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July 12, 2009 Visible Signs of the Holy Spirit: Past and Present Every time I go to Haiti to see how our scholarship organization is doing, I try to visit a different Haitian church so that I can better understand the religious culture and spirituality of Haiti, which is a complex mixture of rigid Catholicism and many Protestant denominations all influenced by the indigenous faith originating from Africa. Last year, I shared with you how I inadvertently became a member of a Methodist church through my confusion with the language and by raising my hand at the wrong time. Even though, I was embarrassed by this miscommunication, the congregation was very happy to receive me into their community of faith. Several years ago, I visited an Evangelical Church in Haiti. About half way through the three hour service, during a very long, highly animated sermon, a man several seats away from me, jumped off of his bench and started speaking in ‘tongues,’ and it seemed to me by his body motions and rolling eyes that he was caught up in a trance. I was shocked, but I quickly looked around and realized that no one, but me, was paying any attention to him. Apparently, episodes like this happen. I thought it was best not to stare, seeing especially that my presence as the only white person was already a spectacle. Later, I asked my friend who had accompanied me about this man. He said, this outburst is normal; he was experiencing the Holy Spirit – the Spirit had ‘caught him.’ I experienced an outburst similar to this in a Southern Baptist church in Georgia in the early 70’s. But growing up in New England churches, I was taught as a little girl that one must sit still and not say a word during the church service, even fidgeting was frowned on. But there were some New England churches that weren’t always so prim and proper, and for a brief time in our own church history, during the pastorate of Jonathan Parsons from 1730 to 1745, our church experienced an ‘awakening.’ This ‘awakening’ was part of a religious revival movement in New England known as ‘The Great Awakening,’ a period of time when ‘visible signs’ were seen as proof of the Holy Spirit’s presence, therefore indicating the righteousness of a person, or whether or not he or she was a ‘true’ Christian. Today, I want to explore, in our church history, in the Acts of the Apostles, and in our daily lives today, the workings of the Holy Spirit. What are some of the visible signs? How do we know that the Holy Spirit is working in, around, and through us? Let’s begin with our own church history. Jonathan Parsons was a graduate of Yale College, and in his post-graduate years engaged with the famous theologian, Jonathan Edwards, who tried to bring Calvinism back in to popularity. Parsons began preaching in our church in 1730 after the death of our first minister, Moses Noyes, whose gravestone is placed, for preservation purposes, by my office door. Parsons was called as minister to this church and ordained a year later. Our meetinghouse at that time was located at the top of Johnny Cake Hill, in back of the Country Club, diagonally across the street from Meetinghouse Lane. There is a stone that marks the approximate location of our first three meetinghouses on the hill. The land all around where our present meetinghouse is located today was Parsons’ own property. His house was located on Ferry Road where Lyme Regis stands. Eight years after Parsons’ ordination, he felt concerned with the ‘plainness of his preaching,’ and how very few people were converted by his ministry. Those who were converted, he felt, did not show evidence in their outward behavior that they were ‘real’ Christians. About the same time that Parsons was struggling with his ineffective ministry, he learned of the English revivalist, George Whitefield, and how Whitefield could awaken the crowd from their slumber and bring them to a newness of life. Parsons writes that Whitefield had great influence on his mind, and it made him see with great humility his past deadness. Whitefield’s ministry, for Parsons, was like the sound of an alarm, and he sought to rejuvenate his ministry and his own spirituality. On the communion table is a print of George Whitefield. Several years later, in the summer of 1740, Jonathan Parsons learned that George Whitefield was in Connecticut on a preaching tour. He traveled to Yale College to hear him preach, and he was so excited about what he heard and how he felt, that he went several months later to Hartford to experience him again. Parsons was convinced that when Whitefield preached, “the spirit of God was poured out among the people gloriously.” He went back to his parishioners excited and inspired by his encounter with Whitefield. He wrote that his sermons from then on had a much greater effect on his parishioners: there was weeping, sighs and sobs, and many in the congregation were crying out, some experiencing hysteric fits. These visible signs for Parsons were proof of the Holy Spirit’s presence in his church community, and I am sure that this visible presence boosted Parsons’ own esteem as a minister. News traveled about Parsons’ success as a preacher, and he was invited to travel to the churches in Norwich, Groton, Salem, New London and Stonington bringing about a revival in this area. Five years later, the great George Whitefield arrived in Old Lyme in 1745 with pomp and circumstance to preach to the pro-revivalists, who called themselves the “New Lights.” He was enthusiastically greeted by Parsons, and multitudes gathered in the garden near Parsons’ home, which is where our meetinghouse presently stands. Whitefield preached on a large rock, now located next door at the Cox residence. This was a great day for Parsons and his congregation, and this encounter deepened his friendship with Whitefield, a friendship that lasted a life time (in fact they are buried together in the same crypt in Newburyport, MA.). But not everyone in the congregation was pleased with these turn of events, many parishioners were quite undone by such outward displays, and there rose a division in our church between the “New Lights” and the “Old Lights,” which ended up with Parsons’ dismissal and many members leaving the church to start their own “New Light” churches leaving the “Old Lights” behind. Many other areas in New England experienced this turmoil between the ‘New Lights’ and the ‘Old Lights.” Right on the New Haven Green there stands two Congregational churches right next to each other, one was an ‘Old Light’ church, and the newer one, built right next to it, was a ‘New Light’ church. I’m not sure of their theological differences today. At this point, I would like us to reflect on our own lives. Do we experience the Holy Spirit? If so, how do we feel God’s presence in our daily lives? Are there any visible signs? Certain feelings? Are we able to recognize