Sermon 14th October 2007

Today, our Vicar, Cameron Barker, preaches, based on the reading from Acts 2 verses 42-45.

What about the church? That’s our topic this morning, as adults continue our series on the basics of the Christian faith. And it is a very good question to ask: what about the church? Do you know that Abraham Lincoln once said – “if all the people who fell asleep in church on a Sunday morning were laid out end to end … they’d be a great deal more comfortable”!

Hard pews, unsingable tunes, enforced silence, and extreme boredom are among the things that make up a common picture of the church. But an uncomfortable and boring church is far from the image that's conjured up by the Bible passage that we’re about to hear. Yes, we are having a second reading today – Acts 2: 43-47 ... The picture here is of interesting and vibrant life, and worship in a caring atmosphere, that attracted many other people to join. So, today we really do need to look at how the Bible describes church.

But first lets look at what the church is not rather than what it is. It’s clear from the Bible that the church is not a building. But if the church is not a building, then what is it? Well the Bible always talks about the church being the people of God themselves. The people who come to worship God week by week are the church. The Greek word which is translated church – ‘ekklesia’ – actually means ‘an assembly’ or ‘a gathering of people’. Gatherings can be of any size, from 2-3 people meeting together, to every Christian in the world.

Now the church world-wide, which is also known as the universal church, is huge. The latest available figures say that one third of the world's population is Christian. To put that into numbers, there are more than 2.1 billion Christians in the world, in almost every country. In some countries, like Pakistan, China and in much of the Muslim world, Christians are persecuted, and the church has gone underground. But it’s often very strong despite this; some may even say because of it. In the Third World too, in places like Africa and Latin America, the church is growing rapidly. It really is only in the affluent West that the church is in decline now – though, interestingly, London is among the places that buck that trend.

Be that as it may, the next picture of the church we’ll look at from the Bible comes from John’s gospel. In chapter 1 John wrote: “Some people did receive Jesus as God’s son, and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God’s children. They didn’t become God’s children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father”.

What this means is that all Christian believers belong to the same family. All of us who call ourselves Christian are brothers and sisters – because we have the same Father. Now if you have siblings and/ or children (as I do) you will know that family life isn’t always – or even often! - perfect. It isn’t uncommon for families to have disagreements, arguments or quarrels. But even when we argue it doesn’t change the facts – that we are still a family. The same is true of the church. No matter how much denominations may sometimes disagree – on occasion even within themselves – they are still part of the same family: God’s family.

That doesn’t mean that we can happily stay arguing with each other, though. Jesus wants his church to be united: he prayed for that before he died. In John chapter 17 Jesus prayed that his people would be as united as he was with his Father. It’s a very visible sign of the truth of the gospel when Christians are united. It’s one reason that I’m so pleased we are part of the Churches Together in Herne Hill group, and I’m sure God likes it. God is pleased when the churches in Herne Hill try to work together for him, as we do.

So: the church is the people of God; the church is one family because we have the same Father; and God wants his family to be united. But, does the Bible really say nothing about buildings as I said earlier? Well, actually it does say something about buildings. It's just not perhaps in the way that we might imagine! Our third picture of the church from the Bible is of a building: a temple.

In his letter to Christians in Ephesus Paul wrote: ‘You are no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You are no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all – irrespective of how we got here – in what he’s building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the corner-stone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day by day, a holy temple built by God, a temple in which God is quite at home”. And if that sounds like a rather modern way of putting it, that's because I'm quoting from the Message version of the Bible.

Yes, this is the only church building that's mentioned in New Testament. It’s a building of people. It’s God making his people into a single building, where he can and does live by his Holy Spirit. It’s a building that all Christians are at home in, because we are each part of it. God is using us in his building, fitting us each in, regardless of how we got here. And Jesus is the cornerstone. That's a topic that we looked at here in some detail recently. We saw how God’s son is the one who holds us all together. This building is where God himself is quite at home because it’s his temple. And isn’t it exciting to be a part of a building project like that?

