For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body; and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. (1 Cor 12:13)

I am going to start with a story today. I hope you like stories, and I am praying that you won’t have heard this one before. Here we go.

A man was travelling through a strange and remote land when he came across what appeared to be a deserted village. He went into the empty village square and sat down on a wall to ponder what had caused the locals to disappear. As he was musing a young boy came walking across the square carrying a sack over his shoulder. The boy walked slowly towards him. However he did not seem to notice the man and despite his greetings, the boy walked straight passed him down one of the streets leading from the square and was gone. Within seconds a girl, dressed in ragged clothes, appeared from the opposite side of the square and walked determinedly across carrying a pail of water. He called out to her, but it was as if she could not hear him and she walked on by. Perplexed and somewhat annoyed, he wondered what was happening. But his thoughts were disturbed by a third figure walking slowly and steadily towards him. Again he called out to the boy, but as before there was no response so he decided to follow him to see where he was going.

The boy walked with measured steps almost as if he were pacing off the distance. He went down a series of streets and then stopped at a doorway and knocked. In a moment the door opened and without any greeting the boy stepped inside and the door was closed. The man peered in at the window to see what was happening inside. In the gloom he could make out several figures, some sitting, some standing, others moving slowly around the room. All seemed to be young though there were a few older ones. As he watched he could see that they were all busy with one another; some were feeding others, some were washing others’ faces, some combing hair, and others still helping with stretch exercises for damaged arms and legs. All was done in silence, like a serene and peaceful ballet.

The man could stand it no longer. He went to the door and knocked. The door was eventually answered by a young man. He was hunched over and the stranger could not help but notice that he was badly maimed and injured. As he looked up he saw that the young man was handsome and bright-eyed. After a moment the young man asked – ‘what do you want?’ The stranger said, ‘I want to know who you people are and what has happened to your village.’

The young man motioned the stranger to come in. He led him across the room, staggering slightly as he went. As they entered the room the stranger could hear muffled voices. He sat down and the young man began his story. Many years ago there was a terrible war and all the adults were called to go and fight. Many were killed. Some came back weak and sickly, carrying terrible diseases. The sickness spread through the village and it seemed that none would survive. Indeed all the adults did die and many of the children also. Though not all of us children died, all were affected by disease. Most were left blind, many deaf and mute. Some like myself can see and hear but are disabled in other ways and are unable to care for ourselves.

As the sickness passed, it seemed as though we would not be able to care for ourselves, but the children truly loved one another and we gathered together and learned that we could survive and indeed be happy together. The older ones taught the younger ones to walk, and those that could, to talk. We taught those with good limbs to feed and care for those who could not feed themselves. We taught the blind to find their way around village so they could bring water and food. Some serve as hands, others as eyes, some as feet. So, together, we are able to live happily as one. By ourselves none of us could do anything. But together we are able to do everything.

I hope you understand the point of the story. It is expressed succinctly in the last line - By ourselves none of us could do anything. But together we are able to do everything.

I wonder where you all come from. I suspect from all over the place? I don’t just mean today, from which parts of Sydney you have come from? Where do you come from in the world? You must have met so many different people from so many different countries over the last few days. Perhaps some of you are good at languages, so you might have been trying them out speaking to others in their own tongue, helping by interpreting for them. Some of you are perhaps good at singing and dancing and drama. That is obvious from what has been going on. It is so interesting to see how people of different cultures and backgrounds express themselves. Such variety, such richness! And yet, as we said yesterday, we are all drawn here by the same attraction. We believe that it is the Spirit of God who has drawn us together, caused us to move as if we are one people, shown us that we form one body in Christ. Shown us that by ourselves none of us could do anything. But together we are able to do everything.

It is in situations such as these that we can proclaim the scriptures loudly and unambiguously, with genuine zeal and conviction: For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body; and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. (1 Cor 12:13) Let me just quote something from the Catechism for you:

Believers who respond to God’s word and become members of Christ’s Body, become intimately united with him: “In that body the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification.” This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ’s death and Resurrection, and the Eucharist, by which “really sharing in the body of the Lord, . . . we are taken up into communion with him and with one another.”

So we recognise that we are members of Christ Body, his mystical Body, we are the Church, held together in communion with Christ our head and with rest of body by the Spirit living and working within us, first given to us at our baptism. But if we are the body, the Spirit is the soul.

