Rev Maggie reflects

Reflection on the Kingdom – the Spirit of Truth

My last reflection was written at the beginning of nine days of prayer before Pentecost.  We were praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit and for God’s kingdom here on earth.  Each year we pray and each year we wait.  This year, looking back, I wonder what were we expecting?  Maybe like the psalmist we were waiting for a time when

“Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet

Righteousness and peace will kiss each other”.  (Psalm 85, 10)

If so, we have been disappointed.  We have not got evidence of an outpouring of the seven gifts of the spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord)  nor of the nine fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5, 22-23) Instead the world is now great turmoil, with anger, frustration, divisions and falsehoods.  The determination to work together and to care for one another that was so strong at the beginning of the pandemic seems to be getting lost.

When God comes into human situations the first thing that the spirit does is to is to reveal the truth.  Most of us would prefer to skip this because seeing the truth about ourselves is difficult and often painful.  Yet is the beginning of repentance and essential for our wellbeing.  When I was a chaplain at Feltham Young Offenders Institute I would often find myself in conversation with a prisoner who was praying that God would ensure a “not guilty” verdict at the forthcoming trial.   I would explain that God’s mercy cannot be separated from truth and justice.  Mercy or God’s loving kindness come after justice has been established and you cannot have justice unless the truth is revealed.  But sadly the young man was not hoping that the truth be revealed but that he could walk out of court.  I nearly wrote “be freed”, but the reality is that when truth is hidden none of us are freed.  We remain bound by the falsehoods.

When truth is revealed it is uncomfortable and it often conflicts with our all-too-human desires.  In the beginning of the lockdown we could see how the world was benefitting from less human activity.  The air was clearer, the earth began to breathe again and we wanted a cleaner, greener future.  Now the clamour is for aeroplanes to be allowed to fly so that people can go on holiday.  When will we answer God’s call to care for our planet?  The turmoil in the world is showing uncomfortable truths about how we treat each other.   Structural inequality means that the poorer people are, the harder they have been hit by the pandemic and its consequences.  Worse still, we have to recognise that some people are not just disadvantaged but discriminated against.  We have seen overt racism that has been unchecked because it was condoned by those in power.  And we need to recognise and challenge more the subtle, even unconscious, racism that also wrecks so much damage.

God has indeed answered our prayers and sent us his Spirit.  Jesus said “When the Spirit of truth comes, it will guide you into all the truth.”  (John 16,13)   The Spirit of truth is now moving among us, showing us truths about ourselves and the society we live in.  as always, God invites us to respond and work together to bring in God’s Kingdom.

So I pray:

Show me your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me
For you are the God of my salvation
For you I wait all day long. (Ps. 25, 4-5)

Examine me, O Lord, and try me.
Test my mind and my heart. (Ps. 26, 2)
Amen