The last biblical picture of the church that I want to mention is of the church as the Bride of Christ. In that same letter, Paul also wrote – again from the Message: “Husbands go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church – a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness”.

Those words, and others like it in the New Testament, assure us that Christ loves us, his church, in a completely self-sacrificing way. Jesus went all out to make us his own, as we have seen in previous weeks in this series. It cost him everything; quite literally even his own life. But that’s how much he loves us! You see, Jesus' love is marked by giving, not getting. Everything he says and does is designed to bring the best out of us. His love can make us whole; and it will do all those other things as well – if we will let it.

But, of course such a love demands a response from us. The Bible tells us what response God would like us, his church, to make to his love. There was a clue in that last phrase – “dazzling with holiness”. As we were reminded at Harvest, God wants us to be holy. What does that mean? Basically it means for us to be like Jesus. God wants us to want to please him. God wants us to want to do what he asks us to because he knows what’s best for us. God wants us to want to sing the praises of the God who has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. God wants us to want to sing the praises of the God who has included us homeless people as part of his building. That is the response that God longs for from us, his church.

It's a response that we are to work out in very practical ways too. In that reading from Acts we heard just how the early church worked out what it meant to be the people of God. This is only a summary of the life of the church. But we heard how the first Christians met together, to worship and pray and eat. They shared what they had with each other, and met the practical needs that others had. And I have to say that this is a feature of this church. I speak from my own personal experience of it, as well as from what I have seen and heard. People in this church are often very good at meeting others' needs – in all sorts of practical ways. That's something we can rejoice in, thank God for – and look to build on as we keep on growing as his church here.

So, to sum up: the church is not a building. The church is the people of God. More than that, the church is the family of God. The Bible also pictures the church as both God’s living temple, and the Bride of Christ. As such, the Bible says that our purpose is to declare the wonder, glory and praises of God and all he has done for us. We’re to do this in our church services, certainly. But, and more importantly, we are to do it in how we live and speak for God day by day as his people. And, finally, we are to do that in unity with all those who are in God’s universal church. And so lets end by praying for God's grace to be the church that he wants us to be, and has made us to be...

Sermon 7th October 2007

Our Associate Vicar, John Itumu’s sermon is based on the reading from Luke 11: 5-13.

How does the Spirit fill us?

The subject of Holy Spirit (Ghost) is largely misunderstood and continues to raise various reactions and speculations. I am, for instance, aware of reservations held largely by historic institutional denominations that charismatic and spiritualistic movements/churches are really ‘not quite up to the job’; these on the other hand ridicule the historic churches for neglecting the work of the Holy Spirit in their ministry. I think if we all spent some time to understand this hugely vital subject, the devil wouldn’t have such opportunity dividing up Christians. Today I invite you on a journey to explore this exciting subject.
A schoolteacher once asked a class, 'How many here believe in God the Father?' And most children put up their hands. 'How many people believe in God the Son?' Again, most children put up their hands. 'How many people here believe in God the Holy Spirit?' One boy put up his hand and he said, 'Please sir, the boy who believes in the Holy Spirit isn't here today'.

So who is the Holy Spirit? Well, we read from Genesis that:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Sprit of God was hovering over the waters Genesis1:1-2.

We then read how God brings about into existence, through the work of the Spirit, everything created, the whole universe, including you and I.
Genesis 2:7 – the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, (the Hebrew for breath - ruach is the same word for spirit) and the man became a living being…

The Holy Spirit is associated with new beginnings. He is transformational. His presence in our lives does not leave us the way we are. He brings new attitudes - relationships, finances, personal lives – bringing order out of formlessness and emptiness, finding meaning in life;
For a worshipping community/church it may be new ways of worship, a greater openness and expectation of the ‘supernatural’ during the services etc.
Someone once said to their vicar, 'you know vicar, we don't want anything supernatural to happen in our church.' Well, church and the supernatural have got to go together because God is supernatural.

And to whom is the Holy Spirit available?

