Advent, the Holy Spirit, and Fire—for The Saskatchewan Anglican

 

Wind and Fire: Encounters With The Holy Spirit

Jesus breathed on his disciples saying receive the Holy Spirit (John20.22)—Wind—and is the one, Matthew tells us, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with Fire (Mt3.11). To each is given the manifestation of the Holy Spirit for the common good (1Cor12.7), The Father empowering and apportioning as he wills (1Cor12.110—sometimes gently, almost imperceptibly—sometimes dramatically.  At Anglican Renewal Ministries (ARM) Canada, as Eastertide flows on to Pentecost, we thought it would be helpful to collect share some Baptism in The Holy Spirit stories as an encouragement and show the range of the Holy Spirit’s workings. 

The series so far—latest at the top: 

Pastor Kevin Johnson

Rodrick Gilbert

The Rev Mike Flynn

Janice Renee Ng

Archbishop Greg Kerr-Wilson

Janice Renee Ng

John Roddam

Holly Roddam

Daniel Joseph—Part 3

Daniel Joseph—Part 2

Daniel Joseph—Part 1

Alison Stortz

The Rev Geoffrey Dixon

Dianne Trinder

Series Introduction—The Rev Gene Packwood—Chairman, ARM Canada

Participation—Thoughts on a Trinity Sunday with reference to Genesis 1, 2 Cor 13 and Matthew 28

Another something I might have said had I been the preacher this morning…

Jesus is the Grace-giver according to “The Grace” we say to close many of our meetings and which comes from the last verse on 2 Corinthians—this morning’s Epistle: 

2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV): The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you (us) all. 

Notice the Trinitarian formula: Father, Son and Holy Spirit—which is why this is one of the readings on Trinity Sunday. I’m going to leave the Holy Trinity to brainier folk than I. I believe it but I don’t quite understand it—one of those wonderful mysteries which contain more truth than I can quite get my tiny mind around or articulate. Today, I’d just like you to notice, in addition to the aforementioned Jesus, the Grace-giver, that God the Father is the lover and the Holy Spirit is the fellowship provider—or the communion-giver, depending on your Bible translation—with whom, in the love of the Father and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we get to participate according to what St Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 2, viz.…

Philippians 2:1–2 (ESV): So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit…

Participation here is the same Greek word translated as fellowship or communion in the 2 Corinthians reading. This kind of participation with the Spirit is to be desired and carried out so that—jumping ahead a few verses…

Philippians 2:10–12 (ESV): at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Which is a good thing and is what the Father had in mind from the beginning when he got the whole thing going by setting his Spirit to hovering over the face of the waters in Genesis chapter 1, verse 2—part of the Old Testament lesson for today and the second verse in the whole Bible. The Holy Spirit has been the hovering, sweeping wind of love, grace, truth and resurrection, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, ever since. 

Jesus saying “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” in the last verse of Matthew’s gospel—our gospel lesson this morning—is just a continuation and intensification of that participation as the Holy Spirit brings orderly beauty, form and shape out of our present chaos. God’s creation continues to unfold in the new creations (2Cor5.17) we become in Jesus. The Holy Spirit fills our empty voids with the fullness of Jesus. The Holy Spirit illuminates our dark places with the light of Jesus so every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

And whenever we get stuck in the dark and formless voids of grief or addiction or disobedience or prayerlessness or broken relationships or sin—the Holy Spirit is The One who blows in to hover over our hearts, souls, minds and bodies bringing truth, order, light, resurrection life, power, ability and relief. This is the Holy Spirit with whom we have fellowship, communion and with whom we participate as he guides, comforts and moves us along. He will give Holy and Godly form to your formlessness. He will fill your emptiness with all the goodness and love of God. He will fill your dark corners with the light of the world—your Lord, Saviour, Spirit-breather and Master, Jesus.

I’d Forgotten…

…how good the readings set for the week after Pentecost in The Book of Common Prayer (Canada, 1962) are. Rich fare, especially for these Ember Days.From Ezekiel’s 

I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. …And they shall be my people and I will be their God (11.19&20)

and the Valley of Dry Bones to fanning the gift of God into flame (2Tim1.6) and 

By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us,  guard the good deposit entrusted to you. (2 Tim1:14)

…with stops in Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 2, 3, 12 and 13, 1 Kings 19, the Wisdom of Solomon 1, 7, 8 and 9, Ephesians 6, Exodus 35, Numbers 11 and 27, 2 Corinthians 3, 5 and 6, Jeremiah 31,  Isaiah 61 and Galatians 5 along the way. It’s a remarkable list—a veritable Book of Common Prayer syllabus for a Life in the Spirit. If you’re looking for a place to tarry while doing a little post-Pentecost soaking in The Spirit these 24 readings are worth a prayerful look. 

For Ember Day Three

—a couple of challenges from today’s readings: 

2Tim1.14—what is the “good deposit” entrusted to me for such a time as this? 

Mt10.20—is the Spirit of our Father is speaking through me. If so, what is he saying? 

God bless you all. 

