The Gospel of the Holy Spirit
“Love” from “Aspects of Love” by Andrew Lloyd Webber offers us a succinct and accurate theology of the Spirit.
Love, love changes everything,
hands and faces, earth, and sky
Love, love changes everything
How you live and how you die
Love, can make the summer fly
Or a night seem like a lifetime
Yes love, love changes everything
Now I tremble at your name
Nothing in the world will ever be the same
The Holy Spirit is God’s love within us. More accurately the Holy Spirit is the Love Bond uniting the Creator to the Christ, the Christ to the Creator, and giving us a share in that loving unity. The greatest love affair ever is the love affair of the Source-of-all-being pouring out love into the Christ, the Christ receiving that love fully and completely and pouring love into the Creator, the Source-of-all-that-is, the Creator. The Holy Spirit is this Love Bond and ushers us into the energy of loving and being loved that is God the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the Love Bond uniting us to God and us to each other - if I am one with God and you are one with God, we are one with each other.
What does the Holy Spirit do?
The Holy Spirit is to be the Love that unites and by uniting transform all that it unites. So, the holy Spirit:
1) Unites in Love
2) Transforms through Love
Yes! Love, love changes everything
Days are longer, words mean more
Love, love changes everything
Pain is deeper than before
Love will turn your world around
And that world will last for ever
The Holy Spirit is the energy of Love uniting and transforming in love. There is something faceless and invisible about the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is love, the only face it seeks and therefore has, is the face of the Beloved. Learning to notice the Spirit’s presence is like learning to be a good tracker. Just like a good tracker can “read” spoor and “read” animal scat and tell you where and when an animal went, so too can we learn to read the spoor of the Holy Spirit. The spoor of the Holy Spirit is a love that unites and transforms. In those moments that we witness loving unity taking place we witness people being spirit filled. In those moments when someone picks up the phone to talk to a family member or a friend that they have ignored for years, we witness people being spirit filled. When we are offered a new beginning, a second wind, a chance to begin again, we are being filled with the spirit. The way we love something is the way we love everything, so in every act of loving service to the environment or to another, we are being spirit filled.
What is being filled with the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the Love that unites and by uniting transforms all that She unites. Thus, everywhere where we witness authentic love, we witness people being filled with the Holy Spirit, we witness the Gospel of the Holy Spirit. The Church is filled with the Spirit in that it is the Spirit that “animates” the Sacraments which are real symbols where God comes close to us, and we come close to God. The Holy Spirit fills us to do the work of God in the church and from the church. Thus, every act of service and love in and from this church is only possible because of the Holy Spirit. We thus see the Holy Spirit at work in the cleaning roster, in the flower roster, in the prayer team, in the welcomers, in the hospitality after the service, in every act of listening, in every experience of kindness, in those who prepare meals …. The list is endless! In every one of these gestures of love we read the Gospel of the Holy Spirit.
There is much to recognise this weekend on the feast of Pentecost:
· World environment day
· Reconciliation day
· Mabo
· The platinum jubilee of the queen.
In each of these moments we can witness people being spirit filled: in the forgiveness First Nations people offer us oppressors, in the opportunity for unity and recognition in reconciliation, in the consistency of service the queen has offered throughout her reign and the care invited for the environment. In each of these remembrances we read the Gospel of the holy Spirit: world environment day, reconciliation week, Mabo declaration, the queen’s jubilee
However, there are also real blockages to the Spirit’s work in the world. 5 June is the anniversary for other events too:
· 1945 The US, UK, France, and USSR set Germany’s borders at the end of WWII.
· 1967 The Six Day war began between Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.
· 1968 US Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles.
How can we remove the blockages to the spirit flourishing in our lives and in the world so that love unites and transforms? What must we as individuals do?
The great democracy is that each of us is given the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit to flourish in our lives, however, a training program is needed. This should not surprise us. Just as an athlete watches her diet, trains with a coach, and puts the hours into running practise or at the gym; so too do we as spiritual athletes need a training program. We all know what this training program is: reading Scripture, receiving communion, being part of a small group, serving others with practical love, having a spiritual mentor/coach/companion, prayer….
Jesus breathes on each of us just as he once did his disciples. Today we allow Jesus to breathe on us again, and to fill us afresh with his presence of love – the Holy Spirit. All we must do is ask … and breathe … together.