Profound Experiences
Sermon
The highlight of the famous Alpha course is the Holy Spirit weekend, although it has to be said that our parishes have not yet managed a weekend. But we have consistently managed a Holy Spirit day. Having started out as something of a skeptic about the Holy Spirit day, I have emerged as a convert, for I have witnessed some amazing transformations through the experience.The Holy Spirit day comes just over half way through the Alpha course, after around 6-7 weeks of discussion and thought about God and Jesus. Because word quickly gets around that something special happens, some people tend to be a little afraid of the day and are tempted to opt out on the flimsiest excuse, but those who can be persuaded to see it through are almost always thrilled by the experience.The format is really very simple. After coffee and camaraderie (a very important ingredient of Alpha) and a talk on the Holy Spirit, people are given an opportunity to repent of their sins, then if they wish to do so, to invite the Holy Spirit into their being through a very simple prayer.
The results are often startling. Even the most skeptical and hard-bitten atheist may come away feeling refreshed and renewed and feeling that they have had an encounter with God.
The key seems to be in the repentance. Most people either go through life thinking they're OK really and certainly as good as the next person, or thinking that they're inferior and hopeless and no good to anyone. The first category see no need for repentance and the second category are entangled in an inauthentic repentance which bemoans their poor position in life but which doesn't actually move them any nearer to God.
But Alpha seems to be able to convince people of their need for God in an authentic way and without grovelling. People suddenly realise that they fall short and begin to turn to God in genuine regret for their sins and asking for forgiveness. Once that point is reached, they're ready to receive God into their lives in a new kind of way and many have an amazing experience of what seems to be pure love. It's a moment they never forget.
They're following in hallowed footsteps, for it was a similar experience that began Isaiah's ministry, some 800 years BC. The book of Isaiah covers around 200 years and has at least three different authors, but the first Isaiah is the one who had that remarkable vision of the temple which was read to us today. It's such an inspiring reading that it's always used at ordination services for those who are about to become priests or deacons.
In his vision Isaiah saw the Holy of Holies in the temple - the dwelling place of God - and he saw God himself sitting high up on a throne with God's robe filling the temple. Angels were waiting on God and singing the chant which we still use in our Communion services, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." The angels weren't static but were flying or poised ready for flight with two of their six wings. Another pair of wings covered their faces, for God was too holy and radiant for even angels to gaze upon. And the third pair of wings covered their "feet", which is generally used in the Old Testament as a euphemism for genitals.
The temple was filled with smoke, for fire is an indication of the divine presence. In the centuries previously, Moses had met with God at a bush which was on fire although not burning up, and the Ancient Israelites had been led by God in their wanderings in the wilderness by a pillar of fire at night and a column of smoke during the day. And in the New Testament, fire rests on the heads of the disciples at Pentecost denoting the presence of God.
This whole atmosphere of extreme holiness convinces Isaiah of his own unworthiness. He becomes aware of his own sin and acknowledges it, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips." Then, because anyone who gazes upon God dies, he adds somberly, "My eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
Immediately one of the angels flies to altar to retrieve a burning coal and symbolically touches Isaiah's lips with the coal, denoting cleansing, purification and forgiveness for Isaiah. After his repentance Isaiah is ready to receive God's words and God then speaks to him those immortal words, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And Isaiah responds from the depths of his being, "Here am I; send me!"
It was a defining moment for Isaiah and marked the beginning of his ministry. Jesus too had a defining moment which marked the beginning of his ministry, when he was baptised by John the Baptist and heard God speaking to him. And many people since have started in ministry because of defining moments in which they have met with God.
Not everybody receives visions or hears God's voice, but for those who do, it's a profound experience and may well lead to ministry of some kind. At any event, people are never the same after meeting with God in whatever way that might happen. Lives change forever and move on in a different direction.
And this is part of the excitement of a course like Alpha. Sometimes some people are privileged to hear God speaking to them and sometimes other people are privileged to witness that moment. These are profound experiences for all concerned - and amazingly, they still happen today.
The results are often startling. Even the most skeptical and hard-bitten atheist may come away feeling refreshed and renewed and feeling that they have had an encounter with God.
The key seems to be in the repentance. Most people either go through life thinking they're OK really and certainly as good as the next person, or thinking that they're inferior and hopeless and no good to anyone. The first category see no need for repentance and the second category are entangled in an inauthentic repentance which bemoans their poor position in life but which doesn't actually move them any nearer to God.
But Alpha seems to be able to convince people of their need for God in an authentic way and without grovelling. People suddenly realise that they fall short and begin to turn to God in genuine regret for their sins and asking for forgiveness. Once that point is reached, they're ready to receive God into their lives in a new kind of way and many have an amazing experience of what seems to be pure love. It's a moment they never forget.
They're following in hallowed footsteps, for it was a similar experience that began Isaiah's ministry, some 800 years BC. The book of Isaiah covers around 200 years and has at least three different authors, but the first Isaiah is the one who had that remarkable vision of the temple which was read to us today. It's such an inspiring reading that it's always used at ordination services for those who are about to become priests or deacons.
In his vision Isaiah saw the Holy of Holies in the temple - the dwelling place of God - and he saw God himself sitting high up on a throne with God's robe filling the temple. Angels were waiting on God and singing the chant which we still use in our Communion services, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." The angels weren't static but were flying or poised ready for flight with two of their six wings. Another pair of wings covered their faces, for God was too holy and radiant for even angels to gaze upon. And the third pair of wings covered their "feet", which is generally used in the Old Testament as a euphemism for genitals.
The temple was filled with smoke, for fire is an indication of the divine presence. In the centuries previously, Moses had met with God at a bush which was on fire although not burning up, and the Ancient Israelites had been led by God in their wanderings in the wilderness by a pillar of fire at night and a column of smoke during the day. And in the New Testament, fire rests on the heads of the disciples at Pentecost denoting the presence of God.
This whole atmosphere of extreme holiness convinces Isaiah of his own unworthiness. He becomes aware of his own sin and acknowledges it, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips." Then, because anyone who gazes upon God dies, he adds somberly, "My eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
Immediately one of the angels flies to altar to retrieve a burning coal and symbolically touches Isaiah's lips with the coal, denoting cleansing, purification and forgiveness for Isaiah. After his repentance Isaiah is ready to receive God's words and God then speaks to him those immortal words, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And Isaiah responds from the depths of his being, "Here am I; send me!"
It was a defining moment for Isaiah and marked the beginning of his ministry. Jesus too had a defining moment which marked the beginning of his ministry, when he was baptised by John the Baptist and heard God speaking to him. And many people since have started in ministry because of defining moments in which they have met with God.
Not everybody receives visions or hears God's voice, but for those who do, it's a profound experience and may well lead to ministry of some kind. At any event, people are never the same after meeting with God in whatever way that might happen. Lives change forever and move on in a different direction.
And this is part of the excitement of a course like Alpha. Sometimes some people are privileged to hear God speaking to them and sometimes other people are privileged to witness that moment. These are profound experiences for all concerned - and amazingly, they still happen today.