Love in Jesus, 

Gene+

Come, Holy Spirit! You Are Welcome Here!

This image was captured while driving though the Siksika community on our way home from Okotoks a few days ago. It has stirred up this Anglican’s charismatic heart. What a wonderful sight it was! I wonder if the Anglicans there had anything to do with it. I hope so. He is welcome where I live and in my church, too. Some praying along these lines would be appropriate, methinks, so I thought I’d share my latest Holy Spirit in the prayer books piece from the latest issue of ARM Canada’s magazine, Taste and See…

Did you know that there is a whole litany dedicated to invoking the presence of the Holy Spirit in The Book of Alternative Services? It’s on page 123. As I look at it again, I wonder why, if I take being charismatic seriously, I wouldn’t be praying this daily—perhaps even hourly! It would be as easy as 1-2-3, wouldn’t it? 

“Come, Holy Spirit” it says. Repeatedly. Ten times! Amen to that. 

In each petition, it describes one of the Holy Spirit’s activities or properties: creator (Gen1.2), counsellor or helper (John14.16, 26, 15.26, 16.7), power from on high (Lk1.35, 24.49, Acts1.8), breath of God (Job33.4, John20.22), wisdom and truth (Eph1.17, John14.17, 26, 15.26, 16.7 & 13). Come, Holy Spirit, with all those attributes, indeed!

Here are the five petitions associated with these:

1. Renew the face of the earth

When I pray this I think of revival and all the great awakenings The LORD has wrought through the ages—of hearts strangely warmed, repentance, lives lived in Scriptural holiness, justice in the marketplace and full churches. Thoroughly prayer-worthy. 

2. Touch our lips that we may proclaim your word

Most of us Anglicans need to be a little touched in this way—considerably more than we are, actually. I know, I know; St Francis said share the gospel always and in every way—if necessary, use words. Well, words, I suspect, are necessary more often than we would like (Ro10.14). Try this prayer and as the Holy Spirit touches your lips write down and memorize a simple, Christian-ese free statement of why Jesus and your church is important to you then pray and watch for opportunities to share it (1Pet3.15) with the people in your life who have not yet tasted and seen how good The LORD is. It doesn’t have to be theological or literary. Just something honest and in your own words, using the word “Jesus” at least once, describing how you have been blessed and the hope you enjoy because of his presence in your life. 

3. Make us agents of peace and ministers of wholeness

Being Spirit-filled certainly helps with this (Gal5.22-23). Agents of peace and ministers of wholeness are agents of reconciliation (2Cor5.18-20). By the way they behave, they encourage and help people to be reconciled with God and with one another. 

4. Give life to the dry bones of this exiled age, and make us a living people, holy and free

The truth is, “this fragile earth, our island home” (Eucharistic Prayer 4, BAS, p201) is a temporary one. We are away from The LORD (2Cor5.6-10), exiled for now and so our bones dry out and we die. But resurrection is coming—a home-coming (John14.1-6, Heb11.14-16) and a new city (Heb11.10). There is Holy “sauce” for these dry bones of ours that enliven us, sanctify us and set us free from sin and death. Only Jesus has the recipe. 

5. Strengthen us in the risk of faith

R-I-S-K is how faith is spelled someone said. R-I-S-K Is the only way to experience any assurance of things hoped for and to be convinced of things I haven’t yet seen with my own eyes. 

Goethe, the 18th century German writer, once wrote: “The dangers of life are many and safety is one of them.” This prayer will help us to avoid playing it safe. Aslan, wrote CS Lewis, is good, but he is not safe. Neither should we be. Ours is to step out in faith and let the Holy Spirited winds of God blow through our hair. 

In his book, Seeking Spirituality: Guidelines for Christian Spirituality for the Twenty-First Century (Hodder & Stoughton: 1998), Fr Ronald Rolheiser wrote about how Paul, after he had been knocked over and heard the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus,

Got up off the ground and walked into his ecclesial future “with his eyes open, seeing nothing” (Acts9.8)—which is a marvelous description of all of us on the day when we made our commitments in marriage, parenthood, priesthood, religious life, or any other deep vocation, we stared ahead into the future with our eyes wide open, seeing nothing, and walked, probably with some enthusiasm, into that future. (pp118-119)

And May The LORD so strengthen me and you that we may forgo mere safety and set out on the R-I-S-K-y road with our eyes front, wide open and looking for adventure. 

O, and one more thing. I’d add the following petition: 

Come, Holy Spirit, gift giver, may we earnestly desire the manifestation of your Spirit in all your spiritual gifts, especially that we may prophesy. 

Come, Holy Spirit, come. 

R-I-S-K. Easy as 1-2-3. Amen and amen!

Gene+

Strangely Warmed Hearts Day

John Wesley

It’s John and Charles Wesley Day in the CofE—Aldersgate Day for the Methodists. It was on this day in 1738 at about 845pm when a thoroughly discouraged and depressed Anglican Priest, John Wesley, reluctantly attended a meeting in Aldersgate, London, and heard someone reading from Luther's Preface to the Epistle to Romans whereupon, as he described it:

while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

That strangely Holy Spirit warmed heart propelled him on to great doings for The LORD and not a little criticism and opposition. For example, one Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, forbade Wesley from preaching in his diocese saying,

Sir, the pretending to extraordinary revelations and gifts of the Holy Ghost is a horrid thing — a very horrid thing.

