CHARISMS AND WORSHIP

CHARISMS

There is so much attention paid to the charisms and to particularly to manifestations of the Spirit and charismatic worship that we can often lose sight of the purpose behind them, which is always to bring us into a deeper relationship with and worship of God, readying us to serve Him and to build up His Church.  Having said that, we cannot ignore the charisms or the many manifestations of our encounter with God.  They play an invaluable part in our own spiritual growth as well as reaching out from within us to touch the lives of those around us with the power of the Living Christ. 

Jesus came healing the sick, setting captives free and proclaiming God's favour.  Furthermore, he promised that when the Holy Spirit came, his followers would do the same.  The charisms help us imitate Jesus, allow the power of the Living Christ to manifest within us and to shine from us.  We may speak of healing, but how much more potently is the healing power of Christ proclaimed when we lay hands on the sick and they recover!  How much more meaningful is confession when a person who has confessed their sin suddenly becomes aware of the healing power of God's forgiveness!  How liberating when, through prayer, a person is freed from a particular habitual sin and turns their life around and suddenly gains hope! 

All the charisms point to Jesus, alive today, and to his Kingship and Lordship over everything.  Jesus told us we would lay hands on the sick, who would then recover. Jesus told us we would heal the broken-hearted.  Jesus told us we would cast out demons.  Jesus told us we would receive wisdom and understanding.  All that charismatic spirituality demands of us is that we simply believe what Jesus promised - and that all these things and more would be done in his Name, through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Some have problems with the idea of speaking in tongues, but again, Jesus said this would happen and when Peter went to the house of Cornelius, it was precisely this speaking in tongues which demonstrated to him that those present had received the Spirit.  Praying in tongues is a wonderful gift, freeing us from wondering what to pray for as we let the Spirit pray in us - or rather, we pray in Him.  Prayer-tongues edify God, grant us a freedom and often a greater sense of discernment.  They are not to be feared, they can be learned, and they are always under the control of the person praying. 

Prophecy is little understood by many, but this is nothing more (nor less!) than a person being gifted to hear what God wishes to impart at a particular time - a word of exhortation, sometimes a gentle rebuke, a call to deeper repentance and, occasionally, a glimpse into a plan God has, given it would seem, on a need-to-know basis. 

These, and all the many gifts gifts of the Spirit are to be received with gratitude, for they come freely but it is up to us to accept them and then to use them as the are intended. 

WORSHIP

A hallmark of charismatic worship is the joy, the singing, the dancing and while it is true that the music we play, the songs we sing, are designed to put us in a frame of mind where we can be open to the Lord, this is no different from any other form of liturgy.  Whether it is Gregorian Chant, some of the classic hymns, the folksy songs of the Sixties and Seventies, or so-called charismatic hymns, all are designed to focus our attention on the spiritual, the supernatural, on God.  This is the purpose of all liturgical celebration and is no less the case with charismatic worship. 

I have heard it said that this joy is forced, artificial, superficial, but the contrary is true.  When Jesus makes his presence known, when the Holy Spirit stirs us in love, when we feel close to the Throne Of Grace, we cannot help but react with delight, hands raised in welcome, hands open and ready to receive.  Our happiness is a response to Him, to his sheer majesty and awesome beauty which overwhelm until we react in the only way we humanly know.  No-one would react without delight at the approach of a lover.  How can we react less eagerly at the approach of THE BELOVED? 

MANIFESTATIONS

Much has been spoken over recent years about certain manifestations of the Spirit, the way some react to His presence, and much confusion has arisen as to what is coming from God, what is coming from the flesh (what the mid suggests) and what might be coming from other sources.  I believe we need to remember that the manifestations we see today are not new among Christians.  They have been in evidence time after time in the history of the Church, whenever renewal has been taking place, when we have been in need of repentance and an invigoration.  Most of these manifestations are a response to the touch of the Most high God.  Who wouldn't weep in His presence?  Who wouldn't tremble at His approach? 

Often ,the touch of the Lord can be so overwhelming that a person may fall down (rest in the Spirit) and at such times we can be certain that the Lord is accomplishing something in that person's life at that moment.  For those who have never witnessed it, it may be a little disturbing, but it is a wonderfully healing gift, as if God is accomplishing in moments what a person might take years of work to amend.  Occasionally a person may weep, or may laugh.  These are not manifestations to be feared but are often a consequence of the Lord bringing about some healing at a deeper level in that person's life.  Still others may rest of a long time in a perfectly still and very peaceful state, held in tender suspension and total relaxation.  All these are wonderfully healing, setting people free, bringing them to the knowledge of just how loved they are by our awesome God.  Memories may surface and be washed away by our Father's love.  Old wounds are bathed in the balm of Jesus' tender mercy.  What a gift! 

In summary, all charisms have been with us for 2,000 years and all are to be gratefully received.  They are for the glory of God, bringing many into a knowledge of His love for them.  charismatic worship is an expression of the joy, the sheer delight of being in God's presence, of being redeemed by the Blood of The Lamb. It is about encountering the Divine, becoming aware of His touch, and as such it is to be welcomed, fostered and longed for, not just for  few, bit for all God's people, everywhere. 

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, an openness to the Holy Spirits action in a mighty and powerful way is part of our Catholic Christian heritage.  To day, we are seeing an almost unprecedented outpouring of  the Holy Spirit to meet these times in which we live.  We need these gifts, we need the Spirit.  The world is in need.  We have to evangelize.  This is one of the tasks given to us by Jesus Christ, but to evangelize effectively, we need to use all that the Lord would have us use - and often that mean we first need to be re-evangelized ourselves. 

We cannot afford to neglect this sovereign act of God, this free gift to the world of today, but rather we need to embrace renewal with open hands and eager hearts so that  we may be open to the Holy Spirit in all that we say, do and think as we move forward into the next century. 

There are trials, many of them, and these could increase, but God has not left us orphaned.  He is the same God who sent His Only Son, the same God who sent us the Holy Spirit.  He has given us everything we need to overcome the evils of this world, insofar as this His  plan.  Our task is to work towards His Kingdom with eagerness and enthusiastic anticipation rather than complaining and lamenting the decline in Christian faith while watching as if helpless while cults attract the spiritually starving.  We need the Holy Spirit.  We need to beg the Lord to send His Spirit.  We need to repent of our arrogance and our complacency and plead with the Lord to accomplish in us all he wishes to accomplish. 

I believe that we could be on the verge of such an outpouring of God's Spirit that we can't even begin to imagine the immensity of it.  It is quite possible that we could be the most privileged generation in 2,000 years - but we have to be ready, we have to be open, we have to be hungry and we have to thirst of him as never before. 

If we carefully and prayerfully prepare ourselves, we might yet see the greatest year of favour, in the Great Jubilee, than we could possibly have dreamt of and we might just cross that Threshold Of Hope for which Pope John Paul II so eagerly prays and enter a world beyond our wildest imaginings.  Let us join, therefore, in prayer, docile to the Holy Spirit, happy to receive what He seeks to give for the benefit of all, and let us lift up our eyes and await in eager anticipation all that the Lord is preparing. 

All praise and honour and glory to God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit 

Maranatha!  Come Lord Jesus, come. 

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