Week of March 18, 2002
Pastor Dick H.

"God will give life to your mortal bodies
through his Spirit that dwells in you."
Romans 8:11

In our worship of the weekend, we asked God to renew us by the Holy Spirit, "That we may follow the Lord's commands and proclaim his reign of love" (Prayer of the Day).

It is indeed right and proper that we should pray for the Spirit of God in the celebrations of our church; and, offering such a petition is especially fitting in Lenten worship. For, in the journey from ashes to Easter we seek renewal of "zeal in faith and life" (proper Preface for Lent). Our faith is deepened and our spiritual life is strengthened by the indwelling, life-giving Spirit of God - not by human resolve, individualized willpower, or self-help programs.

Asking God for renewal through his Spirit is also an apt petition of prayer in daily life. In the midst of daily living, it is the Spirit of the Living God that empowers us to minister -- to serve the Lord by walking in his ways and proclaiming his rule of love. In the mundane world of pumping gas, collecting garbage, commuting to the office, farming the land, cleaning the house, and changing diapers, our wooden ways of mechanical routines are transformed into newness and meaningfulness by the Spirit at work within us.

In the Bible, the wind is God's breath; it's the Lord's life-giving Spirit. In Genesis, it's the power of God that blows across the formless void and creates the universe. In Ezekiel's Valley of the dry bones, it's the entry that restores life. In the New Testament, it's the breath of God that raises Lazarus from the grave and grants him renewed life. And, it's the same mighty wind that comes to the apostles on the day of Pentecost to energize and empower them -- to lift them out of their doldrums and to send them out as courageous witnesses.

In our church and in this world, too, new life is breathed into our mortal bodies as we give ourselves to God's indwelling Spirit. And so, fittingly, we pray.

     Hymn 488:
( Lutheran Book of Worship)
Breathe on me, breath of God;
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love all that you love
And do what you would do. Amen

Contributed by Pastor Richard
Published Monday March 18, 2002
Week 16 of Liturgical Year A