I say more warmed hearts are what we need, and that right strange! The horrider, the better.

Gene+

PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS UPON SEVERAL OCCASIONS

The latest in The Holy Spirit in the Prayer Books series for Taste and See… magazine. 

There is a rich selection of PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS UPON SEVERAL OCCASIONS in The Book of Common Prayer beginning on page 37. Praying through them one a day is a good way to familiarize yourself with them. You’ll find prayers and phrases which will help and inform your daily prayers and you’ll pray for things you might not have thought to pray as you go. We continue our survey of references to the Holy Spirit in our prayer books in this section of the BCP. 

6. For Missionary Societies

When was the last time you prayed for a Missionary Society, or for a Synod, or Theological Students? Have you ever prayed for any of them in your personal prayers? I’ve prayed for Synods because I’ve been involved in many of them. But I have to confess, I haven’t prayed for Missionary Societies since the last time I worked through the PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS UPON SEVERAL OCCASIONS in The Book of Common Prayer (BCP), p37. Which is one of the good things about using a prayer bookt in ten  to pray. One is led to pray for things one might neglect otherwise. Things like Missionary Societies in prayer number six on page 42: 

Send down the grace of thy Holy Spirit upon thy people, and grant that they may give cheerfully of their substance for the evangelizing of the world.

What is the grace of the Holy Spirit? The grace He sends is in all He provides—the Gifts, the Fruits and always the Truth in Jesus. Although the Holy Spirit is The Comforter, His grace brings more than just comfort. As James Ryle says, grace is God’s empowering presence to be who He made us to be, and to do what He calls us to do. Dallas Willard describes grace as that which empowers us to be able to do what we are unable to do on our own. 

And what will this grace empower us to do in particular? “Give cheerfully of my substance for the evangelizing of the world.” Give cheerfully? Oh. A great prayer for “they” who are not me. But in praying it, I am forced to face up to the fact that “they” includes me. Sigh. So having the Holy Spirit sent down upon me is not just about speaking in tongues and prophesying and falling over and all that fun stuff. It’s also about giving cheerfully of my substance—who I am and what holds me together and makes me me, what I earn and have been given. Things easily thought of as mine. That doesn’t sound very charismatic!

And here’s another disturbing thought. This Holy Spirit prompted cheerful giving is from my substance, not God’s. In other words, the way the Holy Spirit has convicted me, is that my tithe is God’s in the first place. Not mine, His. So the giving in this prayer must come from my substance after the tithe and cheerfully! It is an offering over and above my tithe “for the evangelizing of the world”! As I pray through this prayer and write I realize that, at the moment, none of my regular offerings go specifically to missionary societies and evangelization. Things that make me go, “Hmmm!?!?”

7. For General, Provincial or Diocesan Synods

We have most significant Synod coming up in July next year. General Synod 2019 will include second reading of the resolution to change the Anglican Church of Canada’s doctrine on marriage. Prayer number seven, which also begins on page 42, For General, Provincial or Diocesan Synods is another excellent BCP Holy Ghost prayer for such a gathering. 

Save its members from all error, ignorance, pride, and prejudice; and of thy great mercy vouchsafe so to direct, govern, and sanctify them in their deliberations by thy Holy Spirit, that through thy blessing the Gospel of Christ may be faithfully preached and obeyed, the order and discipline of thy Church maintained, and the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour enlarged and extended.

If ever there was a time when our Church needed to be directed, governed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit as synod members deliberate, it will be in Vancouver in July 2019. 

As you pray this prayer, consider how and where the Holy Spirit always directs God’s people—always to the Truth that is found in Jesus (John 14.17, 15.26, 16.13, 17.17, Eph 4.21) and never away from Jesus, his teaching and example. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct synod members ever and only to Jesus and his teaching on marriage and all other matters before General Synod 2019. 

Pray that the Holy Spirit will also govern us all—the synod members in their deliberation and all of us in our behavior and response to their decisions. Examples of the Holy Spirit’s governance are the commandments Jesus made through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1.2) and Paul being prevented from doing certain things by the Holy Spirit. For example, he was forbidden to speak in Asia and not allowed to go to Bithynia (Acts 16.6-7) and he was “constrained by the Spirit” to go to Jerusalem even when he was anxious as to what might happen to him there (Acts 20.22-23). The Holy Spirit guides and governs by saying go ahead, go here or go there and by saying don’t go. 

Pray also that the Holy Spirit will sanctify—set apart as holy—the synod members for their task. That their motives and decisions will be holy and pure and “sanctified in the truth” of God’s word (John 17.17) which is, of course, the work of “the Spirit of truth” (John14.17, 15.26, 16.13) and that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we do not “ordain” in our “Rites or Ceremonies” any thing that is “contrary to God’s Word written” (Article XX. Of the Authority of the Church, BCP p706). 

