Today
is Pentecost. And I would like to talk about the person of the Holy Spirit.
There is so much that could be said, far more than any sermon can cover. The
Holy Spirit is active in the world, and in the life of every person you meet,
to bring hope out of despair and harmony out of chaos. Indeed, the fruit of the
Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control (Galatians
5:22, 23)—can be evidenced in the lives of those who are Christians and those
who are not. But the Holy Spirit is also active in a distinctive way in the
lives of the baptised—those who are the Church—and I want to focus on one
aspect of this today.
In
our reading from Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he writes about
the gifts that the Holy Spirit distributes among the Church. Paul begins by
making a connection between gifts, service, and activity. These are gifts from
God to equip us for acts of service; and servant activity is our response to
receiving the gifts. Moreover, Paul describes these gifts as manifestations of the Spirit: that is, making the invisible, visible. These
gifts tell us something of the giver—what God is like—and they are the evidence
that God exists and is actively involved in the world. When people say, ‘If God
exists why doesn’t he reveal himself to us?’ this is (part of) God’s answer, ‘I
do.’
Paul
writes, ‘to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.’
‘To each’ means that every member of
the baptised is included—the many, not just the few. ‘For the common good’
indicates that they are given to the Church for the benefit of the wider
community beyond the Church—the common good being ‘the sum of those conditions
of social life which allow social groups and their individual members
relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfilment’ (Gaudium et Spes, #26, 1965).
So
let us consider the gifts Paul lists as examples; and as we do so, let us ask:
do
we have, between us, experience of any of these?
and,
are we in need of any of these gifts at this present time?
the utterance of wisdom:
like all the gifts that follow, this is a supernatural gift; it goes beyond the
acquired wisdom of age and experience. There are times when we are faced with complex
situations, where we desire to do the right thing but where it is not
necessarily apparent what the right thing to do is. Seeking the common good is
not simple. We have recently appointed a new PCC. Though I hope we will conduct
all our business prayerfully, there
will be times when we get stuck and will need to stop and pray and ask the Holy
Spirit to give us wisdom that gives clear direction—even if only a next step.
That word might come through any one of us—not just the clergy—and be weighed
by all of us. And whereas natural wisdom shows us that God is wise and loves to
share wisdom, these moments remind us that God loves to set his people free
when we find ourselves captive.
the utterance of knowledge:
I wonder whether you’ve ever had a sudden and clear sense of the Holy Spirit
telling you something about another person, something that you would have no
other means of knowing? That’s a word of knowledge. We all carry secrets in our
hearts: hopes, dreams, disappointments, fears we have not shared with anybody.
But God knows the secrets of our hearts; and wants us to know that we are known
and that we are loved. Sometimes the Holy Spirit prompts us to take a specific
and very personal message to someone else, to reveal that care to them. It’s
also a sign that God trusts us to care for one another.
faith:
again, we’re talking about faith in a specific context, rather than the general
sense. Jesus spoke of faith that throws mountains into the sea. In the Bible,
mountains signify encounters with God, and the sea signifies chaos. To move a
mountain into the sea is to transfer an experience of God’s presence in the
past into a present experience that threatens to overwhelm us, giving us
somewhere firm to stand. Like God calling dry land out of the waters in the
beginning, the gift of faith is the ability to call out what will be from what is.
If you have ever felt faith rising in the most challenging of circumstances,
you’ll recognise this gift, that sees difficulties as opportunities for God to
provide. Where have you known God’s faithfulness in the past? What do you have
faith for, today?
gifts of healing:
our experience of life includes wounding and falling apart, whether that be a
broken part of our physical body or a hurt inflicted on our spirit by the
actions of another, or ourselves. God loves to heal. All healing comes from
God, including the limited but powerful ability of our bodies to self-heal, and
the vocational work of doctors, nurses, and counsellors. But sometimes the Holy
Spirit brings supernatural healing, as a sign that points to the day when all
things will be healed. It is our present practice to set aside opportunity for
prayer and anointing for healing on the second Sunday of every month—but the
Holy Spirit is not confined to one day a month, or to certain individuals. Can
I encourage you to be open to the possibility that the Holy Spirit might prompt
you to pray for healing (perhaps through a word of knowledge) at any time? Be
bold (if necessary, ask for the gift of faith).