“What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church.” (St Augustine, Sermo 267) “To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the members.” (Pius XII Mystici Corporis) The Holy Spirit makes the Church “the temple of the living God”.

Now for a moment let us turn our minds to examine something of the nature of the Church and see where we fit into it all.

Just as each of our bodies has several parts and each part has a separate function, so all of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other.

The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf.

Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ.

There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called.

While implying the mystery of God’s working through humanity, these images also convey to us the importance of the Church in God’s plan. For the Church is a sacrament of God’s presence in the world. Now a sacrament is a sign or symbol which communicates the presence and the grace of God to the world. As such, the Church – the Body of Christ – is a tangible sign of Christ’s presence in the world to the end of time.

Some people mistakenly think that Church is an optional part of Christianity. Nothing could be further from the truth – it is essential to God’s plan. God has chosen to work through human instruments, exercising divine authority through the Church.

‘Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.’

It is through the Church that we are joined to Christ and are saved. For in baptism we are not only brought into relationship with God: we are also incorporated into the Body of Christ. It is as members of the Body, as members of the People of God, that we are saved.

God has willed to make men holy and save them ,not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather to form them into a people who acknowledge him and serve him in holiness.

It is not possible to live a fully mature life apart from the Church. Individual Christianity is a contradiction in terms. Jesus’ command to “love one another as I have loved you” requires that we be committed to and involved with our brothers and sisters in the Church.

Yes, the Church is a beautiful mystery, yet it is also difficult to understand and accept – “Why would the Almighty, All-perfect God associate with a weak, sinful Church?” Certainly, both the Church as a whole and its individual members have made serious mistakes in the past. From time to time this can lead us to question whether God does in fact work through such an imperfect, “human” Church.

Yet all this is at the very heart of the mystery and the beauty of the Incarnation – “the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus fully associated himself with our weak, imperfect humanity:

His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are….

Just as Jesus chooses to fully identify his divinity with our humanity in his physical body, he also chooses to identify with the Church, the Body of Christ, even with its imperfections and sins. Not only does he choose to identify himself with the Church, he loves the Church:

Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy….A man never hates his own body, but he feeds it and looks after it; and that is the way Christ treats the Church, because it is his body-and we are its living parts.

If Christ chooses to identify himself with an imperfect Church, having sacrificed himself for it out of love, so we too, should be willing to do the same – recognising the Church’s imperfections, but committing ourselves to her in love.

In many ways our commitment to the Church is a tangible sign of our commitment to Christ himself. So we cannot separate our love for Christ from our love for his Body, the Church. And Jesus makes it very clear that our love for him will manifest itself in the way we love our brothers and sisters in his body.

If you love me you will keep my commandments….This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

We live in an age which has become sceptical of detailed proofs, well crafted treatise and fervent tracts. The authenticity of peoples’ lives carries more weight than lengthy arguments. We are called to be living Gospels for all to hear; we are called to be witnesses to the presence and action of Christ in our lives through the power of the Spirit. We need the zeal, the strength, the wisdom and perseverance of the Holy Spirit. And where do we get this?

It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
- it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, “Abba! Father!”;
- it unites us more firmly to Christ;
- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
- it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross: (Council of Florence and Lumen Gentium, 11)

At your Baptism you were given the gift of the Spirit and on your behalf your Godparents and parents accepted that gift. At your confirmation you reclaimed that gift in your own name in your own right. The gift has been offered. It has been chosen and prepared from all eternity with just you in mind. It was presented to you in the best possible way and offered freely. However, you have to accept it. And when you accept a gift you normally have to open your hands, open your arms. To receive and accept this gift of the Spirit of God’s love, you have to open your hearts, otherwise not even God can force the gift on you. A gift has to be freely given and freely accepted to be a gift at all.

Then having received the gift you have to use it. There is no point in telling people – ‘Oh I have been confirmed in the gift of God’s Holy Spirit’. And when people say, ‘What are you doing with it?’, you respond, ‘I have locked it away, I’m saving for a very special moment’. You have to use it. You have to allow the Spirit to work in your heart, in your life

How do you use the gift of the Spirit? You ask him to guide and direct your actions at the beginning of every day, at the beginning of every venture in your life. You call on him to inspire you, encourage you, to speak to your heart, to live in your spirit.