A Note on Praying Out of Books

I have heard some say that praying “in The Spirit” can’t be done from books. I used to think it myself. I am now convinced that praying “in The Spirit” can be done with and without books. I also believe there is a fair amount of praying with and without books which is not “in the Spirit.” It is a matter of the heart and of The LORD’s leading. Sometimes one of my spontaneous prayers for someone or something is enriched by a phrase or an idea which comes from a Prayer Book prayer I use regularly. For example, I will often pray that The LORD will “visit their homes and drive from them all the snares of the enemy” and “preserve us in peace” (from COMPLINE, BCP 726) and that The LORD “will give thine angels charge over them, and defend them from all dangers of body and soul” (from a Prayer for Home and Loved Ones, BCP 633). I don’t see how I could improve on those Intercessory sentiments. It’s exactly what I would like The LORD to do from the heart and earnestly. 

Using the Prayer Books systematically in as tools for prayer will have praying for things you wouldn’t necessarily have thought of on your own and will improve your prayer vocabulary. 

Gene+

Subscribe to Tasteand See… magazine here. 

Something to Cling To: the Holy Spirit in the Prayer Books Part 10

The following was published in the Spring 2018 edition of Anglicans for Renewal magazine. To subscribe visit http://armcanada.org/.

This is number ten in our Anglicans for Renewal Holy Spirit in our Prayer Books series. The more I dig into these brilliant tools for prayer discovering and enjoying their Holy Ghost references the more I am convinced that, if you and I would just take them up and wield them faith, our strength in the Lord and in the strength of his might (Eph 6.10) would increase exponentially. We need that kind of strength because the fact is we “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6.12). This wrestling goes on in our relationships, how we entertain ourselves, what we do with our money, how we do church—in our worship, vestries, councils, synods and pastoral care—in every aspect of our parish and personal lives. 

To pray the Daily Offices is to put on the whole armour of God. As I simply “take them up and wield them in faith” the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, does his supernatural thing enabling me to fasten the belt of truth around myself securely and properly. The righteousness which becomes a truly protective spiritual breastplate becomes clear. He provides me with the sensible shoes of the Holy Ghost, the shield of faith, the ultimate and eternal safety helmet, and the lectionary has me reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting the word of God, which is “the sword of the Spirit.” Praying the Daily Office keeps me “praying at all times in the Spirit” (Eph 6.14-18). 

The Canadian Book of Common Prayer was my introduction to Anglican daily prayer back in the 80s. I prayed through it thoroughly. THE ORDER FOR MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER DAILY TO BE SAID THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, PRAYERS AT MID-DAY, THE LITANY, the PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS UPON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, the FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE USED IN FAMILIES. I prayed them all. Systematically. All 46+9 of the PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS. I read through the lectionary. I loved it. As a result, I got to know it pretty well. So can you, and as you do, you will find it a rich Spirit filled source of prayer for all circumstances. 

When The Book of Alternative Services came on the scene, I explored the Offices and prayers in it, too. Back then I was an ordinary, if new, Anglican with a family and a job. I don’t remember it being particularly difficult to find the time to pray. I suspect that, with the Lord’s help, we are all able to find time for what is important to us. 

When I do make the time to pray and make the effort to pay attention during Sunday liturgies charismatic treats pop up when I least expect them. For example, Litany 7 in The Book of Alternative Services in which one of the petitions is this: 

For all who have consecrated their lives to the kingdom of God, and for all struggling to follow the way of Christ, let us ask the gifts of the Spirit.

Lord, hear and have mercy. 

It is all too easy to breeze on past this charismatic treat. Let’s take a moment here to unpack it. If we were baptised as infants, our parents first consecrated our lives to the kingdom of God. We then consecrated them ourselves when we were confirmed. We continue to consecrate and re-consecrate ourselves day by day, Sunday by Sunday, as we struggle (wrestle) to follow the way of Christ as we live our lives and as we pray, read and listen to Scripture and as we enjoy the feeding our souls in the Holy Eucharist. What do we need so we might succeed in the struggle according to this petition? The charismatic gifts of the Spirit—manifestations of the Spirit given to each of us for the common good (1 Cor 12.7). Here they are again: 

🔥Words of wisdom

 🔥Words of knowledge

 🔥Faith

 🔥Gifts of healing

 🔥The working of miracles

 🔥Prophecy

 🔥The ability to distinguish between spirits

 🔥Various kinds of tongues

 🔥The interpretation of tongues

Not many Anglicans, or Christians of other denominations, are experiencing any of those very often, if ever. Our devotional lives and our worship are the poorer for it. So pray. Pray asking for the Lord to release the gifts of the Spirit anew. Pray that these gifts will become an obvious and vibrant part of our worship and devotional landscape. Use Litany 7 (BAS p116), or this particular petition, in your daily prayers. Work through all the Litanies every now and then. Not only will they help you focus your prayers as you pray through the things you are particularly concerned about, but I find they also remind me of things I’d forgotten to pray about. 

