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15th June 2014
“Come Holy Spirit”
Matthew 28:16-20
The great commission
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Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where
Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him;
but some doubted.
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Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptising them
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I
am with you always, to the very end of the age.’
Sermon
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Today is Trinity Sunday and the reading we have just heard called “the
Great Commission” is Jesus’ final words to the disciples, they also
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contain a small ad., first of all a stern command to the disciples (and
therefor to us!) “go and make disciples of all nations” and then – to sugar
the pill – these lovely reassuring words, an “ad” for the Holy Spirit –
“surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” – my favourite
words in the whole of the Bible.
Jesus says he will be “with us “ and of course we understand that he
certainly isn’t “with us” in the way he was with the disciples, in human
form, a real flesh-and-blood person, their friend. He is with us in a very
different way - in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Now, it’s easy enough have a mental picture of God the Father, we take
from paintings… the archetype of the old man, the creator, with the white
beard… and perhaps that’s a help.
Jesus equally: it’s easy enough to conjure up various images from art,
the infant Jesus, the young preacher, the worker of miracles, the tortured
body on the cross ..and then the risen Christ. We probably have all
those images in our head.
The Holy Spirit presents us with more of a problem… It’s hard to have
a mental picture of him; the disciples spoke of tongues of fire, some
think of warmth, or wind, or a ghost, or water, or even a dove – very
confusing!
We all know that he is the third person of the Trinity. He was there at
the creation of the world and has made many appearances here and
there through both the Old and New Testaments.
Perhaps we feel it’s a bit odd to talk about the Holy Spirit. Perhaps he is
a bit mysterious and slightly scary. Which makes us wonder, do we
really want to know? Isn’t this a bit beyond our normal comfort zone?
The Holy Spirit is without form and He doesn’t speak for himself in the
way that God the Father and God the Son do. He speaks through
people, he acts through people, he cannot do anything without people
inviting him into their lives, and of course we may feel him, but we can’t
see him, except in one another. He makes his presence felt invisibly,
hence the image of the wind or the warmth.
There are times of the year, moments in the church calendar when the
dividing line between heaven and earth seems thin, when we get a real
sense of the wonder (the magic, if you like) of the Glory of God and of
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his closeness to us, that sense that God is all goodness and truth and
beauty. Pentecost is one of those times and continuing on to today,
Trinity Sunday as well, times when the Holy Spirit seems to be more
present.
You have probably heard a few sermons on the subject of the Holy
Spirit. But today I really just want to tell you my story, my own
experience.
I was an agnostic, my parents didn’t believe (but I had some Christian
teaching from school).
Fast forward 25 years… I was very anti-Christian (I actually used to
wince when I drove past this building!) and as a young mother I only
came here under sufferance at Christmas and possibly Easter, and
when it was my turn on the flower rota.
I came “because of the children” and it always seemed friendly enough
but I just didn’t see the point really, I didn’t “get it” ….I didn’t really hear
the sermons, I didn’t notice the words of the hymns I was singing. I
blanked it all out – it just didn’t touch me at all. I even went to hear Billy
Graham speak at Ipswich football ground… nothing!
Then in January 1990, a young girl – (she was part of the school-run
with my sons).. died very suddenly,….she was about 11 years old. I
went to her funeral … Little Cornard church was packed, most of us
were in a marquee outside; and after most people had gone, I went to
kneel at the altar rail and raged at this horrible God, almost shaking my
fist at him, I was so angry with him for taking this child away (that’s how I
saw it). I called him a coward and asked him to make himself known to
me because I wanted to give him a piece of my mind (!).
I want to stress that, apart from this child’s death, it was a very happy
time in my life but none the less I knew there was something missing, a
gap, a sense of aloneness, a lack of meaning.
A few days later (literally just days) I was at a friend’s lunch party near
Newmarket and I met a young woman, Nancy, who was a counsellor like
me – but also a Christian (unlike me). We got talking and she asked me
if I asked God for help in my counselling? and if I thanked Him for all his
help? I was quite shocked and embarrassed by her question and
muttered that “I don’t do God” – or words to that effect.
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But she persisted (very bravely), and asked if I realised how much the
Holy Spirit helps us in our work with people.
Well, to cut a long story short, I ended up spending three days with her
and I just had the chance (for the first time ever) to ask some really
searching questions:About “why bad things happen to good people”, about other faiths,
about Heaven and hell, and about the Trinity.
I sort of half-knew some of it, but I had never had really clear answers
before and it’s funny but if you asked some people they would go ‘on
and on’ and start sort of thumping the Bible at you. She didn’t at all, she
just calmly answered my questions and then changed the subject back
to something more ordinary.
It was a real delight, she was so sensible and down to earth and yet she
had this amazing glowing faith. She radiated love and acceptance and
reassurance. I remember thinking ..,. “I want whatever she has got.” I
wanted to be like her, more sure, more grounded, more aware.
I had a hunger for understanding and purpose in my life. I had a hunger
for forgiveness. And I had serious questions about life after death.
I believed in God the Creator (well you only have to look outside don’t
you!). But I didn’t really believe that Jesus was God, so she explained
how He had to come into the world and die for us. She also explained
about the Holy Spirit, and how I could ask for his help and that it is his
presence with us, that enables a whole new sort of life. And that is when
my ears really pricked up, that’s what I wanted.
The night after she left I prayed properly for the first time in years, and I
felt strangely calm, loved and accepted. And the next morning
everything seemed different somehow – I knew I had changed for ever.
I saw the world – and other people – in a different light and I felt as
thought I was living in a glow of warmth;
seeing the world and people around me, for the first time the way God
sees us.
I had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I bought my own Bible and just devoured the New Testament I was
particularly struck by the stories in Acts, the account of the early church,
what they did, and how they behaved as Christians and how they were
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transformed by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost , the story of
how ordinary people were empowered to do extraordinary things… how
they received spiritual gifts like the gift of speaking in tongues.
Quite a few people in this church pray in their tongue, but this is
something we would never use in a church service – it is more like a
private prayer language or an angelic language (“if I speak in the
tongues of men and of angels” …it’s the angel’s bit). But I myself didn’t
receive the gift of my own tongue for at least another 9 or 10 months.
People who have that gift find it very useful, when we run out of ordinary
words and ideas in our prayer, we can continue to pray in the way the
Holy Spirit asks.
And gifts of the spirit are so many: Prophecy (or speaking out God’s own
thoughts), Healing, Wisdom, Knowledge, Discernment, Interpretation of
Tongues and so on, some, quite mundane sounding: like the gift of
hospitality. When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit you could receive
one or more of those gifts quite quickly.
The fruit of the spirit are slightly different: they grow in us slowly. They
are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness,
Gentleness and Self-control. They transform us gradually into the people
God wants us to be. If you’re anything like me … you feel you haven’t
quite got there yet!
Last year we had a “Holy Spirit refresher day”, and to our amazement
there were 23 or us who came together to learn, to discuss and explore..
what is such an important but neglected subject. There is such a lot to
think about, that we can’t cover it in a sermon. If you would be
interested in coming to a day like that we might run another one
sometime, so do let me know after the service.
If you think you are fine just the way you are, then you might not need
the Holy Spirit … but if you are like most of us, you could do with more
joy, or peace, or patience, or self-control. Frankly I need all the help I
can get, and perhaps you are the same? And the good news is the Holy
Spirit is yours for the asking. He will change the way you look at life. He
will give you new strength and courage and make you the best you can
be. When we pray it, let’s mean it …. “Come, Holy Spirit!”
MC