Bible Text: 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13, John 20:19-23 | Preacher: Rev. Berlin Guerrero | Series: 2020 | Two very different but influential figures in 20th century Christianity, Karl Barth and Billy Graham,

 

both stated that the 20thcentury should be the century during which “the Holy Spirit is brought to prominence.”

 

The 20th century brought the advent of the Pentecostal movement, with its emphasis on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and on speaking in tongues. Despite the fact that this movement experienced notable growth, the Holy Spirit — the third person of the Trinity — continued to be “neglected” in 20th century Christianity.

 

Do you share this observation/belief?

 

This neglect in church history is demonstrated by the very little space that our historical creeds apportion for the Holy Spirit.

 

The Belgian theologian, José Comblin, suggests that a possible reason for this invisibility is that the Spirit empowers individuals by creating egalitarian conditions often beneficial to marginalized communities (i.e., women, the poor, those living in fear, the illiterate).

 

which is usually an undesirable thing for the powers that be: structures of institutions, including the institutional church itself.

 

According to Comblin, the Holy Spirit can pose a threat to societal and ecclesial powers. It certainly challenges exalted traditions, such as apostolic succession, and even its false, self-serving doctrines within protestant traditions/denominations.

 

The Spirit really shakes things up.  Very radical indeed!

 

“We don’t keep the Spirit of life in the back room because she is shy but because she is dangerous,” said Barbara Brown Taylor, a leading lecturer in Homiletics in the United States.

 

When social structures are used for the inclusion of some and exclusion of others, the Spirit is able to make possible the inclusion of those excluded. The Spirit, for example, might facilitate calling many into ministries who had not received any kind of recognition for the ministry they can do for the people of God.

 

Jesus told the Samaritan Woman in John 4:23: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.”

 

 

Jesus’ Spirit-anointed mission Luke 4: 18-19 –  was a ministry of inclusion of the most excluded people during his time.

 

18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

 

Quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2; 55:6, Jesus points to the work of the  Spirit of anointing both the doer and the deeds of the ministry.

 

Human beings are, in and by themselves, incapable of living up to what God desires. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for all of us, to be who Jesus wants us to be.

 

The church needs to re-emphasize pneumatology, as declared by Barth and Graham. The role of the Holy Spirit as empowerment for ministry must be explored.

 

What do we trust the Spirit to do?

 

John, Luke, and Paul all trust in the Spirit to do some rather amazing things, even astonishing ones. Do we recognize these amazing acts of the Spirit in our lives? Or, do we disregard or dismiss just how incredible the acts of the Spirit truly are with a kind of spiritual indifference?

 

I wonder how often we take the work of the Spirit in our lives for granted, without pause for the kind of acknowledgment the Third Person of the Trinity deserves — an appreciation not merited by the Spirit’s activity alone, but grounded in the basic belief that the Holy Spirit is at work, whether we like it or not.

 

And so, we trust the Holy Spirit to bring peace and healing.  To Missouri and other parts of the United States where rioting is going on over the death of an African-American by police in Minneapolis, to Marawi City in Mindanao, to Syria, and everywhere.

 

We trust the Holy Spirit to stir us to prophesy when we witness injustices, in the tradition of Isaiah, Jeremiah and the Old Testament prophets; in the tradition of John and Jesus, the martyred followers of Christ in the early church.

 

We trust the Holy Spirit to inspire each and every one of our members to live into and embody their Spirit-given gifts as emphasised by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12:3b-13).

 

We trust in and celebrate the many and varied ways the Spirit works in our lives, especially the ways in which she manages to know just what we need individually and communally and when.

 

Prayer: Breath of our life

 

Eternal God, Father, Son and Spirit

our origin, our destiny, depth of our being,

Breath of our life, who ever delights

In the worship and service of your children,

be pleased to pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

 

As your Spirit came upon your prophets

and wise men of old,

grant us your Spirit of truth and understanding

that we may know your ways and walk in them.

 

As your Spirit came upon Christ at the Jordan,

grant us your Spirit of power and consecration

that we may enter into ministry

and the victory of your Son.

 

As your Spirit came upon your church in Jerusalem,

grant us your Spirit of grace and love

that our lives may more fully reflect your glory

and the world might believe,

to the honour of your name.

 

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Amen.