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When one begins to think about
seeing the “real” label posted on foods and now Drivers licenses and IDs… Most
likely many of us feel a moment to smirk or even feel cynical at the use and
meaning of the word, “Real.” When we say
real, that should imply a particular reality that is concrete and tangible to
our fleshly, worldly selves. That was
the first spark just picking up this unassuming turn of the last century
pocketbook about the Holy Spirit. The
Lutheran joke and probably for other denominations as well, is that we don’t
really want to talk about the Holy Spirit much.
I remember in fact, that when I had started seminary there was only one
chapter more or less devoted to talking about Pneumatology, the theology of the
Holy Spirit in Systematic theology… That was it, period.
I have heard many a reason not to
talk about it over the years. Don’t talk
about it too much because it’s too abstract.
Don’t confuse people about their discipleship and covenant to Jesus with
overemphasizing the Holy Spirit… These
perceptions, which are only a few I can think of off the top of my head, are
used to shy away from truly teaching an awareness of the providence and
sovereignty of God in our everyday lives.
This little unassuming pocketbook turned into a treasure trove of one
minister’s profound faith, realization of the Holy Spirit and His role in our
lives. In regard to the author Reverend Cortland
Myers, there was hardly anything at all written about him online. All that Google managed to find about him was
that he is loosely connected or associated to the Wesleyan Holiness Movement.
The more I read this book, I was
looking at everything the author was working out both in a Biblical way and a
systematic way. I did not see anything
that bound it to this label of Wesleyan Holiness more than I saw and experienced
a profound nearly existential way of focus and awareness of the reality of the
Spirit. St. Paul’s letters should give
us a great insight to the kind of awareness Reverend Myers was hoping we would
begin to see. Keeping that on the back
burner of your mind while reading this book as well as the reality of being in
a transitional era of human history (post-Enlightenment skepticism) should help
you see and be invigorated by the author’s beautiful insight to thinking about
discipleship, prayer and faith-filled action through the help of the third
person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
The author begins his book with a
chapter entitled” ‘The Real Failure.’ Nearly the first sentence out of the box
jars one to think about how little we understand: “The greatest reality in the
world today is the Person & Power of the Holy Spirit. The greatest unreality in the world today is
the Person and Power of the Holy Spirit.”
The author had me thinking of the Samaritan woman at the well especially
when he says that we need to be “drinking in from the fountains of God.” How often do we think about ourselves as an
empty vessel longing to be filled with the “fullness” of God? I’ve always loved thinking about what God’s
concept of flourishing is compared to what the world sees as flourishing… The whole challenge with being “real” about
spiritual warfare is focusing on who you are as a child of Grace and promise
and your heart’s covenant to live into a faith that indeed, moves mountains!
Speaking of “a faith that moves
mountains…” St. Paul has given us many things to pray about and “put on.” Perhaps his greatest statement to connect to
this beginning chapter as something we have perhaps failed to truly incorporate
daily is from Philippians 4: “12I know what it is to have little,
and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have
learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and
of being in need. 13I can do all things through him who strengthens
me.” Reverend Myers challenges us indirectly to this Scripture I heard when
reading this chapter, by having us think about “the greatest truth of the
Kingdom of God is not one of understanding or explanation by processes of human
reasoning, but rather of our practical and personal use.” St. Paul is being his
wonderful pastoral self in authentically sharing his witness to being
encouraged by the Holy Spirit of God.
The bigger issues, the author
tackles in the following chapters from thinking about the facts, faith,
fidelity and “fame.” He begins to talk
about the valleys and the mountain tops which not only are our authentic paths
carved out by the providence of God but as well by our walking the tightrope between
willfulness and willingness. How our
conversion moves us to genuine change is blessed and commissioned by the cross
and our Baptism. “Most followers of Christ never climb to the summit, where the
reality if discovered and God’s best revelation is made. To know Christian life and Christian service
we must go to the mountain top of Christian experience, which is the reality of
the Holy Spirit…” This statement had me thinking about the wonderful benefit
and power of encouraging congregants to make a Cursillo weekend. I have had the joy of serving many a weekend
either in various roles or as recently a spiritual director for a few
weekends.
