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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Walk in the Spirit |
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Galatians
5:16 The
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity September
5, 2010 Blessings to you on this Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, in the Year of our Lord, 2010. As you know, Holy Trinity Church follows an annual cycle of prayer and worship that emphasises the major events in the life and ministry of Christ, and their meaning to us as Christians. Advent is about the promise and preparation for the Messiah, Christmas is about His birth. His ministry and our need of Him are shown in Lent, and His suffering, resurrection and return to Heaven are celebrated in Easter and Ascension. After Ascension come two important days that are sometimes almost overlooked; Pentecost and Trinity. Pentecost, often called, Whitsunday, or, Whitsuntide, commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to be with and in the Church of God. Trinity reminds us that we live in the full knowledge and power of the Holy Trinity, the Great Triune God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I wonder if we realise how blessed we are to live in our age and to have the full knowledge of the Trinity. Kings and prophets and faithful people, from Adam and Eve to Simeon and Anna, longed to see the things we see, but did not, not in the full sense in which they are revealed to us in Scripture. The Trinity Season of our cycle of prayer covers almost half the year, and reminds us that, as The Reverend Lewis How wrote, we are "walking in the glory of Whitsuntide." We are walking, as the Apostle Paul, wrote in Galatians 5:16, "in the Spirit." "In the Spirit" is a state of being. It is a condition of life that is somewhat difficult to state in the kind of precise, scientific language to which we are accustomed. That's why the Bible uses imagery and symbolism. It gives mental pictures to help us understand things that are sometimes too deep for words. The Bible speaks of us as living stones in the Temple of Christ. It speaks of us as members of His Body, as limbs and organs, eyes and feet. It speaks of branches growing on a Vine. It speaks of living in Christ through the Spirit, and of Him living in us by the same Holy Spirit. All of this conveys a life that has Christ as its centre and is lived in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God. In Christ we are new beings living new lives. We are "in Christ." For us, "to live is Christ." We are talking here about those who have professed a real and Biblical faith in Christ as their Lord and Redeemer. They are the ones whose sins are forgiven, and who are reconciled to God and restored to His original purpose for life and blessing. To them He has given His Spirit, and it may truly be said of them that they live "in the Spirit," which is the same as saying they live "in Christ," which is the same as saying they live "in the Father." It
is to this condition or state of being that the Bible refers when it
speaks in Galatians 5:16 of walking in the Spirit.
But I have not expressed the real essence of it yet. It is
difficult to put into words. But
Dr. Lewis How, Dean of our Anglican Orthodox Church's seminary, has given
one of the best statements of it I have ever read outside of Scripture. After
reminding us of the way God spoke to Moses through the burning bush, and
led the Hebrew people by the pillar of fire and cloud, he tells us that
we, the Church, are now the bush, the pillar of cloud, and the pillar of
fire. We are the new Israel,
"a people touched by the fire of God like the Prophet Isaiah... not instructed from the burning bush..., but a people who are themselves
the very burning bush, aflame with God."
This is what it means to be "in the Spirit." The Bible tells us to "Walk in the Spirit." So this being in the Spirit is not just a state of being, it is also an activity. It is something we do. It is a very intentional activity. The Christian is not to simply stumble and fumble along the King's Highway. We are not to wander aimlessly, without purpose or destination. We are to walk. The State Fair begins at the end of this month. I love the State Fair. I confess that I liked it much more when it was more agricultural in nature, but I still love it. I especially love the livestock exhibitions. One thing you will notice in the show ring, whether they are showing horses of hogs, is that they don't want the animals to fumble along like the absent minded professor. They want them to move out briskly and with purpose. And that is what God has in mind when He says, "Walk in the Spirit." To walk in the Spirit is a continuing action. It means start walking and keep on walking. Many of you have served in the armed services and you remember very well the word, "march." You know the word doesn't mean, "Please take a few steps, if you feel like it." It means start marching and don't stop until they tell you to. Walking in the Spirit is similar, only instead of hearing "march" as a threatening command, we hear the word "walk" as a loving invitation, as a loving parent might approach a child, extend a hand and say, "walk with me." And the child will take the parent's hand and walk along, sometimes maybe even being carried, but keeping on with the parent until the walk is finished. Maybe it's not just a pleasure walk. Maybe it's a long journey. Maybe there are hardships and dangers along the way, and maybe the child is a little afraid. He doesn't know the way. He doesn't know how to survive on the trail. But he takes the parent's hand, and walks with him. Maybe the journey is the journey of life. Life certainly has its dangers and hardships, but we take God's hand, and walk with Him. We walk, and we keep on walking until we reach the destination of our Heavenly Home. To walk in the Spirit is a progressive action. It implies that we are going somewhere with God. It implies a journey. We will not be in the same place in our journey a year from now, a week from now, or even a day from now. We will be further along. We will be closer to God. Our lives will show more of Godliness and less of worldliness than they do today. The change may be small. It may be slow. We may not recognise it, but it will be real. We are on a journey, a spiritual journey. It is not just life, it is the Christian life Its road is the road of faith. Its steps are the things of godliness and holiness. They are steps of faith, worship, prayer, Scripture, the Church, the sacraments, and all the other things that help us progress in Christ. We are to walk in these things and keep on walking in them until the journey's end. Before I end I want to put a question before you. Why do most "Christians" not appear to "Walk in the Spirit?" I think the answer is simply, they don't intend to. Yes, I know how difficult it is, and I know that often our spirits are willing but our flesh is weak, and I know all about our fallenness. But I also know that many people simply don't really intend to live life in any way that can be said to "Walk in the Spirit." I beg you not to be one of them. Let us pray. "Almighty
and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and
charity; and that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to
love that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen." The quote from Dr. How is from the web page of St. George's Parrish, AOC, "The Christian Year."
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