Apostles's Creed: I Believe in the Holy Spirit // Rev. Michele Arndt // Jul 27 2025

When I was a teenager, I used to do a lot of babysitting. It often felt like an exercise in administering nurture and care, reminding kids of what their parents said, and generally maintaining orderly conduct until mom and dad returned. In a not entirely parallel way, we hear Jesus in John’s gospel telling his disciples, that he is going away, but will not leave them as orphans, but that he will leave them a helper to remind them of everything he said until he returns. Jesus names this “helper” as the Holy Spirit.This week, we will be focusing on the single line of the Creed that says: “I believe in the Holy Spirit”. It is a short statement that spans a great distance about this often hidden and mysterious third being in the Trinity. Lest we reduce the work of the Spirit to mere earthly ‘babysitting’ until Jesus returns, we will find that since the dawn of time, the Spirit has been in the birthing business, in addition to helping, counseling, comforting, convicting and keeping. This work is a gift both in the life of the individual believer and in the life of the Church. Our work this Sunday will be to peer into the mystery together, in order that we might recognize the Spirit’s work more clearly among us today.