Easter I

A Homily given by Deacon Ben Jones, assisting Deacon;

St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;

on The First Sunday in EASTERTIDE, A.D. 2008.

“God within us”

+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,

AMEN.

St. John 20:21-23. “Then said Jesus to them again, peace be unto you: as my father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, receive ye the holy ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

Jesus is still about His Father’s work. Jesus had prepared His Disciples for the crucifixion and Resurrection, and now He will prepare them during the 40 days between His Resurrection and Ascension, specifically in regard to “the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” (Acts of the Apostles 1:3.) Jesus would now prepare His Apostles and the believers for His departure and the gift of the Holy Ghost by which He would remain with us.

The Resurrection had certain implications for the Disciples. The Resurrection GAVE the Disciples PEACE, IMPLIED a COMMISSION, and PROVIDED for the establishment of the gift of the Holy Ghost. From Christ, through the Disciples, this Peace, their Commission, and the gift Holy Ghost, will provide for the perpetuation and perfection of the Church as we know it, to be completed in our final destination, the Church Triumphant, the Church in Heaven, God’s Kingdom.

The Holy Ghost is probably one of the least understood persons of the Holy Trinity. Let’s investigate the what, the when, the where, and the how of the Holy Ghost. What or who is the Holy Ghost? When do we receive the Holy Ghost? Where does the Holy Ghost dwell? How does the Holy Ghost affect our lives and the life of the Church and how it is perpetuated?

The Holy Ghost is the third person of the Holy Trinity. As the Father is the manifestation of the Power, and the Son is the Intellect, so is the Holy Ghost the Will of the Deity. The Holy Ghost is the Eternal Love of the Father and the Son mutually breathed forth by them, as it were the “Bond of Union” in the Eternal Trinity. The Holy Ghost, like the Son, is not distinct in essence from the Father, from whom He proceeds, but rather proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son, not as from two origins, but from one origin. Spiration or the act of “breathing forth” as the act of procession, is the will of the Father and the Son. The Gospel according to St. John sums up this person of the Holy Ghost. “But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, Which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.”

(John 15:26) The Holy Ghost is God with us.

We receive the Holy Ghost at our Baptism. Part of the Exhortation that was recited at our Baptism states, “Forasmuch as our Saviour Christ saith, None can enter into the Kingdom of God, except he be regenerate and born anew of Water and of the Holy Ghost.” Jesus explained this in Nicodemus’ Discourse on Spiritual Birth. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:5.) We continue this regeneration that began at our Baptism with Confirmation. We now confirm on our own decision and responsibility the promises that were made for us at our Baptism. The prayer the Bishop prays over the Confirmands recalls this regeneration that was started at our Baptism. The Bishop prays, “Strengthen them, we beseech thee O Lord, with the “Holy Ghost”, “the Comforter”. The prayer now bestows on the Confirmands, the manifold gifts of grace: the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Ghostly Strength, the Spirit of Knowledge, and true Godliness, and fill them, O Lord, with the Spirit of thy Holy Fear, now and for ever. AMEN.” Do you know what the Bishop has just done? He has just conferred the “Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost” upon the Confirmands both now and for ever.

Then the Bishop lays his Apostolic Hands upon the head of every Confirmand severally and in his prayer calls for a daily increase in the “Holy Spirit”. Regeneration continues also by receiving the Holy Spirit through the Eucharist, and through other Sacraments.

We now have an understanding of what or who the Holy Ghost is and when we receive the Holy Ghost. Let’s examine where the Holy Ghost dwells.

God the Holy Ghost dwells within us. As we have seen with the sacraments, the Holy Ghost is given to us as our Comforter. We invoke the Holy Ghost to help us and be with us in our daily life. We pray to God to strengthen our souls by the power of the Holy Ghost. When you have your prayer time, meditate on the 14^th Chapter of the Gospel of St. John. This chapter is a message from Christ of hope and encouragement which describes how the Holy Ghost affects our lives. “I will pray the Father, and HE shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.” (John 14:16.) This Comforter that dwells within us is a gift of God that was the life changing act of Pentecost. Prior to Pentecost, the Spirit of God dwelt in the midst of creation, but not within believers. Now because of Pentecost, we have the Spirit of God dwelling within us for ever. This sets us apart within the world because those of the world do not know this Spirit of Truth, but we know Him.

