We left off this series looking at how the Scriptures and Tradition as as whole have understood the Holy Spirit on that wonderful feast we call Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell down upon the disciples in power, an event which our Scriptures interpret as a great fulfillment of the promises of the Prophets. Today … Continue reading The Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles
Today's reading from Acts is the wonderful story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Since the issues this story touches on have only become louder in the past year and a bit since I wrote about them, and since I have out-of-town company keeping be busy right now, I thought I'd re-share what I wrote … Continue reading Hope for the Eunuch: How the Bible Changed Its Mind (Repost)
Over the past few posts in this series on the development of beliefs about the Holy Spirit, we’ve seen a growing sense of expectation that God was going to unleash the Holy Spirit in an unprecedented way upon the world. This began like a distant roll of thunder in the Prophets, grew more insistent throughout … Continue reading The Spirit and Pentecost
We’re still in the midst of an extensive survey of how ideas about the Holy Spirit developed over time. In the most recent post, we saw how the birth narratives of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, especially in Luke’s Gospel, show the Spirit moving in a big way. Not only is the Spirit … Continue reading The Spirit in the Gospels, Part II
One of my favourite things about John’s Gospel has always been the “I am” statements, the seven places where Jesus says (with an emphasis that’s hard to get across in English) “I am” followed by a big and illustrative metaphor: “I am the bread of life,” “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” … Continue reading Flock and Shepherd: A Reflection on John 10.11-18
Matthew Root 