Sermon: The Holy Spirit | 31 August 2025

Preacher:

Rachel Young

Date:

Sunday 31st August 2025

Venue:

Guildford Cathedral

Service:

6pm Choral Evensong

Prayer:

May I speak in the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen.

In the first three chapters of the Gospel of John, we hear a lot about the early ministry of Jesus and John the Baptist.

Luke also wrote about their early lives: they were related – we’re told that their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, were cousins – John was just sixth months older than Jesus.

Both had prophecies spoken about them –

what became known as the Magnificat by Mary,

and the Benedictus by John’s father, Zechariah.

Both knew what their calling was,

and John recognised Jesus as

the one he was preparing the way for, the Lamb of God.

They also both baptised, and our reading this evening from Chapter 3 of John’s Gospel tells us clearly how the writer of the Gospel understood the differences between the baptisms of John and Jesus.

Our reading is all about who John and Jesus were,

prompted by a discussion about purification between John’s disciples and a Jew;

and about the role of the Holy Spirit in our faith.

We could imagine that the discussion about purification between John’s disciples and a Jew, arose because the Jewish leaders were trying to understand why both John and Jesus were baptising people. John and Jesus were both offering a cleansing ritual with water and so purification was on the agenda.

Ancient Jewish rites of purification are enshrined in the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, and were considered necessary to maintain the demand from God for cleanliness and holiness among the Israelites. They were a reminder of the need for purity in worship and in the whole of life, and water was the main purifying agent, both literally and symbolically. Impurity was not the same as sin, although not purifying oneself was considered sinful; impurity was associated with that which brought death or a loss of the force of life. Personal purification was accomplished by washing, the body and clothes, and by the passing of time; purification of the altar was enacted through sacrifices by the priests, who had to avoid all impurity.   

In chapter 2 of John’s Gospel, allusion has already been given to the rites of purification – in Jesus’ first miracle, the turning of water into wine, he used the large jars of water that were ready to be used for the rites of purification.

Where did John and Jesus baptising fit into this,

perhaps the Jew wondered?

John’s answer (which was, by the way, given to his disciples, not to the Jew) refers to the long-expected Messiah, who was described by the ancient Jews as the bridegroom of Israel, the bride. John re-iterates that he is not the bridegroom but the ‘best man’, who rejoices at the bridegroom’s voice and is pleased to stand aside.  

The second half of our reading acts as a conclusion to the first three chapters of John’s Gospel, summing up what the author of the Gospel has been trying to say:

• The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all have a place in the gift of eternal life.
• Jesus – whom God has sent – speaks the words of God;

and gives the Holy Spirit ‘without measure’.

• ‘The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands’.
• ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life’.

The differences between John the Baptist and Jesus were:

• Their two different vocations, which we see that John in particular understood clearly;
• And the role of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Jesus.

What does this difference between John and Jesus’ acts of baptism make to us, twenty-first century people?

John the Evangelist is quite clear in Chapter 1 of his Gospel

that the baptism of Jesus was different –

when John the Baptist had  baptised Jesus, he saw the Holy Spirit “descending from heaven like a dove”;

and he heard God say to him, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”

What I think it says to us, is that we cannot obtain holiness or purity solely through our own efforts.

There is a shift in the New Testament away from the Hebrew Torah’s teaching about cleansing, washing and offering sacrifices on the altar of the temple; and towards the offer of the gift of holiness that’s possible through the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf.

We are still expected to live a holy life by God – this expectation hasn’t changed; but the way to do it has.

We may know that were are not holy, not clean, and may desperately be trying to clean ourselves – perhaps by trying to think or behave differently, promising to be a better person, or by punishing ourselves when we know we’ve failed.

In fact, the only way to be holy and clean is to receive the gift that God offers us. We just have to be receptive.

As Jesus said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, “No-one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit”. And it is Jesus who enables us to receive it.

Many of us will have been baptized with water, “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” We will have been very young when this happened, but even if we were baptized at an older age, our memory of its importance may have gradually faded over the years…with the events and demands of life overtaking them.

I can say that my own experience has shown me, that the receiving of this gift from God is not just a ‘once-in-a-life-time’ occurrence; and that, in fact, I have to be willing to receive it every day, and in every moment of every day.  

God gives the Holy Spirit “without measure”.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed in 1 Corinthians chapter 12:

• Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, tongues, the discernment of tongues…
• And “No-one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

And the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5:

• Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Are trying to make ourselves holy?

The Christian God doesn’t demand

that we make burnt sacrifices on an altar anymore,

or have to enact many washing rituals to make us clean.

We just have to be receptive to the gift God offers us,

the Holy Spirit, which Jesus gives to all who are baptized and –

I believe – to all those who ask him.

We can ask as we pray, or receive Holy Communion,

or go on a long walk, or find ourselves washed up

by the challenges and demands of this life…

May God help us to remain receptive and to keep asking.

Amen.