04.06.2015
Church Leaders Give Their Perspectives on What the Spirit is Saying to Churches
More than 200 people packed into All Hallows College last week to hear Church leaders speak about what they think the Spirit is saying to the churches. The ‘Thinking Allowed’ event was part of Ecumenical Bible Week 2015 and the Church leaders addressed the capacity crowd on a wide range of issues relating to the theme which was taken from Revelation 3.13: “Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches”.
The panel included the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Dublin, Archbishop Michael Jackson and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Fr Calin Florea (Romanian Orthodox Priest), Pastor Sean Mullarkey (AGI National Leader, St Mark’s Church Leader) and Pastor Tunde Adebayo–Oke (Redeemed Christian Church of God). They were interviewed by Philip McKinley. There was also an opportunity for audience members to put their questions to the leaders.
In his presentation Archbishop Jackson suggested that the Spirit was urging the churches not to disregard Apocalypse which he said came from a noble and ancient tradition of response to the exotic and inaccessible character of God. He said that the Lord’s Prayer was also apocalyptic and added that the Spirit was also asking people to say the Lord’s Prayer regularly together.
“We are called to witness to the Kingdom of God and the calling to be those here and now who facilitate the coming and in–breaking of the Kingdom of God on earth as in heaven. If we have no contemporary understanding of who and what heaven is that is acceptable to our modern sophistication and loneliness, we need to start developing one and to make this fulcrum the focus and scaffolding of our mission,” he stated.
Witness must be connected with the witness of Christians in the Middle East and Near East, Archbishop Jackson said. Christians there endured “unspeakable human suffering and degradation, intimidation and displacement. They carry the cross of Jesus Christ in tangible and tactile ways that are unimaginable to us”. He said they continued to witness by their presence.
“As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we pray for the life of all peoples of the Middle East and the Near East, foe and friend alike. We pray for the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace (Galatians 5.22). You, like me, need to listen to them and to develop with them a new Liberation Theology of solidarity based on obedience, cross–carrying and witness that is nothing like anything you remember – precisely because you have forgotten it has anything at all to do with you,” he concluded.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said that people were changed when they allowed the Spirit to enter their hearts and added that the Spirit also changed the Church. The direct action of the Spirit could be seen on Pentecost when frightened disciples went out on to the streets to confidently address the people who had gathered.
“These previously frightened disciples went out. They didn’t comment on the challenges of the day, they preached the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. How then do we know that the Spirit is with us? The Spirit is with us, speaks with us when we speak words of resurrection,” he stated. Archbishop Martin added that the Spirit spoke through signs of resurrection. He said the Irish had a great ability to identify what was going wrong but these were not words of resurrection.
“The Spirit spoke to the Church on Pentecost. The Spirit also gave the disciples words and languages that could be understood and appropriated by anyone. We need to discover words and languages of resurrection,” he said.
Pastor Sean Mullarkey said that God is love and his love knows no bounds. It was important to grasp the love of God to and for this Church. “I believe that an effective faith is a loving faith. I believe that an effective witness is a loving witness. I believe that an effective church is a loving church,” he stated.
Pastor Tunde Adebayo–Oke said that to be Christlike, people needed to do everything Jesus did and more, through a close relationship with the Holy Spirit. He said if people spent time with the Holy Spirit amazing things would happen. “What is the Holy Spirit saying to the Churches today? The Holy Spirit is saying to the Churches that as Christians we should love a whole lot more because love always wins. As Christians we should show the fruit of the spirit,” he said.
Fr Calin Florea began by highlighting the sheer breadth of the theme at hand. He remarked that the “world could not contain the books necessary to capture such a theme”. Drawing on the teachings of 10th Century St Symeon, the New Theologian, Fr Calin illustrated an Eastern Orthodox understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit through the Church. Fr Calin concluded with an Orthodox prayer saying, “The Holy Spirit never ceases to speak, so we must open our ears to hear”.
Photo captions:
Top – The panel of Church leaders interviewed by Philip McKinley (standing). L–R: Archbishop Michael Jackson, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Fr Calin Florea, Pastor Sean Mullarkey and Pastor Tunde Adebayo–Oke.
Bottom – The huge crowd in Hall Hallows College for Thinking Allowed.