Jayjay had a brand new convertible corvette, bright red. He wanted to put it through its paces so he decided to drive up Pikes Peak. He went zooming around every curve and switchback, faster and faster. He eventually lost control and the car went flying off the road, over the shoulder, into the air, with gravity doing its inevitable work. Jayjay was thrown from the car and just as it was about to go thundering down into the canyon below he managed to grab onto an overhanging branch. Try as he would he couldn’t get any purchase and so felt trapped to hang there on the branch between heaven and earth. He started yelling: “Is anyone out there?” After several minutes he heard a voice say, “I’m here.” “Thank God. Who are you? Can you help me?” “It’s God. I am here and I can help you.” “Oh, thank God. I mean thank goodness. Help me.” “Okay I’ll help you. Let go of the branch and I’ll catch you.” “Excuse me, say again.” “Let go of the branch.” Jayjay looked around and didn’t see anyone or anything except a quarter mile drop into the canyon floor below. He called out, “Is there anyone else out there?”
I wonder if that is something like what Peter and the rest were thinking in a post-Easter funk. They had been with Jesus for years – walking with him, eating with him, seeing his compassion, learning his lessons, receiving his guidance. After the horror of the crucifixion showed their fears and weaknesses, the triumph of Resurrection gave them hope that they would be restored and all would be well. But once again Jesus had left them, returning to his place at the right hand of the Father. They must have been thinking, “is there anyone else out there who will show me the way to a life full of love as Jesus had?” In the midst of those feelings they could recall the words of Jesus: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” Jesus promised that the emptiness and loss that they were feeling did not get the last word.
We ask similar questions. Is there anyone out there to love me, to forgive me, to heal my wounds, to accept me as I am, to make me feel welcome and at home, to give me the support I need, to weep with me in my grief and laugh with me in my joy? Is there anyone out there to show me a life worth living? Is there anyone out there for me, yes, even me? The answer given to Peter and the disciples is the same one given to us: “The Father will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of Truth… He remains with you and will be in you.” We call that Advocate the Holy Spirit. Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will always be with us and in us. Has it worked? Do you have the Holy Spirit? Do you feel the Holy Spirit with you and in you? Maybe the basic question: what is it like to have the Holy Spirit with you and in you?
Sometimes when we ask about having the Holy Spirit people think you mean getting happy feet, lots of singing and dancing and alleluias thrown in, and the occasional burst of speaking in tongues. While these signs are interesting they are not the only, or probably the best, signs of the Holy Spirit. The 20th century Jesuit scientist, Theilhard de Chardin, made this observation: joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God. When you have the Holy Spirit you have joy. “There was great joy in that city,” when Christ was proclaimed according to the Acts of the Apostles. “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy,” says the Psalmist. When you see joy, you know the Spirit is present. Now joy is not happiness. Happiness comes and goes. I am happy when the Orioles win and I am not happy when they lose. Joy doesn’t come and go. Joy lasts. Joy is a condition like being left-handed or having a prominent chin. Happiness comes because of things external to me. The kids giving a nice Mothers’ day, graduation from college, having a good meal, taking a walk in the sunshine, watching an interesting movie can all make me happy. Or not. Happiness is sometimes elusive when we focus on the clouds instead of the sun peeking through. Joy, on the other hand, is something interior, something that flows out of who we are and how we situate ourselves before God and others. Sure, you can lose joy but only if you give it away. No one can snatch it from you. Here’s the thing: we are made for joy. Since we are made in the image and likeness of God joy is our God-given right. The problem comes when external things — family troubles, health issues, financial worries, relationship problems — come crashing down on us joy can become obscured. All of which suggests that we don’t need to do anything to get the Holy Spirit. Jesus has already given us the Spirit to be with us and in us. Rather, we need to subtract from our lives all of those elements, all of that junk, that keep the joy from bubbling up in our lives.
We could all probably make a list of things to subtract from our lives that keep us from joy: our fears, our need for others to think well of us, our judgements about others, our regrets from the past, placing blame or making excuses. Once we subtract things like this from our lives the joy of the Holy Spirit will transform our hearts so we will feel God in us and God with us. How did the old song go, “I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.”
