Moved by the Spirit

Here we are at the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the end of the liturgical Christmas season.  As I reflect back over the nativity stories, what I notice most is the reaction of those encountering the Christ Child. Everyone – shepherds, magi, the prophets Anna and Simeon – reacted with wonder and reverence and praise to God. They all seemed to know they were in the presence of holiness. By all appearances, though, what they were looking at was an ordinary baby with his ordinary parents. All babies are miracles of God, and they tend to inspire love by their sheer cuteness, but they don’t usually invite genuflection. How did the first people to encounter Christ know they were in the presence of holiness?

Maybe their reaction was prompted by something within the onlookers themselves rather than the child they looked upon. The Holy Spirit stirred each person in such an intense way that a simple encounter with the Christ Child evoked awe and wonder and praise.

I wonder if the same movement of the Spirit was at work at Jesus’ baptism too. Who knows? Maybe there was an audible voice from the clouds and a dove. Or, maybe something profound happened within each onlooker and within Jesus too. The Spirit moved people very deeply, and the voice and the dove were the images they came up with to try and describe a holy moment.

When the Holy Spirit moves in your life, what’s it like? For me, movements of the Spirit are subtle. Thank God! If I suddenly heard a voice, I would run like hell, even if it did call me beloved. No, when the Spirit moves in me, it kind of feels like a heart swell, like joy or peace, connection or insight. I notice the Spirit most often during encounters with other people, like when I’m meeting with someone for spiritual direction. My directees are all just ordinary people, but when we’re in that sacred space together, I know I’m in the presence of holiness. It could be the person I’m meeting with, but more likely something stirs in me and lets me know that God is there. I also feel moved by the Spirit in our God Space small groups and in spiritual conversations with my CDP sisters. In these moments, I don’t genuflect, but I could. I feel a sense of wonder and awe and love for the people I’m with and for God who is working so clearly within them.

Encounters with people help to make God’s presence obvious to me, but every now and then the Spirit moves in my prayer too. Recently, I had the gift of a weekend in a hermitage, one with a fireplace. I was feeling stressed out before I went, but as soon as I walked through the door of that charming little cabin, I felt lighter, like a weight falling off my shoulders. I felt peaceful. That’s the Spirit moving. The next morning when I woke up, I saw that it had snowed during the night. I was so delighted that I’m sure I laughed out loud. That morning I sat by the fire, sipped coffee, watched snow fall, and felt such joy. It wasn’t a Pentecost fire, and there was no voice or dove, but I knew the Spirit of God was there, moving within me.

God calls each of us beloved and doesn’t need a spectacle to let us know that God loves us. God uses the events of our daily lives to nudge us, to stir us, to let us know that we’re in the presence of holiness.

How has the Spirit moved in you recently? Where have you encountered holiness, and how did God let you know?

By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She also serves on the Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International. She enjoys music, meaningful conversations, dancing, and sitting by the fire while the snow falls (I mean, who doesn’t?).