Sermon at All Saints’ Parish Church, Whiteparish - Morning
Praise – Sunday 3 April 2016
Acts
5:27-32; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20:19-31
May I speak in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Quite a number of years ago, (2007) when my eldest son, Thom,
was still at Primary School, we had a family holiday out in The Bahamas where
we had friends. Because of the
restrictions imposed by schools we had to go during the school holidays and
chose the Autumn half-term. In fact we
did get special permission to take Thom out of school for an extra week but
still we had to pay the usual premium for flying during the school
holidays. Anyone who knows the Caribbean
will also know that September/October is hurricane season and whilst we were
out there the islands were lashed by a tropical storm (which had started as the
devastating Hurricane Noel) and for several days we could not enjoy the water
parks and other outdoor attractions on New Providence Island. Our resort sought to entertain us in other
ways including, one evening, the famous Hollywood actor, Kevin Costner,
arriving to perform an evening’s concert with his music band “Modern West”
which played country and western and American style music.
We managed to get seats right at the front and towards the
end of the concert, Thom was invited to go up on stage with the great actor for
a short performance. At the end Kevin called Thom “buddy” which thrilled him.
On our return to the UK, and Thom’s return to school, each of
the members of his class were asked to say something about their Half-term
Holiday and Thom, of course, very excitedly told the class about being in a
hurricane and meeting and going on stage with Kevin Costner who had called him
“his buddy”. The teacher, quite wrongly
in my view, told Thom not to make up such stories and to tell the truth
(presumably the other children didn’t have anything quite so unusual or exciting to tell). Thom was extremely upset (as were his
parents) and we dug out a photo of Thom with Kevin Costner to take to school to
show the disbelieving teacher. Unfortunately she still did not believe it as
the photo showed a rather sweat-glistening Costner (through his exertions as a
band leader) and she said that this was obviously a wax model of the famous
actor in some museum.
We heard this morning of another Thom, (Thomas the Twin, or
Doubting Thomas) who would not believe his companions when told that Jesus had
risen from the grave saying, like the teacher, that he wanted tangible proof of
Jesus’s resurrection. However, unlike
the teacher in my story, Thomas fell at his feet and acknowledged Jesus to have
risen. Jesus famously said:
“Have you believed
because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come
to believe” (verse
29).
Our Faith is based on that same belief. In this day and age of increasingly secular
“enlightened” views it is often hard to explain our beliefs and Faith to ever
more doubting and suspicious people. As
I found out with my brush with the teacher in my story, very often people just
do not, or do not want to believe something if it seems fantastic or cannot be
explained or there is no actual tangible proof.
It is for this reason that books like Richard Dawkins’ “God Delusion”
become popular – allowing people to feel good that it is alright to disbelieve
and encouraging people not to step out in belief beyond tangible explanations.
In the film “The Way” which we recently studied as part of
the Lent Course, the disillusioned Jack, the Irishman from Northern Ireland,
will not enter a church – describing churches as “Temples of Tears” from where
he comes from. For him people’s religious beliefs have torn his country
asunder. But the reality is that the
fundamental beliefs of Christianity, the beliefs which we will later recite in
the Creed, should be so embedded in all our denominational churches that any
differences of style or ritual should not detract from the Christian principles
of a love of God and a love for each other.
Before Thomas’s arrival in the room on the second occasion,
Jesus tells the disciples that he is sending out the disciples to proclaim the
Gospel in the same way in which God the Father had sent him – that they would
receive the Holy Spirit and that they too would have authority, amongst other
things, to forgive sins. Jesus was telling them, in effect, that with
the Holy Spirit within them, they had direct access to God the Father just as
he had and that the same powers were available to all who believed; something
which the Jewish leaders would find unacceptable as a challenge to their own
power and authority.
Peter, in our reading from Acts confronts this when
challenged by the High Priest who thought that only he had such authority. Indeed, Jesus was considered a blasphemer for
the claims he had made. Peter emphasises
that the Holy Spirit is the witness to the power and authority of Christ for
the repentance of Christ and forgiveness of sins.
Again, in our reading from Revelation, an elder John, writing to the churches in Asia confirms
the authority by which Jesus acted and that only through him comes true repentance
and salvation – emphasising that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were with God the
Father from the beginning and will be with him until the end. Authority through them is the only and proper
way to salvation.
As we continue through the Easter season we approach two
further significant events in our Christian Calendar – the Ascension – when
Jesus left us on earth to return to his Father and Pentecost when the Holy
Spirit descended to become available to one and all.
Pentecost is a most wonderful time – when a wonderful gift
was bestowed upon all Humankind who truly believed. Like those early apostles we ourselves are
recipients of those gifts and fruits which come with the Spirit. We sometimes
cannot discern them ourselves and need others to help us but each and every one
of us who has been blessed with the Spirit has gifts which can and should be
used for God’s greater glory in proclaiming the Gospel; that we act and speak
in ways which can show others the true meaning of Christian love and Faith.
Above all that we believe even when others might test that Faith and even
ridicule it just as that teacher ridiculed my own son.
As a reminder, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit have been
defined as:
Wisdom – Let is judge things in the way God
does
Understanding – The gift that helps us to
understanding all that God has told us
Courage/Fortitude – This gives us the strength to do
what is right no matter how hard
Knowledge – This lets us see the world as it
really is
Right Judgement/Counsel
– This gift helps us to know what to do especially when faced with
really difficult situations
Reverence/Piety – This gift gives us the power to
love God and our neighbour as we should
Wonder and Awe in God’s
Presence/Fear – This gives us the power to
remember the greatness of God and consequently gives us a horror of offending
God who has loved us so much
Paul in 1 Corinthians
12 tells us that these gifts can be
manifested by showing wisdom, showing knowledge, healing, performing miracles,
prophesying, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in different tongues and
interpreting tongues.
This morning and in the days ahead, let’s use the time
between now and Pentecost to pray and contemplate the gifts which the Holy Spirit
has bestowed on each and every one of us.
Let’s ask that even before Pentecost the Holy Spirit will be renewed
within us – just as it was breathed upon those first apostles. Perhaps in the
weeks ahead try and discern what gifts may have been particularly bestowed upon
your neighbour here in church this morning, or in your partner, friend or
child. In my own home group we shall be
doing this over the next few weeks. This
is a good example of that age-old Christian fellowship which was first
described in the Book of Acts – supporting each other so that each day they
grew in number. Let us never be
frightened to proclaim the Gospel – just as our last hymn this morning
encourages us to do.
Amen
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