He will then give you the courage, the words, the opportunities to witness what God is doing in your life. You will know what to say and when to say it if you open yourself to the Spirit of Jesus who has been poured into your heart. You will know what gifts to use and how to use them for the building up of the Christ Body, the Church. You will do all things for the glory of God, for the spread of the Kingdom and for the good of all your brothers and sisters.

Lord Jesus, you sacrificed yourself out of love for your Church. Empower us to follow your example in laying down our lives for your Body as visible proof of our love for you and one another.

Lord God, in your mysterious way, you have given us the gifts of your Holy Spirit as a means of bringing wholeness and strength to the Church. May we use these gifts generously and wisely and find true joy in serving others and in allowing others to use their gifts in serving us.

We pray this in the Name of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bishop Terry’s words at World Youth Day, Sydney 2008

If we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit (Gal 5.25)

If you live by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence……If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you…what the Spirit brings is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5.16ff)

Let me add my welcome to you all among the many welcomes you must have already received since arriving at WYD. It is good to be with you and to have this wonderful privileged time together. There are many good things to see, enjoy and experience while we are here at WYD, but let us not forget why we have come here, who has drawn us here in the first place. Many of us, I am sure, are here because we have come to know the person of our Saviour through prayer, through the teaching of the Church and through personal experiences. We have been drawn, led, directed towards Jesus. But we have not done this on our own. Friends, companions, members of our family, priests, sisters, brothers, peers – all have played their part, all have walked with us to this place. However, we must not miss out one vital person – the third person of the Trinity, the Spirit of Jesus. Without him we would never have found Jesus, we would never be able to recognise who he is; we would never have been able to declare: Jesus is Lord. For we know No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’, except by the Holy Spirit.

I think, I hope I speak for us all when I say that we have been led here, drawn here by the Sprit of God. Already, in some way we are living out the reality of the quote from Galatians which launches our thoughts for today – If we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit (Gal 5.25).

I don’t want to begin by quibbling about translations, but the version of the bible I use for my prayer and study renders this as: Since the Spirit is our life; let us be directed by the Spirit. In a way this makes more sense to me; for St Paul is making a very bold statement in the first part of the quote – this is what God has done for us, he has caused the Spirit to be our very life, that which animates, vivifies, sparks us, if you like, is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus. This is something new; this is something fresh and very much the result of the gift of salvation won for us through the Paschal mystery – the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. If we allow God’s will to be fulfilled in our lives – if we live by the Spirit – since the Spirit is our life – then we cannot help but be driven to be guided by the Spirit, be directed by the Spirit. Through the power of the Spirit, God makes possible the life he demands. In other words, let God be God at the very core of your liberty – and it is the power of the Spirit that will bring this about.

I have on several occasions in my own life found myself in the wrong place, somewhere I did not intend to be either through misunderstanding or because I was lost. Certainly on two occasions I am certain it was where God wanted me to be and as a result good things happened. As we begin our time together, let us ask ourselves some fundamental questions. Let us look at the role and function of the Holy Spirit, recognising not only his role in the history of Salvation but also in our personal journey towards Jesus and our own salvation history. The Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity, equal with God the Father and the Son. Traditionally the Spirit has been defined as the love which exists between the Father and the Son, which proceeds forth as the unique person of the Spirit.

The One whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God. Consubstantial with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is inseparable from them, in both the inner life of the Trinity and his gift of love for the world. In adoring the Holy Trinity, life-giving, consubstantial, and indivisible, the Church’s faith also professes the distinction of persons. When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him.

In the very beginning the Spirit brought about creation and order from violent chaos. In the Scriptures the Spirit is symbolised as the “breath of God” which transmits the life of God in the creation of Adam:

Yahweh God fashioned man of dust from the soil. Then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being.

We receive the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Baptism. The Spirit, the life-giving love of God, imparts the life of God himself to us, making us his children. In traditional terminology, baptism frees us from the power of original sin, restoring us to a right relationship with God. The Spirit also imparts the gifts of faith, hope and love; enabling us to grow in our relationship with God and with one another. Through the Sacrament of Confirmation the work of the Holy Spirit enhances our growth towards maturity in our lives as Christians.