God the Son saw that it was necessary for the Divine Presence of our Lord and Saviour to continue in the permanent restoration of our fallen nature, that nature which we inherited from Adam. For this, our Lord founded His Church. The Church signifies all faithful believers who have been called out of the world into the Body of Christ. We have been baptized into this “Living Union” with Christ. We remain faithful in the Body of Christ which expresses the closeness of our union with Christ. This closeness is maintained by the power of the Holy Spirit. St. Irenaeus, one of the great theologians who lived during the end of the 2^nd century wrote, “Wherever the Church is, God’s Spirit is too; and wherever God’s Spirit is, there is the Church and every grace; for the Spirit is truth.” Thus a deep bond exists between the Holy Spirit and the Church. The Holy Spirit builds the Church and gives her the truth, and pours out Christ’s love for us into the hearts of all believers and forms that “Living Union” with Christ. As members of the Body of Christ we share in that Union’s blessings and bear together with its sorrows.

When one or several members are suffering, all of the members suffer, so we are responsible through our sanctity or by our sin for helping or hindering the Body of Christ. Although this “Living Union” with Christ, in His Church, is an unbreakable bond, it can be corrupted by sin. The only way it can be corrupted is by sin. Wherever communion with God, which is communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, is corrupted by sin, the root and source of our communion with one another is destroyed. Wherever we do not live in communion among ourselves, a communion with the Holy Trinity is impaired. The Church is wholly of the Spirit but has a structure, being Apostolic Succession, which is responsible for guaranteeing that the Church endures in the Truth given by Christ.

The commission of the future ministry of the Apostles is implied in the Gospel lesson. This commission is called the “Johannine Pentecost. Christ told the Apostles that were present, “as my Father hath sent me, even so I send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosover sins ye retain, they are retained.” We now understand that the ecclesial communion is inspired and sustained by the Holy Ghost. The Apostolic Ministry was passed to the Apostles by Christ, and subsequently to men called to the ministry. The Apostles continued to involve others in the duties entrusted to them so that they might continue their ministry. Through this ministry the people of God live their lives in holiness and increase their Faith. This Apostolic Ministry was passed to Bishop Wiygul being that living representative of the original commission from Jesus Christ to His Apostles.

What this means for us as Christians, is that the active presence of Jesus Christ in His people is brought about by the Holy Ghost that dwells within us and is expressed in the Church through the Apostolic Ministry. This Apostolic Ministry is not merely a material transmission of what was given at the beginning to the Apostles, but the effective presence of the “Crucified and Risen” Lord Jesus Christ who accompanies and guides in the Spirit the community He has gathered together. In just a few minutes, Fr. Upham through his valid Ordination by Bishop Clark, a Bishop in true Communion of Apostolic Succession, will celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass at the Altar. The Holy Ghost through Fr. Upham, at the moment of consecration will change the bread and the wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. At the moment we receive the Body and Blood, Jesus will unite us with Himself, with His Father, and with the Holy Spirit, and with one another.

This communion of the Holy Ghost through the Eucharist works in us, to unite us together, and with the Heavenly Host encompassed in all three divisions of the Church, being the Church Militant, here on earth, the Church Expectant, the departed souls continuing to be purified and prepared, and the Church Triumphant, the Kingdom of God.

The Glorification of the Father through the Son, in the power of the Holy Ghost, is now brought full circle. Christ created the world, was sent to redeem it, and gives life to all who believe, and will never leave this creation again, by the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is alive and well in us as believers, in the Church, and in the Sacraments, which are conferred through the Spirit-preserved Apostolic Ministry.

AMEN.

+“AND NOW UNTO GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON,AND GOD THE HOLY GHOST; BE ASCRIBED ALL MIGHT, MAJESTY, POWER, AND DOMINION, MOST JUSTLY DUE THIS DAY, BOTH NOW, AND FOREVER, WORLD WITHOUT END, AMEN.”