In a society so preoccupied with individualism, it can be very easy to feel alone, even if we are surrounded by other people. Our faces are glued to our smart phone screens, and our senses are totally cut off from reality. Most of the time we are totally unaware of those around us, so feeling alone has become ‘normal’ for most, but we are never alone.
No, I’m not talking about aliens, although the media has been preoccupied with the idea of UFO’s lately. I’m also not referring to demons, although they too surround us waiting for just the right moment to pounce. I’m talking about God’s constant presence. I’m talking about the Holy Spirit.
As we come to the end of another season of the Church known as the Pentecostarion, the period between Pascha and Pentecost, the last ‘word’ we heard from Jesus at Ascension was to wait for the Holy Spirit, Who would come upon us in power and guide the Church “into all the truth.”
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is everywhere present and filling all things. We sing the hymn “Heavenly King” on Pentecost to commemorate the promises kept by God. This prayer has not been spoken since Holy Week.
Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth,
who are present everywhere filling all things,
Treasury of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us.
Cleanse us of every stain, and save our souls, gracious Lord.
Does it bring you peace to know that you are never without God, to know that He is everywhere present and filling all things? Does it bring you peace to know that in the darkest moments of your life, He is sitting not next to you, but in you because you were united to Him in baptism? If knowing that we are never without God does not bring us peace, then we need to do something about it, and that begins with our hearts. We can’t change God but we can and should change ourselves.
That might be the worst part of our current society’s preoccupation with the self. At every turn we are told by society we don’t need to change, that we should ‘be’ who we are on the inside, etc. In society there is never a consideration that maybe, just maybe, what we feel on the inside is wrong and that God wants us to think differently. After all, He did say, “Repent!” If we are not comforted knowing God is always with us, then our hearts need to change.