“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” Acts 2:17

“But whoever is united with the Lord is one with [them] in spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:17

There is a well of empathy within all people. This is God’s nest within us. This is our spirit, and this is the Holy Spirit. She was poured out on all flesh, and she lives in all people, all creation even, working to reconcile us all to one another.

Jesus, my teacher, elder brother, and friend, led me into the knowledge and experience of this Spirit. He led me to claim my inheritance, this sanctuary within, where I discovered a communion in God, and all of heaven. Not only that, but the Spirit led me into communion wherever and whoever the Spirit is.

The Holy Spirit is communio, an invitation into this all-consuming Love, the unity of God, as well as the substance of Love itself. Our experience of the Spirit bursts with mercy, compassion, empathy. It’s heaven beckoning us into apocalypse. When we enter thin spaces, when God feels close, we find our longing for a new world growing. We need it, desperately, for ourselves, for each other. The Spirit forms this longing, and gives us with the courage, faith, and love needed to materially satisfy this longing.

And nothing can separate us from the Holy Spirit.

We can numb ourselves to her presence and do our best to avoid seeing, feeling, hearing her—but she will always be there. She is a part of us, integral to our being. And if power deteriorates our empathy, if we choose to follow empire, if we stray from the Light of God, still there she will be, testifying boldly and loudly that we are in sin, and are assaulting God’s image within us. From inside, she will call down God’s judgment on us in order to de-throne us and lead us back into herself.

She’s obnoxious, wild, and absolutely lovely. She’s a holy fool. A trouble-maker. And a faithful friend and companion. She will fight for us, day and night, and never abandon us.

May she possess us with this divine love that calls for revolt. May she form us into her image so we too can be true comrades. May she rile up the Spirit of insurrection within all creation. Make her groaning become louder and louder, and make her heard. Bother our oppressors day and night, haunt them into repentance. Lead us all into the new world. Amen.

“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” –Jesus, Luke 12:49

