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From Jurgen Moltmann’s,“The Source of Life, the Holy Spirit and the Theology of Life”
“People who ask for the Holy Spirit to come to us – into our hearts, into the community we live in, and to our earth – don’t want to flee into heaven or to be snatched away into the next world. They have hope for their hearts, their community and this earth. We don’t pray ‘Let us come into your kingdom either.’ We pray ‘Your Kingdom come on earth as in heaven.’ The petition for the coming of the divine Spirit to us frial earthly people implies a great, unbroken affirmation of life.”
The Holy Spirit is something that I don’t have much of a grasp on. We don’t generally don’t spend a whole lot of time talking about this incredibly important part of the Trinitarian God!
LT said...
1interesting excerpt. it’s that already and not yet tension. we are the vessels to make known heaven on earth. i like that, “unbroken affirmation of life”, our lives are still of great value here.
04/13/04 5:29 PM | Comment Link
Todd Hiestand said...
2You said it, our lives are still of value here…i think the “church” can overlook that sometimes, or at least, not give it the attention it deserves…
04/13/04 6:24 PM | Comment Link
Kathy said...
3Not to sound like a downer, but if us carnal christians can barely get it together and do what God wills…doesn’t hold out much hope for Kingdom living in the here and now, does it?
The real tension, besides the obvious call to get serious and truly follow Christ is, who can thwart God’s will? Can our free-will really interfere with God’s? This question makes me think of the scripture verse where Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that stones the prophets and kills all whom God sends, how often I would have gathered you together like a Hen gathers her chicks, but you wouldn’t let Me!”
Wouldn’t let Him? Does that blow anyone’s mind?
Or is it just me?
Sorry Todd, I know this response is more than you expected to get, but you know me, always getting carried away… Would love some dialog about this!
04/15/04 4:01 PM | Comment Link
Todd Hiestand said...
4Kathy,
Not to be another downwer! But, I am not totally sure I am totally following you. I think Moltmann’s point is that it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that God’s “will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and that as Christians, followers of him, we need to be “living in the now” more than we tend to. Yes, us imperfect Christians, through the divine power of the Holy Spirit, can give a glimpse of God’s future reign here on earth. By focusing on this side of heaven, we show that life is more than what comes at the end (i.e. heaven) life is also about living now, daily, in fellowship with the Spirit who is the giver of LIfe.
Are we talking about the same thing here or are we going two different directions?
04/15/04 4:09 PM | Comment Link
Kathy Leontitsis said...
5We are talking about the same thing…if we’re
both talking about the will of God being done on earth as it is in Heaven. How does this get done?
By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Christians. My point being that we need to get serious and start radically following Jesus if we truly are going to live in the here and now of
God’s Kingdom. Is it just a matter of asking the Spirit to come into our lives? Do we truly want to be indwelled with the Holy Spirit? Or do we hold onto the carnal pleasures of life and therefore, hinder the fullness of God’s will in our lives, affecting our community.
Todd, am I making more sense now? I know sometimes I have these thoughts and I don’t really possess the skills to fully put them into a cohesive manner to be understood. I hope I did a little better with this commentary. Let me know if I’m still “Lost in Space”!
04/17/04 7:46 AM | Comment Link
Todd Hiestand said...
6Kathy, we are definately talking about the same thing! You are so right, it is all about “radically following Jesus.” This only flows from the Spirit. Simple thoughts, but really a radical thought at the same time!
04/17/04 2:00 PM | Comment Link