Will the real Holy Spirit please stand up?

Sermon for Whitsunday

How many Holy Ghosts are there?

"One!" you cry

loud and clear.

Why is then,

that in the first five chapters

of the Revelation,

St John talks about 

"The Seven Spirits of God"?

Have we got it wrong?

Is there not a Trinity 

but an Ennead

- nine persons in one substance?

[PAUSE]

Of courss,

the Church tells us 

that there is One Holy Ghost.

And how do we know 

that we've got that right?

Our Lord tells us

that He will send us

THE Spirit of Truth.

The same Person

Who declares that 

He is the Truth

declares that He will send

THE Spirit of Truth

- His Spirit.

The trouble with the word "Spirit"

Is that it has so many uses

and nuances in Holy Scripture.

There are more than five hundred

mentions of the word "spirit" 

in Holy Scripture:

some are not good at all;

some seem to be abstract;

some seem to be related with God;

and some refer to the Holy Ghost Himself.

We use the word "spirit"

in different ways too.

We talk of "school spirit",

"the spirit of the law"

"spirit of the game"

as well as the spirits of people.

All of these point to something

present but not visible,

some essence 

but not easy to put into words,

sonething that exists

perceptible 

but on the very edge

of our perception.

The Holy Ghost is not easy to grasp.

Why? 

Because we are physical beings

and the lusts of our flesh

for food, money, sex and power

blind us to the truth of the Spirit.

To know the Spirit,

we need to know the Truth,

and the Truth is Jesus.

We know the Holy Ghost

because Our Lord makes Him known.

In fact, even before His birth

in Bethlehem,

Our Lord makes the Spirit known

as He spake through His prophets.

And one of those prophets is Isaiah!

[PAUSE]

"And there shall come forth 

a rod out of the stem of Jesse, 

and a Branch shall grow 

out of his roots:

And the spirit of the LORD 

shall rest upon him, 

the spirit of wisdom and understanding, 

the spirit of counsel and might, 

the spirit of knowledge 

and of the fear of the LORD;"

Hang on there!

The Spirit of the Lord.

The Spirit of Wisdom.

The Spirit of Understanding.

The Spirit of Counsel.

The Spirit of Might.

The Spirit of Knowledge.

The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.

Seven Spirits.

The Seven Spirits of God

which St John sees 

in his Revelation.

One Holy Ghost

complete in the seven ways

in which He presents Himself.

Not for nothing does St John

tell us to test all these 

different spirits we encounter.

Many spirits do not come from God.

But the Holy Ghost 

wants us to know Him.

And He wants to be known

in union with Father and the Son.

This is why the Holy Ghost

will always announce 

and confirm Our Lord's Incarnation.

The Holy Spirit will always,

ALWAYS

declare our salvation

in the Life, Death and Resurrection

of our God and Lord Jesus Christ

for the simple reason

that it is God,

Father, Son and Holy Ghost

Who wants every one of us saved.

A spirit that does not want our salvation,

will not preach our salvation.

The Holy Ghost comes to us

because of our salvation.

[PAUSE]

Spirits confuse us

because they exist

right on the edges

of our perception,

but the Holy Ghost

will not let us be confused.

There is only one Holy Ghost

because Our Lord says so,

and when we are confused

by the different spirits in the air,

He will always bring us back

by presenting us with Our Lord,

and His Truth.

We are saved in Christ

and the Holy Spirit will never hide it

because He rejoices in telling us.

Anglican Catholicism and the Priesthood of all Believers

 

Is every Christian a priest? Are they formed or made?

Lambs to the slaughter?

Sermon for the Sunday after Ascension

There's a knock at your door.

It's your best friend

who says

"I've got a wonderful gift for you.

It's truly wonderful,

superb,

glorious.

And because of it,

you'll be skinned alive

and set on fire."

Hooray(!) 

What a lovely gift(!)

You really shouldn't have (!)

No, you really shouldn't have.

[PAUSE]

To be fair, 

Our Lord doesn't make

the descent of the Holy Ghost

that attractive.

The Holy Ghost

means rejection,

scorn,

mocking and death.

And all who put the disciples to death

will be thought to be

doing the world a favour.

It's clear that the world

doesn't want Christians.

It doesn't want Our Lord.

It doesn't want some crackpot idea

of salvation from a "Sky Daddy!"

And why not?

