the holy spirit - the cloud - 18th week tuesday 2013

The 8^th article of the faith says, We believe in the Holy Spirit.  What is the Holy Spirit?  The Hebrew word for spirit is ruah, meaning breath – the holy spirit is the breath of God.  Remember when God created Adam and Eve, when God created us, human beings.  God got clay and breathed on it.  We have life because of the Spirit of God, we are created because of the Holy Spirit.  Without the breath of God we are nothing but dust or earth. 

Another symbol of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the bible is the cloud.  In the bible the cloud veils and at the same time reveals.  Ang panganod nagalipod apang amo man ini ang nagapakita.  In the book of Exodus the cloud veils the Holy mountain where God revealed himself to Moses, so also the tent of meeting – ginapalibutan ini sang panganod – ginalikupan sang panganod agod mapakita ang presensya sang Dios and at the same time ginatabuanan niya ini agod nga indi kita masilaw sang iya himaya – it reveals the presence of God and at the same time it hides his glory.  The cloud is the spirit.  You can also see this in Mary when the angel said the power of the most high will overshadow you.  The Holy Spirit comes and overshadows Mary – ginlikupan sia sang panganod so that she will conceive and bear a Son, Jesus.  And here again in our gospel today, the three apostles, Peter, James and John were overshadowed again by the cloud, to reveal and at the same time to hide the glory of Jesus in the transfiguration, to reveal and at the same time to hide the glory of the Father who said this is my beloved Son.  This shining cloud is the Holy Spirit – he reveals and at the same time it hides.  That is why in our second reading Peter would say we were eyewitnesses, we have seen his majestic glory, we have heard this unique declaration this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

Again this is the Spirit who makes us see, who reveals the presence, the voice of the Father in our lives.  It is the Holy Spirit who reveals to us the glory of Jesus.

Many times we could not see, many times we are surrounded by darkness, and so we ask the Spirit to enlighten us – it is the Spirit who gives light.  Many times we could not understand, we become confused, we become blinded by a lot of things and so we ask the Spirit to make us understand, we ask the Spirit to open our eyes so that we can see Jesus in us, we can see God in every situation in our lives.  That is why the Spirit is called an advocatus, the paraclete meaning one who stands by your side, one who stands at our side, as a helper, as a consoler, as a comforter.

Many times we do not really appreciate the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives – we do not immediately appreciate the enlightenment, the insight into things, probably the good ideas that we thought of, or the encouragement and inspiration which we have heard from others.  This is evidence of the spirit – the Spirit who reveals and hides like a cloud that overshadows us.  Let us pray more for the spirit and acknowledge its presence in us.  Probably it is high time that we do every so often.