The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place this year from January 18-25. The theme is “Do You Believe?” and is based on Jesus’ conversation with Martha in John 11: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The theme was chosen in recognition of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325), at which the words “I believe” were chosen to anchor the Creed as an instrument of universal Christian unity. For each day during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the members of the Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships (CUIR) committee will share a series of devotions based on the statements in the Nicene Creed.
You can sign up to receive these devotions each morning in your email or view them on our website.
Day 7: We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
On this second to last day in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we profess the Holy Spirit: the third member of the Triune God. The Nicene Creed describes the Holy Spirit as “the giver of life.” An image comes to mind of a baby taking its first breath–what a miraculous moment! And then I think about the fact that I am breathing as I type these words. “The giver of life,” then must not only mean the One who gave life in a singular moment. “The giver of life” is the same One who has kept me breathing since. This life-giving Holy Spirit, member of the Trinity, has been present from the beginning:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness.’” (Genesis 1:26, emphasis added)
As a hospital chaplain, the Holy Spirit, “giver of life,” plays an important role in my faith and in my work. The Holy Spirit sustains me personally as I meet people on the best or worst days of their lives, offering a listening ear and a calm, non-anxious presence. The people I encounter are from all walks of faith representing various Christian denominations, non-Christian religions, and even no religion at all. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me understand the people I see, to understand their stories, their walks of faith, their struggles, their celebrations. I am reminded of the day of Pentecost described in Acts:
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.” (Acts 2:4-6)
In this miraculous story, the Holy Spirit gives people the ability to hear and understand one another–people who otherwise would not be able to hear and understand one another. The Holy Spirit indeed “has spoken through the prophets.” During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, may the Holy Spirit speak again and help us to understand one another.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, thank you for the gift of life. May I be mindful that the same One who sustains my breath is the same One who sustains the breaths of my siblings in Christ–even those who I do not always want to listen to. Help us all come together in prayer. May you grant us the ability to hear and understand one another amid our differences. By the power of the Holy Spirit, let it be so. Amen.
Katy Medinas-Lockley serves in extension ministry as a Clinical Pastoral Education Specialist at WakeMed Cary and is a member of CUIR.
Photo by Albin Hillert, 4 October 2019, Geneva, Switzerland: Ecumenical Centre, Geneva.