Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me!
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me!
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me!

Today’s gospel comes from
the Last Supper discourse in John’s gospel.
Jesus is well aware of what is about to happen.
He has gathered his disciples together in the Upper Room
to share a meal,
to break bread and share wine.
He  has washed their feet
and told them to do as he has done.
He warned them that where he was going
they could not come,
and told them that one of them was about to betray him.
And he spoke to them of love
even though he was about to face great hatred.
He called them friends
and proclaimed that there is no greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Then he instructed them to love one another.

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me!
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me!

That’s where today’s gospel begins,
with the instruction to love,
and the promise that the Father would send another Advocate,
the Spirit of truth.
The Spirit of truth who would be with them
and with us
forever.

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!

As I look around the world today,
I believe that we could use another dose of that same Spirit.
With wars and threats of wars,
with divisions in our world,
in our country,
even in our Church,
and sometimes even in our families.
With so many disagreements between people and nations,
we could use an extra dose of the Spirit.
We could use someone who would advocate for real peace,
real justice,
and true reconciliation in our world,
our nation,
our Church,
our families.

Melt us, mold us, fill us, use us.
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!

In our first reading today,
we heard about how Philip had preached in Samaria
and how crowds had come to believe in the Lord Jesus.
They had heard his words
and seen the wonders he had done,
and there was great joy in the city,
but they had yet to receive the Holy Spirit.

By himself Philip could work wonders
and share his faith in ways that had a great impact
in the lives of the people of Samaria,
but he needed the help of Peter and John,
the help of some of his fellow disciples,
to truly make a lasting difference,
a difference only the Holy Spirit could make.

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!

In his first letter to the newly baptized,
Peter writes words of encouragement:
“Always be ready to give and explanation
to anyone who asks you
for a reason for your hope,
but do it with gentleness and reverence.”

To often today,
there are many who are without much hope.
They look at the world around us
and wonder if there is any reason to hope.

Yet we gather here during this Easter season
as a people who know that death did not have the final word,
that the One who was crucified, died and was buried
did not stay in the tomb,
did not stay dead for long,
but rose so that we would come to know the powerful love of God
that can overcome any and every sense of hopelessness.

We know a God who is our hope,
a God whose mercy is always greater than any sin,
greater than any of our sins
and greater than any evil that might come our way.

Melt us, mold us, fill us, use us.
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!

Melt, O Lord, any hardness of heart
that separates us from one another,
any coldness that enables us to build walls
that keep us apart,
rather than bridges that bring us together.

Mold us into a people of great faith, hope and love,
who see one another as fellow sons and daughters of God,
as beloved sisters and brothers of the Lord Jesus.

Fill us with your grace.
Anoint us with your Spirit.
Make us advocates for peace and justice,
for the least of our brothers and sisters.

And use us as your instruments of peace
in a world that too often turns to violent words and deeds.

May the upcoming feast of Pentecost
cause the Spirit to fall afresh on us once again.

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!
Melt us, mold us, fill us, use us.
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us!