Because to receive Christ

is to say

that the world is not good enough

on its own.

To receive Christ

is to say that the standards of the world

fall short of what is good.

To receive Christ 

is to say that there is a better way of life

which is free from the control

of society, government and country.

Christianity is a rebellion

against the status quo.

Is all this the Holy Ghost's fault?

No!

But as a result of receiving the Holy Ghost

all the Apostles suffer for their faith

and nearly all of them die

in terrible circumstances.

If you were told 

you would be skinned alive

if you received the Holy Ghost,

would you receive Him?

[PAUSE]

What a terrible question!

Really, a terrible question.

It forces us

to face the fact

that our faith is limited,

that it is conditional,

that we could fall away

out of sheer fear of the consequences.

We have to realise

that we are fragile

especially in the face of our

deepest, darkest fear.

But here's the thing...

[PAUSE]

The Apostles show us

that it can be done.

And it is the Holy Ghost

Who strengthens them 

through their ordeals.

It is people like them

and like St Ignatius of Antioch

who begs not to be released 

from martyrdom

but would rather 

feel the teeth of the lions

than deviate from Christ.

They remain steadfast 

knowing that

whatever they suffer now

they will receive more than enough

recompense

to make their suffering worthwhile.

But their fate

isn't necessarily our fate.

Our Lord tells us

that we do not each

have the same amount of faith

we just have to live the faith we have

within the circumstances

in which our faith will grow.

But our faith will only grow

when it is challenged by the world.

We only learn to trust God

in those situations when

we need to trust Him

rather than capitulate

to the demands of the world.

This is why cooperating

with the grace of God 

is so vital,

because we cooperate

in the face of tribulation,

and in that tribulation

however big,

however small,

our faith grows,

and our love grows.

It doesn't matter how limited

our faith in God is.

It doesn't matter how limited

our love for God is.

It is just that we choose

of our own free will

to let faith, hope and love

grow in us 

for as long as it takes.

We choose to work out our salvation

with fear and trembling

knowing that the Spirit of God

is working within us

and making us able

to stand up to the bullying

of a world that does hate us

and wants to tear the Holy Spirit from us

in a fit of jealousy and spite.

[PAUSE]

Martyrdom will come to those few

who allow the Lord to prepare them

for that task.

We will have our own troubles,

agonies and tribulations

but we face them

with the faith

that the Holy Ghost gives us 

for the task.

We will not be left alone

in pain,

but we can trust God

to turn our occasions

of suffering for His sake

into joys that words fail to describe

in any meangful sense.

[PAUSE]

You are being offered a gift

so precious,

so beautiful,

so eternally rewarding

that the world is jealous of it.

Will you allow the world

to take it from you?

Is there an Anglican Catholic Philosophy

 

Can there be unity in different Christian philosophies?

All for the asking?

Sermon for Rogation Sunday

Yes, we know.

God is not a genie.

He doesn't grant wishes.

And we know that

tacking on "in Jesus' Name"

to our prayer is not 

going to guarantee 

that it is answered.

We know we have to ask

in conjunction with Our Lord,

knowing Him and loving Him

in obedience to His commands.

So why don't we get world peace?

We pray for that and don't get it!

What about Church unity?

Our Lord Himself prays

that we might be one,

so where is Church unity?

Jesus says,

"Verily, verily I say unto you, 

Whatsoever ye shall 

ask the Father in my name, 

he will give it you."

But even He doesn't seem

to have His prayer answered.

Even as He prays in the Garden

for the cup of crucifixion

to be taken from Him,

His prayer is not answered.

Admittedly, He does say,

"not My will but Thine be done."

But still, it does look

as if there is a big problem

if Our Lord says,

"Verily, verily" 

and then we don't get

what we ask for.

[PAUSE]

Our Lord teaches us to pray.

He gives us the seven petitions:

that the Father's Name be holy in our lives;

that His Kingdom grow in our lives;

that we His will even as it is done in Heaven;

that we should be given our daily bread;

that we be forgiven even as we forgive,

that we be not led into temptation;

and

that we be delivered from Evil.

What do we notice

about these petitions?

They are about the changing of our hearts.

We pray to God 

for our conversion

to His life.

And conversion 

to His life is Salvation.

Our Lord's Name is Salvation.

That's what the Name 

Jesus in Greek

Joshua in Hebrew

means

- God Saves.

