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Come Holy Spirit
by Bonnie Malone
The
film Chocolat tells the story of a gypsy woman and
her daughter as they relocate to a very traditional and religious
village in the French countryside. A hard, cold wind brings
the pair to town (donned in bright red, hooded capes). They
arrive in the middle of Lent and open a chocolaterie—shocking
for certain, but not as shocking as their refusal to go to
church. Unexpectedly, their presence begins to transform the
relationships and ideas of the village.in a very God-like
way.
Whenever
I see this film I think of the Holy Spirit, personified in
the love of a mother and a daughter (who wear red, come with
the wind and defy expectations). Amazing, isn't it, how relationships
can be so transforming? We all have stories of people who
show up in our lives, in a haphazard way, even irritating
at first, only to stretch us and change us completely.
The
early church spent much time arguing about categories (the
who, and how, and when and so on) with respect to God. One
argument centered upon the question of whether the Holy Spirit
proceeded from the Father only, or from the Father and the
Son. The Nicene Creed demonstrated that, for at least one
group, it was important to understand that the Holy Spirit
was poured out from both the Father and the Son. The idea
was that the love between the Father and the Son was so great
that a third Spirit naturally overflowed from that love. The
Holy Spirit actually emanated from the Divine love between
the Creator and Redeemer of the world.
I
am not much for theological categories, and the concept of
the Trinity will always confuse me, but I think the idea that
the Spirit flows from the Father and Son is an important one.
Our God models for us a love so strong that it creates something
new, unwieldy and beautifully creative—the Holy Spirit.
If we believe that we are created in the image of God, and
that imitating God is a worthwhile endeavor, then we could
expect that something new, holy, and Spiritlike would come
from each of our loving relationships.
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