We all know the intoxicating smell of autumn leaves. Pope Francis uses fragrance to tell us that hope too has a tell-tale ‘breath.’ Where the Spirit is, there is delightful fragrance, and the Holy Spirit, says Francis, is hope’s breath.
How is this so? The Holy Spirit, like some lingering fragrance in the air, keeps before us the steady content of our hope. Without this presence, it would be dark indeed, and the stench of our sin would overwhelm us. But the Spirit promises new life.
We don’t have to look far to see the effects of our sinfulness. In our selfish woundedness, we pollute the very land and water we have been given as gift. Yet, like the oil and wine poured into the wounds of the robbers’ victim, the Holy Spirit comes to save us from ourselves. We groan, but our groaning is that of a woman in labor, for the Spirit draws new life from our groaning. The Spirit makes sure we see beyond our sinfulness. From our destructive greed the Spirit draws new life. Death and destruction will not have the last word. Even as we are still surrounded by the signs of our abuse, there are also signs of hope’s promise. Life conquers death, and drawn by the fragrance of that memory, we carry on. The Spirit, like a fire in the night, keeps us on course.
No comments:
Post a Comment