I’m fond of one of Sister Monica Joan’s sayings in Call the Midwife as she struggled with her dementia, 

It doesn’t matter how arrayed my mind is, or how spiritually dry I am feeling. If I just take hold of the rope, the Daily Office rites will pick me up and carry me along. As I surrender myself to the words of the liturgy and the Scriptures, they will accomplish in me what the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ purposes. They will succeed in the things for which he sent them (Isa 55.11). I don’t have to be holy, or clever, or erudite or eloquent, all I have to do is take hold of the rope. 

I cling happily still. I hope you can take a hold of the rope, too. 

Gene+

The Holy Spirit in the Prayer Books: Part 5 in the Fall 2016 issue of Anglicans for Renewal

Getting good at something means being prepared to do it over and over again, to the point of boredom and then beyond. Practice makes perfect, the saying goes. Musicians do it. Dancers, basketball players and golfers do it. Olympians do it—endlessly (as I write they are competing in Rio). Practising the faith is no exception.

Praying needs repetition. Holy Scripture requires it. Jesus told the parable of the Persistent Widow to the effect that we ought always to pray and not lose heart (Lk 18.1). Be constant in prayer (Ro 12.12), Paul adds, continuing steadfastly (Col 4.2), without ceasing (1 Thes 5.17) and at all times in the Spirit (Eph 6.18). This is exactly what our prayer books are designed to do for us. Praying the offices keeps our praying constant, continuing, ceaseless, repeatedly and in the Spirit.

Needing It

Consider this versicle (isn’t that a lovely word—like something tasty and on a stick) and response in The Book of Common Prayer, THE ORDER FOR MORNING and EVENING PRAYER DAILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR both, for example:

O God, make clean our hearts within us; And take not thy Holy Spirit from us (p11 & 23).

Two things to note about this prayer. First, I am reminded that God can take and has taken his Spirit away from someone with whom he is displeased; King Saul for example (1 Sam 16.14). If Saul, the Lord's anointed, was capable of acting in ways that brought about such dire consequences, so am I.

Second, I need the Holy Spirit. So do you. The Prayer Books turn our need into a prayer. So I pray, earnestly, and ask God not to take the Holy Spirit from me so that he will keep me on track and warn me when I'm following too much the devices and desires of my own heart (BCP, p4 & 19).

A Prayer for the Queen’ s Majesty

King Saul needed the Holy Spirit, you and I need the Holy Spirit, so does the Queen. "Replenish her with the grace of thy Holy Spirit," we pray, "that she may alway incline to thy will, and walk in thy way: Endue her plenteously with heavenly gifts" (BCP, p12).

What is the grace of the Holy Spirit and why would Queen Elizabeth need it? Grace is God’s empowering presence to be who he made her to be and to do what he calls her to do. Queen Elizabeth has been a royal and faithful witness for God and the Church throughout her long reign. By association, we can pray the same Holy Spirit replenishment for our federal, provincial and local governments, all of whom govern on her behalf.

I like and frequently pray the alternative Prayer for the Queen and the Commonwealth that follows. Although the Holy Spirit is not mentioned, I can add my heartfelt “Amen!” to the prayer for those “set in authority under her; that they may order all things in wisdom, righteousness, and peace, to the honour of thy holy Name, and the good of thy Church and people.” It covers all the bases. When God’s holy Name is honoured, good things happen for the Church and all people, whoever they are and whatever they believe, whether they know it, or not.

And speaking of people…

A Prayer for the Clergy and People

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift: Send down upon our Bishops and Clergy, and all Congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ (BCP, p13).

There it is again. The healthful Spirit of grace which empowers you along with the Bishops and Clergy to be who he made us to be and to do what he calls us to do. That healthful Spirit comes with Gifts and Fruit—Gifts which empower us to be more than we know how to be and do more than we know how to do, and Fruit for the good of all.

A Prayer for all Conditions of Men (and Women)

More especially we pray for the good estate of the Catholic Church; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. (BCP, p14)

If we want our Church to enjoy a “good estate” it needs to be guided and governed by the good and Holy Spirit. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will teach us all things, remind us of all that Jesus said (John 14.26), bear witness about Jesus (John 15.26) and convict us concerning sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16.8). The Holy Spirit will guide and govern us as to what’s what with Jesus.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not only, or even mainly, about spectacular manifestations of the Spirit—miracles, signs and wonders—although they can be fun and fruitful, it is about ordinary Christians (including Anglican ones) like you and me just knuckling down in worship, prayer and service to be who God made us to be and to do what he calls us to do. Day after day after day. Amen.

I write what I write in the spirit of the following:

A General Thanksgiving 

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, To whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen. (BCP, p15)

2 Corinthians 13. 14.

THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen. (BCP, p15)

Gene+

FIVE ALIVE Part I: Not Lacking

This was published in the Summer 2016 issue of Anglicans for Renewal, the Anglican Renewal Ministries Canada magazine—follow the link the ARM Office to subscribe here. 

