Living In The Spirit
In the Nicene Creed (BCP, 359), we say that “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life…”. Who is the Holy Spirit? How does the Spirit work in our lives and in the world? In this unit, we will consider the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in the world, and in the Church.
Begin by reading the questions and answers concerning the Spirit in the Catechism on page 852 of the Prayer Book. The first answer given identifies the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity. In other words, the Holy Spirit is not a messenger from God or an attribute of God, but is God. The Creed expresses this by saying “With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. The doctrine of the Trinity is central to the Christian faith, expressing the oneness of God and the centrality of relationship and love in the life of God. The understanding of God as One in Three Persons is a paradox, meaning a statement that is true, but has two mutually contradictory parts. So don’t feel bad if you can’t really grasp this (in fact if you think you completely understand, you’re going wrong somewhere).
The Holy Spirit is identified as the Lord, the Giver of Life, and as the One who spoke through the prophets. The Holy Spirit has been at work from the beginning and is present throughout the Old Testament. See for example, Numbers 11:24-25 where the Spirit rests on elders chosen by Moses. In the New Testament Jesus teaches his disciples that the Holy Spirit is the One who comes in Jesus’ name to teach all truth (see John 14:25).
It is the Holy Spirit that animates and guides the Church. Turn to the Baptism service beginning on 298. Read the section called “Concerning the Service” on page 298. By water and the Holy Spirit you were initiated into the Church when you were baptized. Note that we don’t mean by this the Episcopal Church. We believe that the Church is one and stands above the denominations into which we have divided. On 299 we affirm this, quoting from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in the New Testament (Ephesians 4:4-6). (The BCP is, to a large extent, made up of quotes from Scripture). Look at the Thanksgiving over the Water on pages 306-307. If you choose to be confirmed, you are recommitting yourself to the life into which you were born in baptism.
O.K., let’s be honest. It’s easy to say that the Holy Spirit guides us and the Church into all truth, but is that our experience? Look at the section of the Catechism on The Church (854-855). Is the Church holy? Think back on your life. In what ways has the Church, however manifested, been a blessing to you? In what ways has the Church been hurtful to you or people you care about?
The Church is made up of human beings and, therefore, often goes astray. We believe that the Holy Spirit guides the Church into all truth, but all that works in God’s time. We are called to do our best to discern where the Spirit would lead us. And if we often fail and often disagree, we can take some comfort in knowing that missteps and disagreements have been part of the life of the Church from the beginning. A look at the book of Acts and the letters of Paul make that clear.
So how can we try to recognize the truths taught by the Holy Spirit? The Catechism (853) says that we recognize them when they are in accord with the Scriptures. Look at the questions and answers about Scripture on 853-854. Notice that the last question leads us in a bit of a circle. “We understand the meaning of the Bible by the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church…”
The Episcopal Church does not have a central body of teaching beyond the Catechism and the Creeds to tell us what to believe and how to interpret Scripture. We do have, however, a common approach to those questions. Richard Hooker was the first great theologian to come out of the Church of England after it split off from Rome, writing in the Elizabethan era. Hooker suggests an approach to discerning truth that Anglicans still follow. Scripture, Hooker says, is our prime authority. In trying to understand Scripture and apply it to our situations, we use two tools: tradition and reason. Tradition is the understanding of the Church through the ages. G.K. Chesterton called it “the democracy of the dead.” We begin with what has been the main body of Christian thought and teaching throughout the ages. Reason, for Hooker, is not just logic, but also applied experience. It comes close to meaning common sense. We bring our lives, our experiences, our current situations to the interpretation of Scripture. We do this in the belief that revelation did not end when the content of the Bible was fixed, but that the Holy Spirit continues to guide us today. So, for Episcopalians, the bringing of new questions and new understandings to the reading of the Bible is not threatening, but necessary.
The Episcopal Church, like some other denominations, is currently in conflict over a number of issues, especially the status of gay and lesbian persons in the Church. Think a little about what you know about what the Bible says about this (there’s not a lot) and about your experience and understanding. How would you begin to approach this issue?
In the next unit, we’ll look what it means to try, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to live a life following Jesus.
Please remember that I’m always available to answer questions and have conversations about any of the questions these units raise.
