By Rebecca Stoltzfus, president
Scripture: Galatians 4:4-7 (NRSV)
At the beginning of Jesus’s life was the Spirit. When Mary asks the angel Gabriel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”, the angel responds: “The Holy spirit will come upon you. (Luke 1:35)
In the middle of Jesus’s life was the Spirit. When Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. (Luke 3:22)
At the end of Jesus’s life was the Spirit. When Jesus and his disciples shared their last supper before Jesus was killed, he assured them: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)
In today’s reading from Galatians, the apostle Paul takes the Christmas story of Jesus and makes it timeless. At a moment in history, God sent Jesus into the world to enter our humanity. And in all moments, for all time, God sends the Spirit into our hearts — the Spirit who calls upon God with childlike confidence: Abba!
In the beginning, in the middle, in the end, the Holy Spirit is with us. God is so very near. Because we are God’s children, God sends the Spirit of Jesus right into our hearts.
Scripture: Galatians 4:4-7 (NRSV)
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.