This is the first of Five Alive: a series of short articles on five of Paul’s key points on the who, how and why of the Gifts of the Spirit in his first letter to the Corinthians. I’m calling them

1. Not Lacking
2. To Each
3. The Importance of Being Earnest
4. Church Building
5. A More Excellent Way

Not lacking

We begin in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians which looks to me like his commentary and operating manual based on the events at Pentecost in Acts 2 and how the Holy Spirit filled the church afterwards. In particular, in the seventh verse of the first chapter, this:

you are not lacking in any gift.

If any gift is not lacking, that means it must be present, plentiful and perfect. The church must be full of them.

The Name

Not lacking in any gift comes from the grace of God that was given us in Jesus (1 Cor 1.4). Paul uses Jesus' name five times before verse seven and five more times after. Christ, his title, is used seventeen times. Paul makes it clear that the Holy Spirit and his Gifts do not exist just for wild eyed charismatic fun. They have another vital abundant life giving purpose which is all about Jesus.

The setting of Paul's Holy Spirit inspired declaration, "you are not lacking in any gift," reminds me of that wonderful hymn to Jesus in verse six of St Patrick's Breastplate (812 in the Blue Hymnal):

Christ be with me, 


Christ within me,


Christ behind me,


Christ before me,


Christ beside me,


Christ to win me,


Christ to comfort 
and restore me.


Christ beneath me,


Christ above me,


Christ in quiet,


Christ in danger,


Christ in hearts of
 all that love me,


Christ in mouth of 
friend and stranger.

We do not lack the Holy Spirit and his Gifts because Jesus sent him to us to bear witness about him (John 15.26), to remind us of all that he said (John 14.26) and that he is all around, enveloping us with the Father's love, always.

Always

Just as Paul always gave thanks to God for the Corinthian disciples (1 Cor 1.4), God's promises always find their Yes in Jesus (2 Cor 1.20) and in Him

always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2Cor 2.14) 

The Gifts we are not lacking and which you and I need are available always.

Lacking Not

I believe this is literally true. Although no individual (other than Jesus) has them all, worshipping Christian communities do, if only in a latent waiting-to-be-released state. All the gifts are available. There are three kinds.

The Motivational Gifts (Romans 12:6-8)

Prophecy

Service

Teaching

Encouraging

Giving

Leadership

The Manifestation Gifts (1 Cor 12:7-10)

Word of wisdom

Word of knowledge

Faith

Healing

Miracles

Prophecy

Discernment

Tongues

Interpretation

The Equipping Gifts (Eph 4:11-13) 

The Apostle

The Prophet

The Evangelist

The Pastor

  The Teacher

How many of those have you seen operating in your parish? Are you aware of any active in your own life? Notice the gifts that occur in more than one list. The only one which appears in all three is prophecy. Paul calls us to earnestly the desire the gifts, especially that we may prophecy (1 Cor 14.1). I don’t hear much about it these days. Sadly, the word of the Lord seems to be as rare now as it was in Samuel’s boyhood (1 Sam 3.1). But it’s out there. Prophecy is practiced decently and in order to strengthen, encourage and comfort at most ARM events. So are various kinds of tongues if you listen carefully. Words of knowledge and wisdom are common. There is good teaching and encouragement.

There is usually some asking, seeking, knocking, identifying and discerning needed to find out how the Father has chosen to distribute them (1 Cor 12.11) among the people we meet, but lacking they are not. There’s nothing we enjoy more than helping ordinary Anglicans discover and unwrap the Father’s promised Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Promise

Just before he ascended into heaven Jesus said to his disciples,

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24.49)

The promise of his Father is the Holy Spirit, the Helper. That promise continues to find it's Yes in Jesus without fail. We wear power suits from on high. There is no lack.

ARM Canada offers a comprehensive survey of the Gifts of the Spirit in it’s Discovering Your Gifts day. If you would like to explore the possibility of having such a day in your parish, deanery or diocese email our office by following the link here.

Gene+

The Holy Spirit in the Prayer Books: Part 4

This was published in the Summer 2016 issue of Anglicans for Renewal, the Anglican Renewal Ministries Canada magazine—follow the link the ARM Office to subscribe here. 

So far we have seen that the Holy Spirit is truly present and recorded in our foundation documents, in daily prayer, Baptism and Confirmation in both The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and The Book of Alternative Services (BAS). The Holy Spirit brings us God’s love and power. He also sanctifies, regenerates, strengthens, fills, sustains, seals and renews us, more and more, and daily.

Anglican Renewal Ministries (ARM) Canada promotes the Anglican Prayer Book tradition of prayer, both private and corporate. Holy Spirit filled prayer books ensure that all the important devotional bases are covered: confession, worship, intercession, petition and Scripture reading. Holy Spirit filled people, even introverted Anglicans, faithfully and systematically praying the words in Holy Spirit filled and inspired prayer books cannot but be a powerful, spiritual force to be reckoned with. They are The Church of Jesus Christ at prayer.

