My dear friends,
I am pleased to say I have now returned to work following my recent three operations. The Bishop very kindly telephoned to tell me to confine myself to light duties for the first month. I must say how nice it has been to see everyone again. Thank you for putting up with my croaky, hoarse voice. During my second operation, the anaesthetist’s tube damaged my voice box. A camera down my throat revealed the problem, and I am assured it will go away: I must just be patient.
This made me reflect just how important are our voices. Our voices reflect our personalities, outlooks, concerns, and even our health. Think of the many ways in which we use our voices during the course of a week. I also think that the most beautiful music in the world is that of the human voice singing. Our voices are one of God’s greatest gifts to us; and one for which perhaps we ought to be a little more grateful.
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July sees the end of the Summer term and the beginning of the school holidays. I send my very best wishes all the children who will be leaving Catsfield and Crowhurst Church of England Primary Schools this month and moving to secondary schools in the Autumn. I have enjoyed getting to know you though school assemblies, church services, classroom visits, etc, and wish you every happiness and success in your new school. Please know that I am remembering you all in my prayers. Have a lovely Summer holiday.
With kindest regards,
Father Robert.
PENTECOST
It is alleged that after the end one of the debates in the General Synod of the Church of England, the Church House cleaners found the speech notes which one of the Synod members had left behind. In it, he had written a marginal note: Argument weak here. Wave arms and say this is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Today, Pentecost, is the great feast of the outpouring of God the Holy Spirit upon the apostles; but I must observe that down the years some misguided Christians have not always given the Holy Spirit a very good press, the little story above being a case in point. So, from the very beginning, I invite you to forget all the tales you may have heard about manipulative clergy and nutty religious sects. Instead, I want us to think for a few minutes about God the Holy Spirit Himself, and I want to begin by saying that the Holy Spirit is good, wonderful, and exciting.
The Holy Spirit has always existed – He is part of what we call the Godhead, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. Time, space, and eternity are the Holy Spirit’s creations. There never was anywhere, or indeed anyone, where the Holy Spirit was not to be found.
The Holy Spirit, quite simply, is the Creative Power of God, or, as I prefer to think of Him, God’s love in action. We first encounter the Holy Spirit in the Bible in Genesis, where we read:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
We can see the Spirit of God in various places in the Old Testament, though perhaps not very clearly. He comes into sharper focus in the New Testament, especially at the Annunciation, where we read that Gabriel said to Mary:
The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; wherefore that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God.
We see the Holy Spirit throughout the four Gospels, particularly at Christ’s Baptism, at the Transfiguration, and most powerfully in the Resurrection.
And so we come to the great day of Pentecost, when God gave the apostles a special gift by pouring the Holy Spirit upon them in a new way. The description of what happened in the Acts of the Apostles is poetry and is not meant to be understood literally. St Luke is trying to describe the indescribable. There are not words enough on earth to explain what happened in that upper room.
What we may observe is the consequence of what happened in the upper room: the apostles were transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. They were still ordinary, fallible, sinful, weak, loveable men, just the same as the rest of us. At this time they were still trying to work out the significance of Christ’s Resurrection just over forty days earlier. Suddenly at Pentecost they received the Holy Spirit in a new way and it changed them – gave them oomph – and, empowered by this experience, they set forth to spread the Gospel of Christ. In so doing, these very ordinary men, filled with the love and creative power of the Holy Spirit, quite literally changed the face of the earth and the course of human history.
Now, to be fair, the Holy Spirit is perhaps not the easiest aspect of Christianity to grasp. One of the reasons is that we cannot see the Holy Spirit; we can only see where He has been at work.
I have been reading a lovely novel called Miss Garnet’s Angel by Sally Vickers. Part of the plot involves Tobias from the Old Testament and the angel Raphael. At one point Tobias asks the angel Raphael what he worships? ‘How would courage and truth and mercy and right action strike you’ asked Raphael. ‘But those are not Gods’ protested Tobias. ‘Tobias, for Heaven’s sake’ answered the angel, ‘what do you think a God looks like when he works in men?’ It makes the point beautifully.
Part of the problem confronting us is that the Holy Spirit is rather self-effacing. He is like a bright light. If we stare into the light, we shall come over all giddy and not see clearly. Instead, we are supposed to follow the direction of the light and see what it is illuminating. And here is a most important clue: the Holy Spirit will always direct our attention towards Jesus Christ. The Incarnation is the Spirit’s greatest action, and He seeks to draw us ever close to Him who is our redeemer and friend.
May I draw to a close by mentioning that Pentecost – like Easter – isn’t just something that happened to other people a very long time ago. Instead, Pentecost is very real to us who believe in our own generation. God continues to pour the Holy Spirit on all who believe in His Son Jesus Christ in all ages and in all places.
When we pray, we mostly address our prayers to God the Father. Sometimes we pray directly to Jesus Christ. But we can also pray directly to the Holy Spirit. I suggest that a very good prayer to the Holy Spirit would be: Dear Holy Spirit, I am a Christian. I want to be a better one and to follow Jesus more closely. Dear Holy Spirit, please guide me and help me, as you know best.
Dom Gregory Dix, Anglican Benedictine monk and scholar, used to say that once we accept a vocation, we are signing a blank cheque and leaving God to fill in the details. Well, that includes being Baptised and following Jesus, our primary vocation.
It may be a long time since we started off on our Christian journey. Some stages of the journey are tougher than others. On this Pentecost Sunday, let us in heart and mind write out our blank cheque to God once again. Drawn on the account of our life, let us simply sign it and offer it to God. Here, Holy Spirit, please take this and give it to Jesus. You fill in the details, and please use me and my life as best may be. Amen.