There is something to be said about
focusing one’s attention upon the timelessness of the 3 days’ walk with God in
prayer, worship and conversation. Within
the Cursillo experience, the five marks of the church are fully engaged (and on
“steroids…”): Kerygma, Didache, Diakonia, Lietourgia and Koinonia. These are
rooted in, encouraged and initiated by the Holy Spirit’s work within the
heart’s journey to realize genuine transformation, through a genuine faith in
action. The real fact is that a genuine willingness and motivation from the
heart to engage in faith is the great reality of the Scriptures, the Holy
Spirit. Prayerful interaction whether liturgical or charismatic in nature
reveals a genuine worship of the Father in Spirit and Truth.
Having an open mind to a degree in
experiencing everything from “bells and smells” high liturgical worship to
blended casual worship; the Spirit effects everyone differently. What ties
things truly back together is intentional planning, commitment and the Living
Word. Discipleship is the tuckpointing
work that the Holy Spirit does within the heart of the believer. This is what I believe, for faith is learning
experiences, it is walking through Grace, it is a journey. According to the author, Jesus’ work with
teaching the disciples was that “the Holy Spirit was to accompany every witness
and every utterance and do the work of conviction and of regeneration.” I would like to add to that by saying why we
are children of Grace is because of the cross as well as why we are children of
promise is because of the Holy Spirit shaping our hearts.
The author believes that the Holy
Spirit essentially brings the heart into a right relationship to God removing
barriers…
What are the factual barriers we
harbor against the Holy Spirit and His work? Is it just as simple as the flesh
and the world as St. Paul has mentioned in many a letter or something more
complex? The author challenges us in
closing this chapter by saying something we perhaps poetically dismiss: “The
Scriptures are to be read by the heart.”
He continues with a statement I have a little trouble with for I believe
it to perhaps be judgmental on one level: “The pure in heart only see God. The
natural person cannot behold the things of the Spirit. We must experience
spiritual things in order to understand them…
There is a witness of the Holy Spirit.
It is for you. Be ready.”
Being pure in heart is aspiring
towards a faith that can and will move mountains. We are all aspiring saints and willful
sinners. Can it be broken? Only our measure and journey into the
lifestyle of Grace will truthfully reveal this to us; this is what I believe. We have moments of seeing the profound truth
through reading the Scriptures most soundly through faith-filled lens of
history, context and Law and Gospel. We
DO witness to the Holy Spirit’s work within and through us, but we are still
spiritually starving in a world turned inward upon itself because of the
existential awareness of the Ego.
This real faith the author devotes
the 3rd chapter to concretely, has us think about the measure of
belief is truly what makes the impossible possible. I heard this and related to this as being and
purpose. Being is the reality of life—we are creatures of God, most alive and
well for the most part and our purpose is most profoundly simple: love God and
love neighbor and all creation rejoices…
The reality of the heart literally
beating without a thought is the miraculous of God, but we try to explain away
with science. The very temporal reality of the world in which we live in has us
see everything as finite, tangible and of material (the flesh). When we think
of the seemingly surreal or beyond what we deem as “real,” we become instant
post-Enlightenment skeptics or “doubting Thomas” with a shaky faith. This shaky faith isn’t helped by the
overwhelming dominance of feeding the reality of the ego. The challenged philosophy
of atheist existentialist, Jean Paul Sartre, has us think about our commitment
issues today: “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world,
he is responsible for everything he does.”
The very concrete reality we face as Christians holding firm to our
faith is believing, living and responding beyond the self. Sounds abstract doesn’t it? Perhaps it is not. Has anyone ever looked at the Lord’s
Beatitudes and seriously thought that He is agape love, Himself? He is both the Light of the world as well as
He embodies, is Agape Love.
When we read the Living Word of God
what is the inerrant Truth are these “larger than life” nuggets— "Light of
the world, Agape Love, the great I AM.”
Even read with faithful and responsible hermeneutical lens, this is the
Truth that can be incorporated within the person in the process of spiritually
transforming to covenantly reap the New Nature, as most concretely real. The author talks about one’s conversion
experiences being grounded and shaped by the Holy Trinity. This is where we
need to put on the eyes of faith, especially and most significantly, that of
the hearts. St. Paul says most
beautifully in his encouraging pastoral words to his Ephesians’ congregation
what faith is to be:
Ephesians
chapter one verses 15 through 19—
“15I have heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I
do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17I
pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a
spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Him, 18so that,
with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which
He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance among the
saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power for us
who believe, according to the working of His great power.”
