The Holy Spirit

Day of Pentecost Acts 2:1-21

I suppose the Holy Spirit is the least understood person of the Trinity, and the most misused. Long ago I attended the World Council of Churches 7th Assembly in Canberra, Australia. Christians of almost all denominations and from almost everywhere in the world gathered for 2 weeks to talk about the Holy Spirit. I can remember the proceedings grinding to a halt as the body of people there struggled to come to any agreement about the nature of the Holy Spirit.

The place of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity was also the cause of a major split in the church – this is where the Eastern Church and the Western Church separated. The result was the division between the Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic and Protest churches which still exists today. And it all depends on whether you believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son or whether you believe the Spirit and the Son both proceed from the Father.

If Christians were asked to describe the Holy Spirit, I suppose we would get a lot of different answers. The Bible describes the Spirit as being like a gale – a very powerful blowing wind. Or as a burning fire, or as a dove. The fact that these are all quite different things shows us that the Spirit may be quite impossible to describe fully – we only see aspects, small parts of the whole.

When the Spirit came to the disciples all those years ago, the effect was very noticeable. Initially, here were men, and probably women too, hiding away out of fear of the authorities. They were keeping quiet, avoiding drawing attention to themselves, confused and lost.

Then, suddenly they were out on the street, making so much noise people thought they were drunken louts. They shouted out the good news in different languages, fearless and bold. This single moment transformed everything. The remainder of the lives of these people was spent spreading the Good News over Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. By the end of the 1st Century Christianity arrived in Britain.

This explosion of Christianity across the globe was a huge undertaking – cars, aeroplanes, maps and satnavs weren’t options then. These first pentecost people struggled on foot, in ships, maybe on camels or donkeys to take their message to remote and unknown places. They must have said goodbye to friends and family and disappeared into the unknown, some of them never to return. Many of them died for their faith. Without the Spirit exploding in the lives of those present on that day the Church would not be here, so we owe them a debt of gratitude.

The Bible talks of many gifts of the Spirit, and everyone has one of these gifts. Some are called to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers, some are given great wisdom or knowledge, some are healers. In other words, Christians are all different, and with different gifts and abilities. The Spirit does not make us clones, but sets us free within ourselves to reach the potential of the unique gifts which God placed within us when he made us.

Our world has changed dramatically in recent months. It has been a time of mourning for many people and loneliness for many others. It’s not our job to stand somewhere on the edge and bemoan the fact that things are not what they were. The Spirit calls us out to work for healing and inclusion – the work that Jesus did. And also to help people locate faith amidst all the sadness and loss.

We are also called to show the fruits of the Spirit. For we know ‘by their fruits shall ye know them’. And the fruits of the Spirit are ‘love, joy, peace patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.’

We are not all evangelists but we are all witnesses – and if our lives reflect God’s presence then people will notice. If our lives fail to reflect what we claim to believe, people will notice that too. If we give the Spirit a home in our lives and in the life of our church we are transformed bit by bit until we become like Jesus himself and people will notice – the church will be full of life!

Rev’d Dr. Anne Morris

Vicar St. Oswald’s, Knuzden


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