I wait for, I pray for inspiration by the Holy Spirit. Free me from the distractions and fears that cripple me. Empower, embolden and enlighten me with your gifts.
The Disciples gathered, praying and waiting for the One Christ promised would come after Him, that God had promised for generations. Suddenly, miraculously, the Spirit comes…and there’s an audience. To many, the explanation is that they are drunk on the new wine. Is this really what I long for?
There’s a region of my brain near the surface above my ear which if damaged turns me into a savant, or rather, unleashes the savant within me. Drawing while a pulsing magnetic field is applied at that spot produces sketches of amazing detail and quality which I don’t recognize as my own. Similarly, turning off another region, in the prefrontal cortex, perturbs executive function, taking away my social inhibitions. Alcohol produces this same effect.
Should we hasten the coming of the Spirit by sipping Beaujolais nouveau? No. This region is also inhibited by love. Love can help us make that move, hold that gaze, confess that feeling. Love can make us do seemingly impossible things.
I’m not proposing a neurobiology of the Holy Spirit. I do believe that the Spirit already resides in us. This Gift is waiting to be unleashed by love…and once it is, who cares what onlookers think?
- Psalm 119:9-16
- Isaiah 43:8-13
- 2 Corinthians 3:4-11