We obtain everything we need

for our salvation.

That's what we should be praying for

and we know we shall get it!

[PAUSE]

We can pray for world peace,

but the prince of this world

doesn't want our salvation,

and world peace won't save us.

We can pray for Church unity

but the Church is already united

in the one salvation

through the One Lord Jesus Christ.

We can pray for the end 

of sickness and pain,

and while God may grant

us temporary relief from

the agonies in life,

our eternal salvation

means eternal health 

of body and soul

and death is the gateway to Salvation.

[PAUSE]

Our Lord is not spared agony

for the very reason 

that we cannot be spared agony.

Our pain and suffering

are part of this world

and we have to live in it

and not be of it.

But if we ask God for Salvation,

then He gives us His Son

Who willingly ascends the cross

and then ascends to Heaven

drawing His Church with Him.

[PAUSE]

Does that mean

we should stop praying for the sick?

Should we stop praying for the dying?

Should we stop begging God

for help when life is too much for us?

No! We must keep praying!

For God brings about His salvation

in ways that we are not apparent

to our little minds.

Every time we pray,

we grow into that salvation.

Every time we pray

the people we pray for

are touched with Salvation.

But we must be patient

for salvation is with us now

and will be with us tomorrow

and for Eternity.

Jesus saves

for salvation is done

in His Name!

The infinite Anglican Catholic

 Just how infinite is God?

Tag team Trinity

Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury on the fourth Sunday after Easter.

Hooray for the simple pulley!

You pull one end down

and the other comes up.

Or you let your end pull up

and the other end goes down.

Fantastic for building sites

for hauling bricks up to the top floor,

and letting down the bucket of sludge 

from the roof in a controlled manner

rather than flinging it from the shingles

all over an unlucky foreman.

One end can only come down

if the other end comes up.

Is God like that?

[PAUSE]

For a few weeks now,

we've been sitting with the Disciples

listening to Our Lord speak

on the night He is arrested

and handed over for crucifixion.

We know that He is going to His Father,

and that He does so

in order that the Holy Spirit can come.

Is there a pulley system 

to get into Heaven?

Or is this like a wrestling match

in which the Holy Ghost

can only enter the fight

when He has been tagged

by Our Lord?

Why can't we have both?

Why not Our Lord 

and the Holy Ghost

together?

Why does one only come down

while the other goes up?

[PAUSE]

Our Lord is telling us

something of the Holy Ghost's mission.

The Holy Ghost comes

to correct the world

about sin, righteousness 

and judgment.

That's why the Holy Ghost 

is coming:

to correct and confirm.

To bind us more closely

to Christ.

It is because Christ

puts on our humanity

that we are saved.

Our humanity matters to God,

Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Our integrity as individuals

with the ability

to think for ourselves

and make our own choices

is part of what it means 

to be human.

Let us suppose

that Our Lord stays on Earth.

What happens?

Everyone listens

to the One raised from the dead.

He is revered 

and eventually

He is made king over all the world.

But we know

that's not what Our Lord wants.

Every time they try 

to make Him king

He escapes away.

Miracles are done

in private.

The Resurrection

is only for those

who love Him,

not those who are

unwillingly pressured 

into loving Him.

If Christ remains on Earth,

He will be made King of the Earth

and we lose our freedom,

our integrity as human beings

and our opportunity to know

Our Lord as ourselves

in the community of His Church.

There is no point

in sending the Holy Ghost

if the Son is to continue

to reign on Earth.

[PAUSE]

So the Son is to ascend

and thus free us from

the obligation to be Christian

sincerely or insincerely.

And the Holy Ghost

is to descend.

And He corrects the World on Sin

because the world does not believe

Our Lord's message about

whaf sin is and how we can be saved by Him.

He corrects the world on Righteousness

because Our Lord goes to the Father

and the World won't believe that He is

righteous.

And He corrects the World on Judgement

because the World believes 

it is above judgment.

But this correction

does not come from 

Our Heavenly King.

It comes from the Holy Ghost,

within us and upon us,

showing those who love God sincerely

from their hearts

how to continue to live

lives of love, of righteousness

and of justice.

[PAUSE]

When, one day,

when we stand before Christ the King,

He will look at us to see

if He knows us.

If He sees the Holy Ghost with us

then He will know us.

And then we shall be like Him

for we shall see Him as He is.