Friday, June 21, 2019

Reflecting on the Holy Spirit A review of ‘The Real Holy Spirit’ By: Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins


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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