Where is the Spirit?

     This Sunday is Pentecost, the day in our church year we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The primary story of the coming of the Holy Spirit is found in Acts 2.1-21, although there is also a much more abbreviated version in the gospel of John.  The Holy Spirit is something that, for a long time, I found hard to understand.  I knew what God the Father did - created, sent Jesus, loved/judged us, etc.  It's all in the Apostles' Creed.  I knew what God the Son did - came to earth as a baby, did some amazing things, and then died on the cross for our sins before he was raised by the Father, as it says in the creed.  But the Holy Spirit...it only gets one line in the creed - I believe in the Holy Spirit.  Trying to describe the Holy Spirit was kind of like trying to describe... well...
    This is such a tragedy because as people of faith, we read in the Bible that the Holy Spirit is who Jesus sent to us as our helper, guide, comforter, teacher.  We profess that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever in the waters of baptism.  In fact, in John 20 Jesus actually commands that we receive the Holy Spirit, so as his disciples we don't have much of a say in whether we receive the Spirit or not.  It is God's gift to us, and we have the Spirit whether we acknowledge it, know it, or like it.
     So back to the original question - what is the Holy Spirit?  Some people describe it as intuition, and I have experienced the Holy Spirit in this way at times, although I know it only in retrospect.  Others describe the Holy Spirit as a constant, quiet companion.  Martin Luther describes the Holy Spirit in this way:

     I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to 

     him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with gifts, made me holy,

     and kept me in the true faith.  Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins - 

     mine and those of all believers.  On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give 

     to me and all believes in Christ eternal life.  This is most certainly true.*

According to Luther we wouldn't even be a church without the Holy Spirit, and from reading in Acts, it seems this is most certainly true.  It also occurs to me that instead of describing what the Holy Spirit, perhaps we ought to be describing who or where the Holy Spirit is. 
     Many have said in the past few months, myself included, that the Holy Spirit is in our faith community of St. John, doing some amazing things, including working in our confirmation youth, bringing people to worship, creating a spark of excitement, helping our Sunday School kids grow and learn in faith, spurring adults to volunteer in new and different ways, giving people courage to share about their faith and how St. John helps them in that faith, etc.  I have heard story after story about the Holy Spirit working and doing amazing things. 
     The exciting part is that the Holy Spirit is just as active in each of our daily lives.  From giving us breath each moment, to helping us remain patient with a child who just isn't behaving properly, to taking the extra minute to listen to a coworker.  That is all the work of the Spirit but we rarely give the Spirit any credit.  The Holy Spirit is such an integral part of our lives we take for granted where it is.  In a lot of ways the Holy Spirit reminds me of the women who actually make the world run.  You know who I'm talking about - it's those women who show up early to make sure the coffee is on, the women who spend hours cutting out crafts for their child's class, the women who are always busily working behind the scenes, rarely getting credit, but always there, always working to make sure the world runs.  But even that doesn't quite get at the Holy Spirit.  Yes, trying to describe the Spirit remains quite the mystery, so for now I will ponder:
Where is the Spirit working?

*From Luther's Small Catechism, A Contemporary Translation.  Augsburg Fortress 1996, p 23.