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?
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