The last Sunday in Lent had a fascinating combination of readings from the liturgical lectionary for the church year: Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones, and the Gospel reading about raising Lazarus from the dead. In between these two readings we had this proclamation from Romans 8 ... "Christ lives in you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you."
Why was it so important for God to give us his Spirit?
When humanity fell into sin (recall the garden of Eden account) we were warned not to eat from the fruit of a particular tree, or we will surely die. The temptation in the garden back then was: my will over and above God's will for my life. Ever since then we have this broken world and the experience of evil, dark, and deadly things. But more tragically than all of the pain and destruction around our world, is that at that very moment in paradise, our spirit died. The flesh is just playing catch up and it may take a few many decades, but we will all die. No surprise there!
Jesus entered our death and went into death for us. There in the garden of Gethsemane we see a reversal taking shape: 'not my will, but your will be done.'
What is the will of God the Father?
We pray it into our life every time we speak the words of the Lord's Prayer: "your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Just as Jesus has done to bring life and speak life into people's tragic moments, so now we have a new commission as we read in John's Gospel as Jesus met with his disciples after the resurrection, "as the Father has sent me, so now I send you! Receive the Holy Spirit ..."
Life has been breathed back into our existence - read Jn 10:10, and breathe in the Life Jesus has won for you, his abundant healing and restoring life for all.
> posted by D.WILLNER
