And so have you. The grace of God’s Spirit coming to you and indwelling you. The presence of God in you. Not as rushing wind, smoke, or fire. But as a cell. A growing seed. A life of love growing in grace in us.
Wind, smoke, and fire scream, “stay away or you might be destroyed!” But a baby screams come close and love me. Come pick me up and hold me. So too, the Holy Spirit in us invites us without any fear of rejection to the God who would become a helpless infant.
An infant never turns you away. An infant never rejects your love. An infant never runs from you. And neither will God.
To live is Christ means we have the mighty rushing wind of God’s Spirit in us. But the incarnation tells us that that mighty whirlwind is now the simple breath of a baby. The Spirit that separated seas and rushed in and out of temples is now swaddled in the manger of our hearts. God’s presence is now found in the welcoming grace of a baby. The power of our union with Christ is now found in the humble faith of a child.
You: How do you see God’s presence in you? Mighty wind or humble child?
You in Christ: In Christ, God will never turn you away or reject your love. How does this melt your hard heart today?
Christ in you: Where do you need to display the humility of Christ today?
To Live is Christ 