Absolutely

The Holy Spirit’s power and presence are consistently invoked. Even, for example, in the Prayer of Absolution, in the Orders for Morning and Evening Prayer “DAILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR” the priest prays that Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, would “grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do at this present, and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy; so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord” (The Book of Common Prayer, Anglican Book Centre, 1962, pp 5 & 20). The benefits of true repentance and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives are amazing: the things we do please God, our lives become pure and holy and our final destination is “his eternal joy.” What could be better?

Glory Be…

Then we pray the Lord's Prayer, ask the Lord to open our lips so we can praise him, and to save and help us before giving God glory in a brief declarative statement of worship—a worship “capsule” that can be used anywhere, no matter whether you’re alone or with someone else, even when you don’t have a band or organ handy. It’s like a mini hymn or worship song, only without music:

GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. (BCP, p6)

This deceptively short, but profound, hymn is then repeated after the VENITE and BENEDICTUS in MORNING PRAYER and the MAGNIFICAT and NUNC DIMITTIS in EVENING PRAYER. We respond to inspired words of Holy Scripture with properly Trinitarian worship. The Holy Ghost/Spirit is worshipped and glorified along with the Father and the Son.

It is all too easy to say it routinely and without thinking, of course, just as I am likely to do with my prayer ending amens. It’s one of the dangers of liturgical worship. The words become familiar as we wear our habitual path through them day by day or week by week. They become part of what critics call “empty ritual.” The solution is to fill them by applying my heart every time I read, say or sing them. Worship can be hearty even with no music or in silence. The Helper (John 14.16) himself helps with that.

The BAS has these worship capsules, too. I prefer the BCP version with its “world without end.” It just seems to roll off the tongue more smoothly, but either works. God is verbally worshipped and glorified in Three Persons.

Te Deum 

As we continue through THE ORDER FOR MORNING PRAYER DAILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR in the BCP, we come to TE DEUM LAUDAMUS and

The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee, The Father, of an infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true, and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. (BCP, p8)

Not Scripture, but inspired nonetheless. Sound Trinitarian worship in prose from the fourth century reminding us of how Jesus described the Holy Spirit as Comforter (John 14.16, KJV)—rendered as Advocate, Counsellor or Helper in later translations. This is The One who, indeed,

over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
(Gerald Manley Hopkins, God’s Grandeur) 

AB Simpson, Canadian preacher, author and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Benjamin_Simpson) described the Holy Spirit as the “mother heart of God.” “I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus said, “I will come to you” (John 14.18). Every morning TE DEUM LAUDAMAS reminds me that he didn’t and he has.

Believing It

Among others, the Apostle’s Creed (BCP, pp 10 & 22) calls for two key tenets of belief about the Holy Ghost/Spirit: that Jesus was conceived by him and that we believe in him as the Third Person of the Holy and Eternal Trinity—One God. Again, I prefer the BCP version because it comes every day; rain or shine, feeling spiritual or not, without options, for ever and ever. Amen. I believe it does my soul good to repeat the words so I confess my faith over and over again. What I believe gets into my bones and helps my unbelief (Mk 9.24).

Can it be monotonous? Yes, but monotony has benefits. In “Knit Your Way to a More Prayerful Life,” a wonderful Her.menuetics blog post for Christianity Today magazine, Rachel Marie Stone quotes GK Chesterton who explains why:

Children have abounding vitality… they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. 

But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. 

It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. 

Just so, the offices and the liturgy, including The Creed, bear repeating. Lots of it.

Gene+

Taking It Between the Shoulders: The Holy Spirit in the Prayer Books: Part Three

This was published in the Spring 2016 issue of Anglicans for Renewal, the Anglican Renewal Ministries magazine—follow the link the ARM Office to subscribe here. 

In his farewell blessing to the tribe of Benjamin, Moses said,

The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders. (Dt 33.12)

That the High God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ dwells between their shoulders struck me between the eyes when I read it in Morning Prayer the other day. I’d not noticed it before. I hope he dwells between mine, too.

A good way to remind myself of holy possibilities like that is to pray the Anglican daily offices of morning, evening and night prayer (midday, too, if I’m especially keen). It’s also a good way to keep my heart, soul, mind and body (head, heart and shoulders) centred in the crosshairs of God’s amazing grace and empowering Holy Spirit.

Consider THE ORDER FOR MORNING PRAYER DAILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR in The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) (Anglican Book Centre, 1962) for example. The opening sentences for Whitsunday and Embertide are:

The love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us. (Romans 5.5) 

and

Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1.8) (p2)

Wonderful reminders with which to begin a day. The love of God has been “poured into our hearts” (ESV), in other words, right between our shoulders through the working of the given Holy Spirit. What a gift! Love and The Comforter shed abroad, poured and given. And not only that, power was received when the Holy Spirit came upon us.

When did the Holy Spirit come upon us? For most of you who are vintage BCP Anglicans, it was before you knew it. Just before you were baptized the Priest prayed that you would be baptized and sanctified with the Holy Spirit (BCP, p523), that the Holy Spirit would be given to you (BCP, p525) and that you would be regenerate with the Holy Spirit (BCP, p529). And power was received, whether you knew or not. Then, with Confirmation, came the Bishop’s prayers that you would be strengthened by and daily increase in the Holy Spirit more and more (BCP, p560).

