A new series learning from the life and teaching of Jesus. First up, John Proctor looks at Jesus and the Spirit

Jesus was not alone. He was attuned. He was accompanied. He was assured, inspired, empowered and enabled. People noticed, many found help, lives were touched by the power and presence that were in him. And when he eventually left his friends, the power and presence somehow remained, as ‘the presence of Jesus when Jesus is absent’ (in the words of the American Catholic writer, Raymond E Brown).

The Gospel writers call this presence ‘the Holy Spirit’. The Spirit of God, who surfaces rather sporadically in the Old Testament, is more focused and constant in the life and work of Jesus. Jesus is known and his goodness is shown because the Spirit shapes his life and stirs within him. Then when Jesus moves on, the Spirit remains and the debt is, as it were, repaid: the name and message of Jesus mark the life and work of the Spirit. The infusion, the osmosis, has run in both directions. Jesus is Messiah of the Spirit. The Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus…

John Proctor is a retired minister and former General Secretary of the URC

___

This is an extract from an article published in the February 2023 edition of Reform

Subscribe to Reform