This is the third time that we think about ‘having faith.’ The first time it was about Abraham embarking on his life journey trusting the calling of the voice of God within him. The second time it was about the love of Jesus, encouraging the people to let go of their self-centred worrying and anxieties and trust that there will be enough to live a life of gratefulness and generosity today. This third time it is about learning to trust the holy spirit that connects us.

What does it mean, to have faith in holy spirit?

In the mixed communities of Jews and gentiles in Galatia (now Turkey), Paul ran into a major conflict with the other apostles. Many of them believed that they should impose at least some rules on these non-Jewish believers, for example with respect to kosher eating or kosher sexual relations. If not, Jewish believers would risk losing the ‘purity’ that was required for going to the temple. As a precaution they separated the dinner tables and the food that everyone brought to share. Jews would eat with Jews and gentiles with gentiles. If they wanted to eat together again, gentiles would have to live by Jewish rules. You can imagine that tensions rose high in the community. Some people felt pressured to conform, some felt second-rate members, others were afraid to break the rules of their religion. The community fell apart in factions and some bitterly turned their back on each other.

For Paul, however, the very essence of Jesus’ teaching was that everyone is a member of God’s family, not because of they keep certain dietary rules, but because the love of and for Jesus binds them together in one community of people who freely serve each other in love. Of course, Paul admits, the kingdom of God’s love cannot be experienced by people who keep practicing everything the law forbids, inflating their egos, putting their ambitions first, and giving in to their lust without regard for the dignity of others, or the damage they might do to other people. But that does not mean you should trust in rules and discipline to contain the ‘flesh,’ as he calls it. Experience teaches us that that does not work. People either disregard the rules or grow frustrated at their inability, or the inability of others, to fulfil them.

Rather, you should put faith in the holy spirit that unites us, in holy spirit that changes us from the inside out. It is that change that freely results in doing what God wants us to do here and today, in ways that serve the other, in his or her specific circumstances, rather than fulfilling the minimum requirements of general laws. It is not some act you have to perform, but rather something that is given to you.

"You will know them by their fruits"

Take your time and think about it: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Even though you may feel you are lacking in these, remember that all you are supposed to do is to allow holy spirit within you to guide you. If you trust the spirit, you will foster an atmosphere of freedom and love, in which the spirit will become even stronger among you and convince more people to open up. But you cannot enter this virtuous circle through rules, performance, control and judgment. You can only enter it by letting go.

But there is more to the mysterious power of the spirit, as we can read in Paul’s letters and the Acts of the Apostles. In the early days after the resurrection are remembered as a period of intense emotions, prayers, and community. At the end of some time, the group experienced powerful manifestations of the spirit. People had visions, they spoke in tongues and some could interpret these, some people prophesied. Some people where healed. This pattern repeated itself across the Mediterranean, where new communities of Jesus followers were formed. They called it ‘receiving the spirit,’ and described it as a falling or outpouring of the spirit upon them.

            Similar fast-spreading experiences took place through the ages and all around the world. In 1906, in Azusa street, Los Angeles, a little multi-racial church experienced similar ‘gifts of the spirit’ and every Sunday more people joined. Then it spread to other churches along the tramlines of western California and along the trade routes of the USA. Within two years more than 50 countries into Europe, Asia and Africa were reached. Whatever you may think of them, these experiences still persuade many people that their lives can be transformed by something that is bigger than they are as individuals. Remarkable experiences include glossolalia, visions, and prophecies. I am not a Pentecostal, but dear friends have told me how they understood that they should address someone with a message about a certain problem or person – sometimes with details that the holy spirit ‘told’ them, but which they had had no way of knowing beforehand. Today, Pentecostal and charismatic churches form the fastest growing branch of Christianity with over 500 million adherents.     

The difference between faith in impure or holy spirit is love

Again, however, the human ego gets in the way, as we can see in Paul’s letter to Corinth, Greece. People are striving for the most spectacular spiritual gifts and get puffed up. They claim special knowledge, visions and prophesies that seem to elevate them above others. In this divided community in the port of Corinth, the gifts of the spirit are used as a measure of faith. Sometimes ‘gifts’ seem to be amplified or even faked, in order to claim authority or benefits. Is this really what is meant with having faith in the spirit?

            Paul is careful in his answer. First, he encourages those who are afraid that they perhaps do not share in this holy spirit. Don’t worry, Paul answers, anyone who recognizes God in Jesus is by definition inspired by holy spirit. Second, he does not focus on the gifts, the ministries or the actual acts, but on the spirit behind the gifts, on the Lord (Jesus) who is served, and on the God (the Father) who works through us. That is the God in whom we have faith, not in the people who have the most spectacular spiritual gifts. Third, Paul explains how the spirit connects the community as in a single body but with different organs and members, that can only function together, each with her and his own contribution, responsibility and gifts. And those gifts include helping and guiding each other

So before we move on with his practical directions for the deployment of spiritual gifts in chapter 14, Paul first sings his famous ode on love in chapter 13. There he lies the foundation: only in the context of love do these gifts have value. They are temporary aids meant to build up the community, not to inflate one’s ego or manipulate others. They can only lead to a relationship of love with each other and God, when embedded in faith, hope and - most of all - love. Yes, Paul says, the spirit can make me sing in tongues, make me have visions and urge me to prophesy, but my utterings should be tested, not blindly trusted. We have to take responsibility for our own role in voicing and interpreting our spiritual gifts. Prophets control their own spirit, Paul clearly says. The one you can have faith in is the spirit of faith, hope and love within you. That spirit will help you distinguish between inspiration and manipulation. It will direct your special gifts to humbly serve others in love. And then, out of its own seed, it will grow in you its fruits: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

*      *

Suggestions for dialogue

A moderator can explain the dialogue steps and invite people to contribute:

• Check in with yourself. Share with each other how you are in this moment. Then take a moment again to seek stillness, humility and openness. 
• First round: Share something from the text or image(s) that stood out to you and that you would like to explore with the group, briefly indicating the thoughts and feelings that it evoked within you. Listen to the others do the same: what resonates with you? Responses in this round should be limited to questions for clarification.
• Second round: Name one or two things that resonated with you from the things that others just shared. 
• Third round: Having heard the group, the moderator names the main topics for exploration. The moderator may also propose a common thread that emerged in several topics. The exploration normally starts with asking the person(s) who brought up the topic to expand on it.
• Leave room for silence and contemplation. 
• Check out by sharing what you take home from this dialogue.

These suggestions are an adaptation of the Estuary protocol. Look for more at https://www.estuaryhub.com