Or, for those baptized and confirmed according to the BAS rites, “Fill them with your holy and life-giving Spirit,” the celebrant prayed, and “Teach them to love others in the power of the Spirit” (BAS, p155), “Anoint them” (BAS, p157) and “Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit” (BAS, p160). The bishop then confirmed it all when s/he prayed,

by the sealing of your Holy Spirit you have bound us to your service. Renew in these your servants the covenant you made with them at their baptism. Send them forth in the power of that Spirit to perform the service you set before them. 

The bishop also prayed that we would be strengthened, empowered, sustained and would

daily increase in your Holy Spirit more and more (BAS, p628). 

Empty prayers? I suppose they could be if we let them be. I say, fill them! Why not follow Epaphras’ example and so some struggling in our prayers (Col 4.12) for the Holy Spirit to come upon us all, right between the shoulders, and fill us so that all those prayers prayed over us when we were Baptized and Confirmed would come true to the honour of God’s holy Name, and the good of his Church and people. After all, if we who are so scattered, careless, sinful and easily offended,

know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Lk 11.13)

Gene+

Good Fruit: Healthy Living in the Spirit (Part 5)

The following appears in the Spring 2016 issue of Anglicans for Renewal magazine. 

ARM’s purpose is to help us all experience and enjoy more of the refreshing presence of God, the Holy Spirit, in our lives, our relationships and our church. With God’s presence come the gifts of the Spirit. When we walk by the Spirit and his gifts, we become the branches (John 15.1-8) upon which the fruit of the Spirit grows. As always, Jesus is our vine and model. Jesus perfectly reveals kindness, and all the other Fruits of the Spirit, in action. He is always perfectly loving, joyous, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled (Gal 5.22).

Fruit is important to ARM and to the Church because it is sweet and tasty, spiritually nutritious, refreshing, and it makes Jesus present to the people among whom we live and move and have our being. 

And so we come to our fifth and final consideration of the Galatians 5 Fruit of the Spirit and the final two fruits: gentleness and self control.

Gentleness

Jesus, as usual, is the model. Jesus did all that he did and said all that he said in the power of the Holy Spirit. That meant he always confronted people’s sin and told them the truth with Fruit of the Spirit gentleness (Mt 11.29; 2 Cor 10.2). He still does. 

If I, with God’s help, follow Jesus’ example and use Paul’s curriculum for life in the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14 as my guide, Fruit of the Spirit gentleness is inevitable. 

Paul’s curriculum in a nutshell? Drink of the Spirit constantly (1 Cor 12.13)—open wide (Ps 81.10), pray it in, worship it in, read it in and serve it in, all the while earnestly desiring the greater gifts (1 Cor 12.31), following the excellent way (1 Cor 13), building up, encouraging and comforting (1 Cor 14.3) as we go. 

That is how gentleness is to be pursued (1 Tim 6.11). When you get right down to it, Fruit of the Spirit gentleness means no hitting; not with the fist, or the tongue, or the Bible. It doesn’t mean we can’t speak the truth. Jesus did it all the time. It’s just that, like Jesus, we have speak it with Fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. Even opponents can be corrected with gentleness (2 Tim 2.25) and the hope that is in us is best shared with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3.15).

Self Control

Fruit of the Spirit self control is, simply, to control oneself in the power of the Holy Spirit. “It involves moderation, constraint, and the ability to say “no” to our baser desires and fleshly lusts” (http://www.gotquestions.org/fruit-Holy-Spirit-self-control.html). “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh,” writes Paul in Galatians just before his list of Spirit Fruit, “for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Gal 5.17). Self control is to resist doing some things I might really want to do but which I know are not helpful or are downright sinful.

John 3.16 is a key verse for most Christians. Luke’s gospel has a key 3.16, too, especially for those interested in charismatic renewal. In it, John the Baptist says Jesus would be the one who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. I wonder if Paul had that idea in mind when he wrote to Timothy, “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:6–7). 

Following Jesus’ example and Paul’s curriculum for life in the Spirit fans the gift(s) of Holy Spirit into flame. Notice how self-control goes with power and love in 2 Timothy. One of the things we have to control in ourselves when being open to and operating in the power and love of the Holy Spirit, is fear. Fear can turn healthy Fruit of the Spirit self-control into fleshly self-ish control so the Spirit is quenched. The gift(s) of the Holy Spirit may be fiery and powerful, but never destructive, other than of sin. Exercising Fruit of the Spirit self-control sometimes means acting with courage when God is moving in power. It is worth noting that, often, when God and his messengers show up in the Bible, the first human reaction is fear and the first words from the messenger are, “Do not be afraid.” 

God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, still comes to his people today in the power of the Holy Spirit. Do not be afraid. His gifts are good, powerful and loving. The Fruit of his Spirit are good and sweet. Enjoy them.