As we know of St. Paul’s pastoral
struggles with the Corinthians, a worldly-absorbed peoples, he was trying to
have them not only understand the work of Christ but truly understand the real
work of the Spirit needing to be incorporated into their very lives: 2 Corinthians chapter two verses 15 through
17—
“15For
we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among
those who are perishing; 16to the one a fragrance from death to
death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these
things? 17For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many; but in
Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing
in his presence.”
Perhaps teetering on the edge of
being extremely challenged by the Corinthian congregation, we do hear a great
Biblical truth about our role when spiritually “putting on Christ.” When we
believe, receive and incorporate in a very real way, we make very real the
truth of the Living Word for we are living it with the Holy Spirit’s faithful
guidance.
Beyond thinking of these Scriptures
connecting to the author’s beautiful discussion about the real faith, I
appreciated what the author had to say about conversion. I am a child of conversion. I remember saying that a number of years back
in candidacy with a church Body head who turned pale as a sheet upon me saying
that I am a child of conversion because I did have a conversion experience(!)
Having shared my conversion story some 400 plus times the past 16 years, it
never gets old as well as most importantly never diminishes in being profoundly
real for me. We are too easy to dismiss
one’s witness of faith out of a fear of the “super-reality” of God actually
connecting to us spiritually, is REAL. What would smothering this
witness truthfully do? Are we allowing
the ongoing movement of post-Enlightenment’ malaise to deconstruct Christianity…
even more real credence, even as Bodies of faith today? If so, that indeed is disturbing, and we are
catering towards building up the death works of the ego and its politics to
flourish.
I only wish I had read this author
at the same time I began to witness to my conversion experience in 2003 for this
quote from Reverend Myers says it all: “It is the spiritual organ of the soul,
it is the habit of the soul, it is the life of the soul… that we come to say,
“I live by faith” It is through this
channel that the Spirit can enter in His fullness.” Why this statement which some of us may
dismiss as an abstraction in one sense, is profoundly real for me is that the
soul is the person’s spirit—it is the heart, it is the temple of the Holy
Spirit to dwell within and reap the New Nature from. The agape love and light from Christ were
planted by Grace through faith, confessed and incorporated within the very life
of the disciple. The more the reality of
the providence and sovereignty become clear to the person of growing faith, the
fullness of life, as God intends for us, begins to be revealed.
We indeed are called, commissioned
and challenged to walk by faith. Making
it real for all to see is the cost and discipline of discipleship: “Every child
of God can come out of the valley and live on the mountain top if they will
only believe.” Being aware and focused on the valleys we journey through shows
us the reality of the Spirit’s aid to our covenantal commitment to the Lord and
our genuine “being” and “purpose.” The
mountain tops we experience are ones where our metanoia genuinely grows. Metanoia is perhaps one of my favorite words
to talk about in regard to discipleship and spiritual formation because it
really genuinely is one’s turning their hearts to God. It is a Greek word that has been associated to
mean repentance and reconciliation for the child of Grace and promise but it
also reveals a beautiful Gospel truth by saying it literally means a change of
mind, conscience, heart. Metanoia would
not be possible without the person of the Holy Spirit working within us,
through us and on our behalf. This is
how powerful faith can actually and most real, BE.
The 4th chapter entitled
‘The Real Fidelity,’ ventures into our receptivity, incorporation and sharing
as dependent upon a costly Grace to reveal a faithful obedience. As you’ve probably guessed, I saw shades of
the brilliance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship works speaking Biblically
and prayerfully through Reverend Myers thoughts here: “There is a way out into
life, real life, the life of the Holy Spirit.
It is the way of obedience.” Come, follow me were the Living Words Jesus
spoke to His disciples without discrimination.
The only caveat was how one was “real” with reflection—turning the heart
to God, conviction—confessing one’s faith in prayer to the Lord and to the
world, repenting—looking into the mirror of the Law and allowing that
conditional “IF” to regenerate, transform the person to covenantally,
spiritually renew.
From Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship
Works we have a great insight to the meaning and practice of fidelity: “The
disciple’s answer is not a spoken confession of faith in Jesus. It is the obedient deed. This is offensive to
natural reason. Reason is impelled to
reject the abruptness of the response.
The reason for the proximity of call and deed: Jesus Christ
Himself. Jesus calls to discipleship,
not as a teacher and a role model, but as the Christ, the Son of God. There is
no other path to faith than obedience to Jesus’ call. It is neither a goal nor an ideal to be
sought.” Being obedient is a New Nature
challenge for it is a fruit of the Spirit.
Obedience over consideration, directly has us understand willingness as
concretely real over willfulness which lands in murky spiritual ground. The same can be said in relation to how we
understand acceptance over tolerance.
Acceptance is definitely a Beatific spiritual challenge for us, because
our Old Nature naturally wants to just tolerate.
Full
Monty discipleship is not egocentric it is both beyond the person and fully led
by the Holy Spirit’s transformative guidance to our realizing, activating the
New Nature planted within us. Reverend Myers says here: “There can be no question that
Christ made obedience as the condition of the Father’s giving and our receiving
the Spirit. When I am conscious of
obedience, I am just as conscious that the Holy Spirit is living in me and
working through me and filling me with His divine presence and power.” He continues to say most beautifully how the
light of Christ, His agape love for each and every one of us, shines through:
“To listen to the voice of conscience and to make earnest effort to keep the
commands of Christ is the proof of love and the preparation for the Holy
Spirit. This is the real plan and the
real promise and the real privilege.”
A real plan, promise and privilege is
being prayerfully obedient to something we naturally rebel as a part of the
human condition. The conscience often “hears what it wants to hear and
disregards the rest.” Any music buffs
out there perhaps heard a verse from Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Boxer.’ The Boxer image I associate with being a metaphor
for spiritual warfare. I have even thought
of myself in St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18:
“10Finally, be strong in the Lord and
in the strength of his power. 11Put on the whole armor of God, so
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For
our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness,
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore
take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that
evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand
therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the
breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on
whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With
all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench
all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18Pray
in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep
alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.”
When I have dreamed about spiritual
warfare as a pastor, I have seen myself thinking about both Martin Luther
nailing his 95 theses to the Wittenberg Cathedral doors as well as I have
thought about the great sacrifice of modern figures of the church such as the
martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I have
seen myself reaching for the Baptismal wand out of one holster and reaching for
a small sensor out of the other. “Waking”
people up with remembering their Baptism and calling upon the Holy Spirit to
fill the room literally with the mighty fragrance of change. The armor I don is my covenant to serving the
Lord and my heart’s strength is the conviction, faith to wear this daily. The real plan is commitment. The real promise is the agape love of the
Gospel. The real privilege is being “real”
about answering God’s call(!)
“Being real, keeping it real” with
the faith that is, is the greatest reality of the Holy Spirit’s work in our
everyday lives. As some people know I love the musical movie ‘Godspell’ from
1973. Alongside Franco Zeffirelli’s 1977
miniseries movie of Jesus of Nazareth; Godspell has beautiful, thoughtful scenes
of Jesus with His disciples. One scene
in particular had me thinking about fidelity—being willingly obedient to
receive the Holy Spirit. This scene is
where the character of Jesus is painting upon the disciple’s faces symbols of
how He is seeing their faith develop. His
symbol is a heart upon his brow. As a
person of faith and artist, I wondered what symbol the Lord would give me? All I have been able to think about is seeing
the heart in shadow with a brilliant bright light shining just behind and
within it. It is a light I have yet to
fully realize but just like seeing the Lord’s face when in deep prayer, I only
see a little moment or flash of Him. In the beginning I only began to see
clearly His mouth and that is when I was thinking about His Word. When I have felt and witnessed the beauty of
the Lord’s agape love I have felt as if I have seen through His eyes. Is this purely the imagination of the artist
or truly is it the Holy Spirit working within me to see the Lord? We have to be bold and real with thinking and
praying upon these things. The world
wants us to dismiss it, but just like my conversion experience I really can’t!
The author’s fifth chapter entitled
‘The Real Fame,’ has one focusing their insights upon the person of the Holy
Spirit with basically asking the question—why do I want to be filled with the
Holy Spirit? Mission is the one-word
answer. We are “being,” meaning a living
creature of God as well as literally “living.”
