{"id":306,"date":"2024-04-17T14:09:51","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T14:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/2024\/04\/17\/keeping-up-with-the-holy-spirit\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T20:19:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T20:19:44","slug":"keeping-up-with-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/keeping-up-with-the-holy-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Up with the Holy Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A careful reading of all of the accounts of Jesus\u2019 resurrection in the Gospels will reveal that, in spite of Jesus’ repeated predictions of his death and resurrection, no one saw it coming \u2013 certainly not the resurrection part. Mary thinks Jesus is a gardener<\/a>. Peter and (we think it might have been) John see the empty tomb and the linen to wrap Jesus\u2019 body along with the veil for his face neatly folded. Having seen this they \u201cbelieve\u201d for, as John tells us, \u201cas yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.\u201d<\/a>  The wisdom of God\u2019s way with life was always several steps ahead of even those who sought to be most intimately acquainted with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after the followers of Jesus \u2013 his disciples \u2013 receive the presence of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, they still aren\u2019t out in front of things. Peter preaches a dynamic sermon about Jesus\u2019 resurrection to a crowd of people from nearly every corner of the Roman world but still needs to be led by the hand to realize that the message of life that he proclaims is for all people everywhere, not just those who have been trying to keep the Ten Commandments. Even though Philip recognizes that a man from Ethiopia is reading the Prophet Isaiah\u2019s writings, the unnamed Ethiopian man has to be the one to suggest that he be baptized \u2013 Philip doesn\u2019t make the offer. In both of these cases, God who is the Holy Spirit has already been at work. Peter and Philip just show up to see things happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pattern continues. An unexpecting Saul of Tarsus is confronted by the Risen Jesus on his way to arrest Christians in Antioch and his life is changed. But when the folks in Antioch hear about it, their first response is suspicion \u2013 even though the news comes from Jesus himself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve already observed, Luke\u2019s book is called \u201cThe Acts of the Apostles\u201d but their acts are mostly going from place to place, not to make things happen, but to discover that things are already going on, that the Spirit of God has been at work, preparing people to hear and receive the news that Jesus\u2019 resurrection has defeated the forces of death and that the rule and reign of God which brings forgiveness and life, has been inaugurated. They are merely witnesses to what God is already doing in the world. This seems to be the pattern of divine behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our staff meetings at the Division of Calling and Spiritual Life, a question that we\u2019re routinely asking one another is, \u201cWhere do you see God at work in the world?\u201d This is not a question that we\u2019re used to asking. Our first inclination is to assume that if we want to get something done, we\u2019ve got to get to it. The second inclination goes with it: we in the privacy of our own thoughts are the ones who know what needs to be done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we\u2019re discovering in asking the question is that God is not only at work in the world, but that this work is being done in others! The opportunity is to recognize it, come alongside it in cooperation, and bear witness to the life-giving creativity of the Holy Spirit, even in this time and place!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Fred Rogers was known for sharing a story from his childhood about his mother\u2019s advice in response to scary news. He wrote, “My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers \u2014 so many caring people in this world.” This isn\u2019t naive optimism. It\u2019s a call to pay attention to the whole picture, to see, even in the presence of death, what life is doing. This too is the work of the Holy Spirit, calling people to lives of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are challenging days to be in the University business. In days of such challenge, it might seem like a downward spiral is as inevitable as the pull of gravity and a voice that calls us to attend to the creative work of the Holy Spirit of God among us, hopelessly and unrealistically pollyannaish. It is, unless we stop long enough to pay attention and ask ourselves and one another, how is God at work in the world right here and right now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pr. Jim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Katherine Museu<\/a>s<\/em> and Rev. James A. Wetzstein<\/a> serve as university pastors at the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University and take turns writing weekly devotions<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A careful reading of all of the accounts of Jesus\u2019 resurrection in the Gospels will reveal that, in spite of Jesus’ repeated predictions of his death and resurrection, no one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-james-a-wetzstein","category-csl-newsletter-devotionals"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"dev@eridesign.com","author_link":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/author\/deveridesign-com\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/04\/grafspoed_grt-300x182.webp","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["James A. Wetzstein<\/a>","CSL Newsletter Devotionals<\/a>"],"unlinked":["James A. Wetzstein<\/span>","CSL Newsletter Devotionals<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 1 year ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 17, 2024","modified":"Updated on August 18, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 17, 2024 2:09 pm","modified":"Updated on August 18, 2025 8:19 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":487,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions\/487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}