the working of miracles:
God is king of the universe. He has established laws by which creation is
governable, laws that allow the possibility for life to not only exist but
flourish. God is reliable, and good. But God is also free, and there are times
when the Holy Spirit exercises that freedom, through the lives of God’s people,
in ways we describe as miraculous. Some miracles have scientific explanations,
and describe a sense of wonder and gratitude: the miracle of birth, for example.
Other miracles defy our explanation. Just as much as observable laws, miracles
point to a good God. And sometimes, we get to join in. My parents were
missionaries in the Philippines. At one time, my mother was in a coma in the
hospital, and the doctors told my dad (though, indeed, he was not yet a father)
that he needed to prepare himself for being a widower. When my mother came out
of the coma, she said that she knew she was going to recover, because the white
doctor had come into her room, looked at her chart, and told her everything
would be alright. But according to the medical staff, there were no white
doctors working in the hospital. It must have been an angel. Not, directly, a
member of the church: but, I am sure, God answering their prayers. Perhaps you
have your own stories?
prophecy:
refers to hearing and speaking-out words from God, words for a group or an
individual, spoken for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation (see 1 Corinthians 14:3). In a world that is full
of voices tearing people down, saying discouraging things, and inflicting loss,
everyone is in want of being built
up, encouraged, and consoled. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, through us,
the Church. Let’s be known for it, among our neighbours, in our city.
the discernment of spirits:
there are many voices in the world, calling to us. The book of Proverbs speaks of wisdom and folly both
calling out in the marketplace, competing for our attention. There is the voice
of the Good Shepherd, and the voice of the Satan—the
Accuser. Human voices are influenced by both. Sometimes a message that
originates from God seems foolish. Sometimes a message that seems wise
originates from the Accuser. Do you remember, Peter declared that Jesus is the
Messiah; and Jesus said that this was revealed to Peter by God. And then, almost
immediately after, Peter rebuked Jesus; and Jesus responded, ‘Get behind me, Satan.’
Sometimes we need divine discernment to understand what is going on beneath the
surface in our city or nation.
Finally,
in this list, various kinds of tongues
and the interpretation of tongues:
again, let me tell you a story about my mother. Once, in her younger days, she
was at a conference for Christian students, in Norway. She had been having a
conversation with a Norwegian girl, and asked where the girl had learnt to
speak English so well. The young woman didn’t speak any English, and wanted to
know where my mother had learnt Norwegian. My mother didn’t know any Norwegian;
and yet, each heard the other in their own tongue and were able to conduct a
meaningful conversation. God is a god who communicates, who speaks and who
listens. Beyond the God-given gift of natural ability to translate languages—which
we are so blessed with in our multi-cultural church family—the Holy Spirit
enables us to express what we cannot express—in heavenly tongues, and earthly
ones—and to understand what we do not understand. In a divided world, that is
freedom.
The
things I have been talking about are distributed and activated by the Holy
Spirit, not our own ability or training. Paul speaks of these gifts being
exercised in a complex, interdependent system that can be described as a body—as
the body of Christ—and which are to be exercised in love, honouring and
delighting in one another. There is truth and beauty in our formal liturgy; and
God-given gifting in our choir; and may be the Holy Spirit even speaks through
the sermon. There are selfless acts of service in preparing the building for
our worship, in serving refreshments, and washing the linen. These are good and
faithful. But, what of the supernatural
gifts of the Holy Spirit, made manifest in our midst, day by day? What stories
do we have, that we can share? What gifts have you experienced? What gifts would
you like to experience? How might our young men and women grow in confidence in
exercising the gifts; and our old men and women remain active?
Today
is Pentecost. Come, Holy Spirit. Come and be made manifest in your people, for
the common good. Come and move among us, as you see fit.
