Service sheet, with readings and hymn suggestions
“Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
and lighten with celestial fire…”
“Come down, O Love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardour glowing…”
“Holy Spirit, truth divine,
dawn upon this soul of mine:
voice of God, and inward light,
wake my spirit, clear my sight.”
These are all the beginnings of hymns to the Holy Spirit from our hymnal. They all have something in common: They call on the Holy Spirit to show up. They use words like “come,” “descend,” “breathe,” or “dawn.” Few of the hymns devoted to the Holy Spirit talk about the Spirit. Instead, they just call on the Holy Spirit to be present, to come, and to come in ways like the Holy Spirit came in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles. All the disciples were together in one place, and suddenly the Spirit descended upon them, like a wind, and flames of fire, and the ability to speak in other languages so that others listening could hear and understand the word about Christ. The Spirit came upon them, with power, and suddenly those disciples were different, transformed, ignited to speak the word of Christ with passion and authority.
Over years now I have found that preaching about the Holy Spirit is fairly impossible. It’s far easier to explain Jesus Christ, or even God, than it is to explain what we mean by the Holy Spirit. No matter how many images or analogies one might use, they all fall flat. So my sermon today, for the Day of Pentecost, is a prayer.
“Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
and lighten with celestial fire….”
Holy Spirit, you descended upon the disciples those many years ago. They were waiting for you, but they knew not what to expect. And suddenly you were there. I know I have felt your presence come with a wind sweeping through a room or a church. So wherever someone is listening to these words, O Spirit, I pray that you will sweep through that room, that car, wherever they are — sweep through it with the breath of God, and fill them your power. Ignite their souls and their spirits to be one with you. Breathe through them, and sweep away all the debris, all the dross, all the obstacles to their hearing and knowing and experiencing you, Gracious Spirit.
Two thousand years ago, the Apostle Peter, after he experienced your presence, O Holy Spirit, he stood and quoted the prophet Joel that in the last days you would be poured out on all flesh, and all people, young and old, male and female, slave and free — that all would prophesy the word of God. Joel had said, and Peter repeated, that there would be signs in the heavens above and in the earth beneath. We see signs today, Holy Spirit, we see and experience things we cannot explain, foreboding things. Give to us the wisdom and discernment to know what these events mean and to act accordingly. Enlighten our minds, kindle our hearts, direct our actions, and give us the words to say so that all that we think, feel, do, and say come from God Almighty. Help us to be the people of these days who would speak the truth of God, with no thought of ourselves.
O Holy Spirit, you spoke through God’s servant Paul. He gave us words of wisdom and we thank you that his words and his letters have passed on to us these many years later, so that we might learn from his experience spreading the word of Christ throughout the lands. He spoke of the gifts that you give, O Spirit, manifested differently in different people, but all coming from you.
Activate your gifts in each of us now, O Spirit — not just those who are listening, but all the people of our parishes, and of all Christians everywhere. You give us different gifts. Enliven them now, I pray. Let us not be embarrassed about what you given us, bashful about using these gifts, but instead ignite them and make them grow within us, but always let us use them not for our own gain, but in the service of the Church and of God’s people. Let us get out of the way so that you can act.
And yes, Spirit, we can tend to get embarrassed about the ways of God, because we do not understand them. But give us the ability to say, “Jesus is Lord,” and to follow through on that statement in our lives. Make the flame of your power so strong within us, O Spirit, that we cannot even think of cringing or being embarrassed to say these words, that Jesus is Lord, the Lord of our lives, the Saviour who gave his life for us, that our sins might be forgiven and our souls redeemed and made whole before God. If we harbor any ill will toward anyone, O Spirit, clear our minds of that ill will, heal whatever pain exists, and turn our heart of stone into a heart of flesh, that we might know the joy and the freedom that comes.
And Holy Spirit, protect us, I pray — protect us from the evil one. Guard us from all powers and spirits, of whatever origin, that would seek to do us harm in body, mind, or spirit. Remove them from us and send them to Jesus to deal with them as he will. Instead, surround us wherever we are with the light of God and with your protection, that the light might chase away the darkness, and that we might walk through this life shielded by you from all harm.
O Holy Spirit: dare I say it again? Breathe into us, fill our homes, ignite our hearts, enlighten our minds, direct our actions and our speech. Give us your fruits, that they may be the guiding forces in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, generosity, and self-control. Let us not shrink from these, O Spirit, but you fill us with them.
And finally, O Holy Spirit, comfort us. Jesus said that you would come as the Comforter. Comfort our worried minds, still our anxious hearts, and grant to us that peace that passes all understanding, which the world can neither give nor take away. Grant us comfort in the morning, at noon, in the evening, and when we sleep, so that we know you are always there, and that we are children of the Living God, rescued by Christ from all that would afflict us. Surround us, O Spirit, we pray, and comfort us.
We give you thanks and praise this day, Holy Spirit. Thank you for the Day of Pentecost to remind us of you. But let us not forget your power or your presence each and every day, and give you thanks.
I pray all this through the most holy name of the Living God. Amen.