On the Comforter

The Fourth Sunday in Advent

RAISE up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

Advent

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, now and ever. Amen.

Christianity is trinitarian. We are all exposed to it. Whether it be in the reciting of classic prayers such as the Gloria Patri or solely through Baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we have experience in hearing about it. We experience the Father in most of our Old Testament readings. Much of our Sunday services are dedicated to the Son, as indeed is the season of Advent in which we anticipate his coming in history, his coming now and his coming again. But what about the other guy?

For many Christians, they may as well have been baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the other guy. Who are we talking about? Who is the other guy? Why does he matter? That is an easy question to ask and a longer one to answer, and will occupy a series of posts over the following weeks.

For some Christians, the reality is that they are uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles tell of a number of great miracles that the Apostles performed under the inspiration of and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is far easier for us, with our modern sensibilities, to look upon those miracles, and even upon Christ, and acknowledge them as something that may have historically happened, but maybe were just exaggerations and embellishments to the written record to enhance the authority of the Apostles. Surely there is no way that those things could still be happening today.

Cessasionists make that argument that the gifts of the Spirit are no longer provided, and this viewpoint is one that ultimately suggests there is little activity or purpose for the Holy Spirit today. By suggesting this, it shifts an emphasis in empowerment away from the Holy Spirit and back to God, particularly when the suggestion is made that the gifts of the Spirit ended due at least in part to God’s judgement against unbelief, as some cessasionists argue.

Lack of familiarity, which can come from this and other viewpoints that marginalize the activity of the Holy Spirit, can make Christians ultimately uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit. When our day is spent in praise of God for his Son, with no reference to the Holy Spirit or to Gifts of the Spirit, especially if Gifts of the Spirit are characterized as something meant for a previous time, it can necessarily lead to us feeling discomfort or confusion.

Who is the Holy Spirit? To paraphrase Origen, let us return to the evangelical and apostolic, and consider what Holy Scripture tells us.

The Holy Spirit is not an innovation of Christ’s time, and the Spirit of God is referenced a number of times in the Old Testament. From the Spirit of Creation (Ps 104. 30) to the teacher of truth (Job 32. 8) and even as a companion and manifestation of God’s presence among his people (Hag 2. 5). There is a rich tapestry that forms the foundation of the clearer revelation of the Holy Spirit, who is sent to continue these tasks in a new way in the New Testament.

Shortly before his arrest and trial, Christ famously promised to send the Holy Spirit, saying, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you,” (St Jn 14. 16, 17). He continues two chapters later saying that the Holy Spirit, “will guide you in all truth,” (St Jn 16. 14).

The promise Christ makes in the Gospel is fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles:

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2. 1-4)

What is notable as that the Holy Spirit came with a visible sign of empowerment. The Apostles were emboldened and equipped for the task Christ had given them, just as Christ had foretold at his Ascension when he said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth,” (Acts 1. 8).

The Bible speaks in several other places of the continued power and effect of the Holy Spirit. St Paul in particular spoke voluminously on the gifts of the Spirit, and the role of the Holy Spirit in our Christian lives. Familiarity with the Holy Spirit requires only reading of Scripture, and as the Holy Spirit is himself (note him, a person of the trinity and not an impersonal force as is suggested by saying it) part of the Trinity, to know the Father and to know the Son is to know the Holy Spirit.

For Anglicans, our familiarity with the Holy Spirit ought to extend beyond that. In our common prayer, we pray to and by the Holy Spirit in many different occasions. Whether it be through some of those ancient prayers, such as the Gloria Patri, references to the Holy Spirit in the creeds, or through numerous collects and other prayers, the Holy Spirit is central to Christian belief and Anglican practice.

he arguments of cessationists simply don’t have merit. Christ didn’t send the Holy Spirit to astonish or amaze, but to equip! Anyone who holds true to Christianity ought not to be concerned, surprised or anxious about reference to the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts or empowerment by the Holy Spirit. Christ himself has sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter, to come beside us, to guide and strengthen us, to sustain and equip us for his good work.

The Fourth Sunday in Advent is our final Sunday spent focused on the anticipation of his coming. That coming does not simply refer to his coming in history through his incarnation and nativity, however. It is his coming in history, how he comes in the Eucharist and his coming again on the last day. The theme of this fourth Sunday in Advent is love. The collect calls for God to stir up his power among us. While Christ’s coming in history is the ultimate display of his love (St Jn 3. 16) it could equally be seen that the sending of the Holy Spirit is another great testament to God’s love for mankind as the Holy Spirit truly is God’s power among us today. For it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to live in Christ, and through living in Christ to be adopted into the family of God. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit, therefore, that, by Christ, we are to come to know God, one of the primary emphases of the season of Advent.