The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, in order that through all those works which are those of the Christian they may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the power of Him who has called them out of darkness into His marvellous light.

The gifts of the Spirit - wisdom, understanding, counsel, piety, fortitude, knowledge, fear of the Lord - are known as the sanctifying gifts; they serve to enable us to live holier lives, to mature according to God’s will for our lives. The Spirit also strengthens us to take an active role in sharing responsibility for the work of the Church.

Our Catholic understanding is that every Christian has the Holy Spirit living in their lives as a result of Baptism and the Spirit has a vital role working within individuals and working through them.

The Spirit works within individual Christians by empowering them to live as children of God.

And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.

Our lives are intended to reflect the glory of Christ through our personal holiness. We grow in this as we mature. However, this is not accomplished by our own human efforts alone; it requires our working with the grace of the Holy Spirit. By co-operating with his work within us our lives will bear the fruits of the Spirit which Paul lists as:

What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course.

The Spirit also works through individual Christians, empowering them to be effective members of the Body of Christ, the Church. The Church is called to carry on the work of Jesus in proclaiming the Gospel and bringing salvation to all the world. This mission cannot be accomplished by human effort. It too requires the power of the Spirit working in the Church. Every member of the Church shares in the responsibility for the work of the Church. We each play an important role in working together to evangelise the world and to work for the renewal of the social order.

The Spirit gives each member of the Church special gifts which enables them to fulfil their roles in an effective way.

The Holy Spirit….distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts, he makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church.

The life of the Holy Spirit within us is vitally important to our personal lives and to the effectiveness of the whole Church.

The power of God’s love dwells within us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. And he desires to transform our lives, the Church and the world. But, perhaps we do not experience this transforming power even though we were baptised years ago?

With our knowledge of the love of the Father, we may know about the Spirit’s role and power, without being open to experience it. We may limit our experience because we expect the Spirit to work only within certain parameters:

It is not only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the People, leads them and enriches them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11), he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank.

The Spirit is free to work in any number of ways and we should be eager to experience his power in whatever way he desires to express it.

While the Holy Spirit is able to transform us - and through us, others - he needs our openness and cooperation:

The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’

In other words, we must be flexible in our lives to allow the Spirit to lead us and transform us as he wills. This requires trust - trusting in the Spirit’s ability to do what we cannot do, to work in ways that do not make sense to our limited understanding.

Some of us may struggle with certain obstacles getting in the way of being open to the Spirit. One obstacle is resisting because we do not intellectually understand. We should realise that we do not always understand God’s ways and that we will grow in our understanding as we experience his working in our lives. Through faith we trust fully without understanding.

Or perhaps we are withholding forgiveness from someone who has hurt us. We need to rely on the Lord’s strength and to choose to forgive - just as he has chosen to forgive us.

Some feel as though they are not worthy or holy enough. The fact is no one is holy or worthy enough. God’s grace is a gift, not something we deserve or earn. We should humbly accept it.

The Holy Spirit is the life giving Love of God. He has begotten us as children of God and is capable of transforming our lives into clear reflections of God’s glory. He invites us to open our lives to his ways. It is through the Spirit that Jesus is present to us and the Spirit permits us to meet him and know him.

I think most of us will have seen the famous icon painted by Rublev. One interpretation is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are sitting round a table and the side of the table at the front of the picture is empty. The icon is painted in such a way that we are beckoned, welcomed, attracted into it. We are being drawn to take the empty space at the table. In a way, this is the work of the Spirit of God. He draws, welcomes us and attracts us to participate fully in the very life of the Trinity.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, breath of the living God.
You were breathed into clay to give life to Adam
and breathed into the Apostles to give the new life of Christ.
Thank you for the life you give to me,
the very life of my loving Father.

I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Bishop’s Annual Charity Social will be held this year at the Marton Hotel and Country Club on 17th October 2008. Reception will be at 7.30 p.m. and dancing from 8.00 p.m. to midnight to the Ray Johns Band. Tickets are £4.00 each and the charity chosen this year is Bishop Terry’s Charity Fund. Tickets can be obtained through the Parishes or from John Pennington (01642 591623) or Mike Boyes on 01287 622492 (home) or 01642 482424 (office).