LETTER for JUNE 1993

Dear Friends

I am wilting this letter in the week following the fourth Sunday after Easter, and because I have on my mind thoughts from the Collect Epistle and Gospel appointed in the Prayer Book for this Sunday, I would like to share them with you.

Let me first print out for you the words of the Collect -

O ALMIGHTY GOD, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful people: Grant to your people, that they may love the thing which you command, and desire that which you promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely their be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When I first read the Collect at the time I was preparing for my talk at the 8 am Service of Holy Communion, I felt threatened and crushed, because the Collect touched a tender spot in me, and I felt accused and not helped. But when I thought more deeply what this prayer in fact was saying and praying, I found it so helpful and understanding of my experience, and, I suggest, of the experience of every Christian.

The opening paragraph of the Collect, up to the first colon, expresses, not accusation, but my need in the truth of how things are with me. Because we have a fallen sinful nature, our wills and affections are unruly and out of control. The Collect acknowledges this by declaring that only God can order or control our unruly wills and affections. Far from accusing or judging, the Collect expresses understanding of what I am and my deep felt need, so that it can be dealt with.

This is very liberating, because so much of Christian teaching and attitudes is judgemental, critical and condemning, without any understanding or fellow feeling as to where we find ourselves, in the failure of our lives, due to our unruly affections.

The Bible tells us we must mortify or put to death the deeds of the body. When we first become Christians we take this to heart and feel, by God’s grace and help, we can do this. We have a measure of success. In some areas of our life we have almost complete success. In others perhaps less, but we feel we are making progress. Then, to our horror and despair, we find that in some area or other we are making no progress at all. We may feel we are getting worse rather than better as our unruly affections seem to increase in power rather than diminish. Our minds says one thing, but our affections and desires another, and our desires are too strong, and move our wills in spite of our minds. This is what the Collect recognises, and expresses this truth that only God can control our desires. We, though we try ever so hard, find we can’t.

The petitions that follow are that God may grant this supernatural change of desire, to love what God loves, and desire only what God allows. We are pleading for divine intervention and God’s action in our lives, as we confess our failure and need.

The Epistle and the Gospel speak of the two ‘means of grace’ God has given us so that our prayer may be answered. God’s power does it, but through these means which we must seek and put ourselves under.

The first is Gods Word. The Epistle is James 1:17-21. These verses speak of all good gifts coming from God. The first and foremost gift God has given us is new birth. V.18 tells us God chose to give us new birth through the Word of Truth. God gives us regeneration through the application of his Word in the Gospel, applied by his life-giving power to our souls, so we believe and receive it. Thus we become Christians and are forgiven, accepted and saved.

But it is through the Word of Truth. also, that we grow in our new life and our unruly wills and affections are curbed; so the Apostle in v.19 says we must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. We tend to reverse this. We think we know and express our opinions and often get heated and angry when people do not accept our words. What we must do is listen to God’s Word, listen and listen and listen again, and so go on listening until we are more and more soaked in God’s Word, and it becomes part of us, and fills our heart and mind. Listening involves understanding and appreciating and receiving, so the Apostle tells us to turn from our desires to God’s Word engrafted in us or planted in us. As we listen God puts his Word in us. Receiving it, is letting our minds dwell upon it, savour it, and digest it so that God’s Word takes over our affections.

We can’t order and control our unruly wills and affections, but God can by his Word capturing our affections. The process is not that we look at our unruly affections and try and overcome them, but that, as we listen to the Word, God implants new affections in us. Listening, therefore, is what we must do more and more.

The Gospel deals with the other ‘means of grace’ God has provided. It is the gift of his Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The passage for the Gospel is John 16:5-15. Jesus in this passage tells his disciples that he won’t leave them comfortless, but he will send the Holy Spirit to them. When we have been given new birth by God, we are also given God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within us. Firstly, the Holy Spirit will reprove the world concerning their attitude to Jesus, showing Jesus to be God, Saviour and victor over Satan. This is in verses 8 to 11 which there not is space at this time to enlarge upon.

Then Jesus goes on to speak of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the daily lives of his disciples. How does God order our unruly wills and affection. As we have seen in his gift of the Word of truth, it is not by seeking to change the unruly affections and control them, but by the expulsive power of a new and better affection, Our sinful flesh will not be changed, the Bible tells us, until we receive a new body in heaven. What God does is to give us new and better affections which take up our attention occupied before with our sinful affections.

So it is with the gift of the Holy Spirit. For us who have the Bible the Holy Spirit will guide us into alt truth by making the Word of truth live for us as we go on listening to it. In the doing of this the Holy Spirit will make Jesus more and more precious to us. The Holy Spirit (v.13,14) will glorify Jesus by taking what the Bible reveals about him and making it known to us. The Bible is all about Jesus from beginning to end.

The Holy Spirit opens our spiritual perception to meet with Jesus, converse with him, see him in his beauty, dwell with Jesus in his love, hear him as he speaks to us, know Jesus more deeply as the lover at our souls, who loves us deeply. We shall appreciate more and more of his love, and so find our affections running alter Jesus and responding to his love by seeking to please him.

The Holy Spirit also corrects our understanding. Our human understanding and wisdom needs correction, and sometimes our spiritual understanding also, which has received false and imperfect understanding from Christians who have influenced our life or who have been our teachers from the Word.

The Collect for the 4th Sunday after Easter is comforting and practical. It is one I can pray from my heart, in my desperate need, due to my unruly affections. God answers this prayer by his power. His power will be seen working in us as we become listeners to God’s Word, and find that the beauty of Jesus is more and more capturing our hearts.

Yours servant for Christ’s sake,