Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
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May 18, 2020In the continuation of the first reading and the Gospel, the theme or the reality of being guided by the Holy Spirit continues. The Spirit continues to guide Paul and Timothy and they follow the promoting to the point of a convert named Lydia.
In the Gospel it is pretty clear that Jesus is talking about the separation of the Holy Spirit and the spirits of this world or the evil one. When we are guided by the spirits of the world, the world's ways, the evil spirits that confuse us, we live not understanding God’s ways. Yet we think we honor God by following these spirits, these promptings.
Jesus says, “They will expel you from the synagogues, and kill you thinking it is worship to God.” We see very similar things in our day. We see Catholics thinking abortion is ok, or thinking contraception is ok and justifying why or thinking the church is old fashioned and it has to move into the times or justifying many ways of life that are against God’s ways.
As I said yesterday, we are getting near celebrating Pentecost, celebrating the descending of the Holy Spirit.
We have two choices, and basically they come down to the same two choices since the beginning of time. Adam and Eve listened to the evil one but could have easily listened to the Holy One. They narrowed the view to how they felt, what they wanted, without considering the other or the whole. Each and every day and every minute of the day, we have the decision to listen to the Holy One and His Spirit or the evil one and his spirit.
Whichever one we listen to is what guides us and governs us. It is not easy in this world. Two days ago I spoke about how to listen to the Holy Spirit to guide us. Yesterday I spoke about how both of the spirits are present in every situation and available for us to follow.
It is not easy, but being all the more today to listen to the Holy Spirit of God to guide you in all ways all day. After two months of the pandemic, we have been influenced by many thoughts. It will be easy for us to emerge from this and not be as close to God as a whole.
But, like the first reading, if we dive into and live in the Holy Spirit, we can be closer to God and also bring more people to Him like the convert Lydia, as well as others who converted or got close to god because of Paul and Timothy.