In our reading today, which is part of a response by Jesus to a request by his disciples ‘teach us to pray’, Jesus doesn’t quite offer a recipe with the technology of how to pray, but rather dwells on an accurate recognition of the one to whom prayer is made. The world view that leads to and informs our prayer is more important than the formula. To those who choose to join God, our heavenly Father in a relationship, such have the liberty, the freedom to ask, to seek and to knock on God’s door; in the same way that they will ask their friends, persistently, in their hour of need.

But since God’s incomparable goodness and generosity surpasses that of human fathers, his gifts are far more superior. If human parents give good gifts, well God gives what he has determined as the best gift – his Holy Spirit. And to whom will this happen? – to everyone who will ask, seek, knock.

A short while later after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter, Jesus’ disciple while speaking on the day of Pentecost quoted a prophecy by Joel made about 300 years earlier: 'And afterwards I will pour out my Spirit on all people, your sons and your daughters will prophesy… This, according to Peter, had found fulfillment on this day of Pentecost when a gathered crowd of various nationalities were filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages. It is to everyone that the Holy Spirit has been promised – and that is good news! It is for Anglicans as well as Pentecostals.

Those who approach God, our loving heavenly Father in prayer will receive the Holy Spirit if they ask. The gift of the Holy Spirit is for everyone. It is not a reward for special Christians. It is for those who believe and ask.

It is also instructive that when Jesus was taken to heaven he commanded his followers Acts 1:4:
‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you heard me speak about… you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
And we read of the courage that suddenly filled his disciples from this day as they witnessed about the life and death and resurrection beginning Jerusalem and the entire Roman Empire. All of them died while witnessing with great boldness and vigour. They witnessed so boldly that the trend has followed to our present generation. And it will continue until Jesus comes back.

This awesome power of the Holy Spirit that permeates creation and raises bold witnesses to God is not very easy to describe. The language of poetry and praise in hymns has over the years proved probably the best way to talk about it. Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, Breathe on me breathe of God – we sing. Until we become Christians, the work of the Holy Spirit is to primarily convict us of our sins and need for Jesus; to guide us in truth – Spirit of truth. John 16

If the Holy Spirit is associated with new beginnings, then some visible signs will be evident when the Holy Spirit is resident in us. Anyone who has become a new person in Christ Jesus and through His Spirit, also becomes a member of the body of Christ. We declare at baptism that ‘by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body’. This is the Christian family – brothers and sisters in Christ. He gives us a family likeness. This body is given life by the Spirit who bestows gifts. Paul in his letter to the Galatians also calls them the fruits of the spirit and mentions a few: Galatians 5:22
…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness self-control. He reminds us that those who live by the Spirit, do not gratify the desires of their sinful nature. Put differently, our sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit.

These gifts of the Holy Spirit, are not extraordinary gifts but really basic Christian forms of behaviour; not to be boasted about, not even for private use, but for the building up of community. They must be received and used against the background of a crucified Christ; the one who made himself nothing so that we may be something.

A helpful and insightful observation about the Holy Spirit was made by Jesus to Nicodemus, the Pharisee who came to see him at night. (John 3)
He told him, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit… Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Jesus uses the human procreation analogy to explain that when a human being comes together with Spirit of God, a new spiritual birth takes place.

Whoever believes has the experience of being reborn through the life giving spirit of God the Father and the Son. Through this spirit, believers are given power to lead a new life. I know I started a brand new life when I believed. And he continues to transform me. Being filled with the Spirit is a continuous experience. (Eph 5:18)

Only by the power of the Holy Spirit can you and I lead a new life as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. By our own strength, it is not possible. Creation, nature, life and the human spirit all exist by the life-giving Spirit of God. They are permanently dependent on him.

But how can this be for me? You may ask. Surely all this is only a metaphor. I want real solid and logical evidence. Well, my prayer is that the metaphor will invite further thought and exploration and the courage to ask. Why, because everyone has an opportunity to test the reality and workings of the Holy Spirit. It is the reason why Jesus dares us to – ask, seek, knock! Six times he repeats this, for he knows our skepticism. Amen.