Spirit driven lives

Short sermon preached at 8am Eucharist at St Helen’s Church, Solihull
Sunday 10th January 2010 – Baptism of Christ – Year C

Readings: Isaiah 43: 1-7 Acts 8: 14-17 Luke 3: 15-17 & 21-22


In the Epiphany season we think about Jesus being “manifest” or “revealed”. Last week we focused on the baby Jesus being revealed to the whole wide world, symbolised by the wise men from far away in the East. Today we think of the revelation that occurred at the baptism of Jesus, which we heard about in our gospel reading. Specifically we think of the Holy Spirit descending onto Jesus and the voice from heaven, “You are my Son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.
All four gospels tell the story of this event. Many of the details are different between the four accounts, but one thing they all agree on is that the Holy Spirit, like a dove, descended upon Jesus. And this is very significant because it reveals Jesus to be God’s anointed one, the Messiah, the saviour of Israel, the one promised from of old by the prophets.
In John’s gospel the story is told by John the Baptist. The descent of the Holy Spirit is the specific sign that John has been told to look for, and from this John knows that Jesus is the Son of God. John says, “I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel” (John 1: 31). The great revelation that we think of this week is Jesus being revealed to the Jews as the Messiah. So today I would like to spend a little time reflecting on the role of the Holy Spirit, and its links to the revelation of Jesus as Christ, which is so important to our mission.
In Luke’s gospel especially, the Holy Spirit seems to be involved in just about all the important happenings. Mary is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit when she conceives Jesus. Elizabeth and Zachariah are filled with the Holy Spirit when they make their big speeches. Jesus’ public ministry seems to be completely driven by the Spirit.
In Christianity we seek to become Christ like, to have Christ grow within us. So like Jesus we too need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and live Spirit driven lives. In John’s gospel we are told that we must be born anew of the Spirit (John 3) and we link this with our own Baptism. Just as Jesus’ received a particular anointing with the Spirit at his Baptism, which gave purpose and direction to his ministry, so we have received great gifts of the Spirit through our Baptism and Confirmation. And to make the most of these gifts we need to be true to our baptismal promises. We need to renounce evil and follow Christ. Following Christ means following his commandments, especially his commandment to love one another. So in day to day life, seeking to love other people is often the best practical route to life in the Spirit.
But there is also a prayerful side to it. We can and should seek to pray with the Spirit, who is far better at prayer than we are. St Paul says, “And the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8: 26) Jesus also tells us to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). So as we pray and as we worship let’s try to be attentive to the Spirit praying within us, and let’s try to join our prayers to the prayer of the Spirit.
And this is very important, especially as we think about mission and church growth. It was the Holy Spirit who revealed Jesus to be the Messiah at his baptism. So we should hope and expect that if we live Spirit driven lives, then Holy Spirit will reveal to the people around us Christ working in us and in the church. And it is the revelation of Christ which makes all the difference.