Come, Holy Spirit

I was reading the Gospel of John the other day and I ran across a few verses that really emphasized how important the Holy Spirit is to evangelization:

And when [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. - John 16:8-11 (NRSV)

This is so important.

We need the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to show the world what is sin and reveal that God the Father gave us Jesus as a provision for our sins.

We need the Holy Spirit to show us the Righteous One - Jesus Christ - so that we might believe in him. (Think about St. Peter's confession.)

Finally, we need the Holy Spirit to reveal to everyone that Jesus came to save us and condemn the evil one - that Christianity, at its core, is about God's radical love and forgiveness.

Sometimes, I think these points get lost. Too often, Christians are depicted as these sin-obsessed people, self-righteously condemning the world and everyone in it. Which is definitely not who we are called to be.

That's not to say that we should ignore sin or dismiss it as inconsequential. One look at a crucifix reminds us how awful sin is. But it does mean our focus, the basis of our faith, should be that Jesus came to save us, not condemn us, and that grace is at the center of our faith, not sin.

And so we pray:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.