We are also given purpose. Purpose for the Christian is being an
ambassador with the Good News out into a weary world. Nothingness is the reality of the death works
of sin. This is something we create when
the world and its empty promises fill us with selfish goals and shallow cares…
for the world was given as a gift, being the creation of God. We are no longer lights on a hill nor salt for
the benefit of others. The Law of agape
love which is the heart of Jesus’ Beatitudes for us to incorporate has us see
and aspire towards building a profound humility which is the anti-ego that helps
us to realize loving God and truly loving neighbor.
Words like “fame” and “legacy” are
trigger words for the ego, the Holy Spirit inspires us to dismantle the ego and
live into the purpose and mission of the Lord’s. Our willfulness will always be an obstacle
not only to living faithfully into the lifestyle of Grace, but our surrender is
that faith that can move mountains! The
Holy Spirit’s guiding wisdom and light has us surrender to allow God to assist
us in reaping New Life. The author cautions us in saying: “We must get away
from “knowing Christ after the flesh,” if we would ever know Him in the power
of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to experience and possess/grasp the
Christ life. This too is stamped with
reality. The simple life of living in
the Spirit is living against the flesh and the world.” I immediately heard St. Paul talking to his
beloved Philippians in chapter 1 verses 20 through 24:
“20It
is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way,
but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always
in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, living is Christ and
dying is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful
labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23I am hard pressed
between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far
better; 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.”
What St. Paul is saying here is
that there is genuine giving on our part before there is a giving on God’s
part. This is the fact that our
willingness to DO no matter what, is our only hope of being filled with the
Spirit. This only hope is coming aware
of and allowing the Spirit entrance to your heart to enact real change.
The closing chapter of this very thought-provoking
book is simply titled ‘The Real Force.’ “Letting God, be God, letting go,
letting God,” we’ve heard these all before but there is a beautiful truth to
them that we can find ourselves completely ignoring… Those who genuinely profess to be Christians,
are we doing the work of incorporating what we receive from the Holy Spirit into
fruitful, genuine action? The author cautions us not to allow the Spirit to
create merely an internal philosophy or ethics within us but truly act upon
your faith. Martin Luther in his
commentary upon the Sermon on the Mount challenges us to think about real Holy
Spirited action versus works righteousness’ delusion of faithful action:
"For
it is covered over by this simplicity of the heart that does not inquire or
care about the issue, let God decide, let come from its gratitude or
ingratitude, good or evil. For thus I do not see it, though others may see it;
thus I and others in our preacher's office must do, so that we do not concern
ourselves whether we thereby please the people or not; yes, must rather expect
for it contempt, ingratitude, persecution, and all sorts of misfortune. For
every good work must expect this, and by it be tried and proved, that it may
endure and be found upright; which is not the case with the other hypocritical
sham work. In short, he who means to be a Christian must not want to do, or
omit any good work, out of regard for others, but only in order to serve God
with his office, calling, money, goods, or whatever he has or can do, and honor
him so far as he can, although he may never merit any thanks thereby upon
earth."
The real force within us is the
person of the Holy Spirit transforming our hearts to genuinely live into responding
as a loving and gracious response to a loving and gracious God. We need to open our lives to the power of God. What are we still afraid of? Why are we trying to suppress the work of the
Holy Spirit from genuinely being a powerful force in our very selves and our
very lives? There is probably a dozen
more questions I could pen here from absorbing this amazing little book but I
would like to challenge you in whatever God has called you to do—make it real. As the Holy Spirit, Father and Son are very
real and very present so must that mustard seed of faith break free from its chrysalis
of doubt and spinning its wheels… and DO.
Be real with your discipleship for it was won with a most costly grace.
Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins
Bibliography
·
Myers,
Cortland. The Real Holy Spirit. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company,
1909
·
Luther,
Martin. Martin Luther: Commentary On The Sermon On The Mount. Kindle
Edition.
·
Attridge,
Harold W. 1989 The Harper Collins Study Bible; NRSV HarperOne, San
Francisco, CA
·
Kuske,
Martin, Kelly, Geffrey B. and Godsey, John D. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works,
Discipleship Vol. 4. Augsburg Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN
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