the Spirit working in others? In our scripture lesson for today, we hear of the coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles as a rush of violent wind that filled the entire house, divided tongues like fire appeared among them and rested on each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in a multitude of other languages all at once. Many people from far away places, recognizing their home language, gathered and were bewildered and amazed as they questioned this curious display. This infusion of the Holy Spirit, marked by the miracle of speaking many languages, defined the apostles as messengers of God, and called them to go out into the world to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit’s outpouring was a call from passivity to action – a call for the apostles to become active in the world. The visible sign of the Holy Spirit was manifested in the apostles’ service to God. The same is true when we hear of Paul’s conversion to Christianity. A light from heaven flashed around him, and he fell to the ground. He heard the voice of Jesus, “Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?” Paul was blinded for three days and did not eat or drink, symbolizing his spiritual death. God called the disciple Ananias to go to Paul as God’s messenger. God chose Paul to be an ‘instrument,’ God’s servant to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to all the Gentiles and kings of every nation. Paul’s sight returned, symbolizing his rebirth, and he began his ministry to the Gentiles, a difficult and arduous task as we learn from his many letters to his founding churches. In both of these scripture lessons, the Holy Spirit initiates change, a spiritual re-birth. The apostles do not carry on with their previous life, but seek a new life of service to God, a life modeled after Jesus’ life. The visible sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is first transformation, but it is followed by service. In my research about Jonathan Parsons and the ‘revival’ here in this community and in all of New England, I cannot discover whether or not this awakening called the people in to God’s service, or if the awakening was understood as purely an internal transformation of the heart with no other outcome. For me, one cannot be separated from the other. Inner transformation of the spirit, known as God’s grace, has the natural outcome of service in love and gratitude for the gift of grace. The love of God cannot be separated from the love of self and love of neighbor, they are one love. To say that you love God, but not your neighbor, is not possible, because to love God fully and authentically is to love your neighbor. A fully developed spirituality has both elements, the internal spirituality and the external love of neighbor. Which comes first? Do we focus on our internal spirituality in order to inspire us to get out there and help our neighbors or do we get out there and help our neighbors in order to develop our spirituality? It is a chicken and egg type of question. But I believe, as we learn from the life of Jesus, you need to work on both simultaneously, because one brings the other into fulfillment. And if we develop our spirituality through study, prayer and doing good works of service does that call the Holy Spirit to us? Or is it because of the Holy Spirit that we work on our spirituality and are inspired to do good works? Are we drawn to God because of the Holy Spirit working in us? I believe we are. The Holy Spirit or God’s active presence is always at work in us. We either accept it or reject it – that is our freedom. Sometimes, we reject or accept it unknowingly. Through out our journey in life, we all go through cycles where our spiritual life waxes and wanes. Some people go through a crisis, and it strengthens their faith, others lose faith and feel a sense of abandonment and despondency. They feel as if God is not present in their lives. They feel as if the Holy Spirit either doesn’t exist or has skipped over them. Some people never think about a spiritual life during the whole course of their existence, but then wonder why life seems so empty and meaningless. About twenty years ago, I experienced a spiritual slump that left me feeling unhappy and dislocated. One practice that I began during that time was daily prayer, even when I felt I had nothing to say. I would take the time out and ‘say’ something to God. When I couldn’t come up with anything to pray about, I read Psalms aloud and said ‘amen’ afterward. I realize now that I was trying to re-connect with God, in the hopes that it might spark something within me. After a while, I began to look forward to that ‘alone’ time with God, and I felt that God was present and listening. I began to attend church again, to sing in the choir, to serve on church boards and committees, and several years later to work in Haiti. It was in Haiti that I felt the call to the ministry. Our relationship with God, like our human relationships, is one that needs to be nurtured. It is not that God ever stops loving or caring about us, it is that we stop hearing and feeling that love. We close our doors to God – even though God keeps knocking. Sometimes when we least expect it, the Holy Spirit finds a way in and transforms us, connecting us again with God, making us feel loved and important, calling us to service, inspiring us to change our lives. We are very fortunate to be part of this loving community of faith, where I believe, we offer a wonderful opportunity to develop a strong spiritual life and to practice our love of God with each other. Over the past few weeks, I have seen such a wonderful community of friendship in the production of the White Elephant Sale. So many people gathered together to raise money for the work of the Ladies Benevolent Society, money that supports many church programs and goes far beyond to many organizations here at home, in the broader community and around the world. You all should be so proud of the work you do. For me, a life of service to God is the visible sign of the Holy Spirit; it is what we are called to do to live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. We all need to nurture our relationship with God, keep our doors open, listen to that voice of conscience that cries out and calls us to respond, recognize the tender moment that brings tears to our eyes or startling awe to senses, acknowledge with gratitude a familiar encounter with a stranger or a strong intuition that tells you to go help someone in need, for these are all signs of the Holy Spirit calling us to become the Christians that we are meant to be – transforming our hearts and minds to God’s service. What are the visible signs of the Holy Spirit at work? Look around you and you will see. Amen.
The Rev. Rebecca Crosby The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme
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