Last week in my blog I wrote "I think I dare to say that we are on the verge of a tipping point of the Holy Spirit that will pour out from this land (meaning Australia) to the ends of the earth. This is something I only know in my spirit but heed this foregoing utterance of a mortal man. Said in obedience to God." - I thought in a way I had been stupid and headstrong in writing that - The following day I discovered that maybe I was not so stupid after all!
I visited Brisbane Cathedral and hung around for mass, because I like to do that sort of thing, pray and listen, I discovered that the Bishop there had written a pastoral letter to his flock declaring that Pentecost should mark a "Year of Grace" - this is an excerpt from his letter
"But the plot thickens. When God comes down to us in Jesus, we prefer to run away – saying as we do, "No thanks, I can do it by myself". We would rather die in our own way than live in God’s way. We would rather starve at the foot of the mountain than allow God to carry us to the feast on the summit. That’s the underlying attitude that becomes sin in our life. But God is not so easily put off, because Jesus, the Good Shepherd, comes looking for the run-away sheep. When he finds them, he puts them on his shoulders and carries them up the mountain where they can enjoy the restful waters and the fresh green pastures of the feast. And all of this is done out of the free and extravagant love than we call "grace", which is the very heart of the Christian life.
"This Pentecost Sunday we begin what we’re calling the Year of Grace. This will be like a time of retreat for the whole Church in Australia – a time to refocus on what really matters, a time to rediscover the heart of the Christian life. We can’t earn the almost incredible love of God; but we don’t have to. It’s given to the unworthy as a free gift. All they have to do is accept it. But that can be harder than it sounds, given our tendency to insist that we can do it all ourselves."
If a whole national church is going to pray for a year of grace It will happen! And it will pour out over other nations. Debs and I found the Holy Spirit working in Brisbane and also with the COC church at Bribie Island where we experienced an amazingly prayerful service. The same Holy Spirit working in different churches....
I visited Brisbane Cathedral and hung around for mass, because I like to do that sort of thing, pray and listen, I discovered that the Bishop there had written a pastoral letter to his flock declaring that Pentecost should mark a "Year of Grace" - this is an excerpt from his letter
"But the plot thickens. When God comes down to us in Jesus, we prefer to run away – saying as we do, "No thanks, I can do it by myself". We would rather die in our own way than live in God’s way. We would rather starve at the foot of the mountain than allow God to carry us to the feast on the summit. That’s the underlying attitude that becomes sin in our life. But God is not so easily put off, because Jesus, the Good Shepherd, comes looking for the run-away sheep. When he finds them, he puts them on his shoulders and carries them up the mountain where they can enjoy the restful waters and the fresh green pastures of the feast. And all of this is done out of the free and extravagant love than we call "grace", which is the very heart of the Christian life.
"This Pentecost Sunday we begin what we’re calling the Year of Grace. This will be like a time of retreat for the whole Church in Australia – a time to refocus on what really matters, a time to rediscover the heart of the Christian life. We can’t earn the almost incredible love of God; but we don’t have to. It’s given to the unworthy as a free gift. All they have to do is accept it. But that can be harder than it sounds, given our tendency to insist that we can do it all ourselves."
If a whole national church is going to pray for a year of grace It will happen! And it will pour out over other nations. Debs and I found the Holy Spirit working in Brisbane and also with the COC church at Bribie Island where we experienced an amazingly prayerful service. The same Holy Spirit working in different churches....
The full text of the pastoral letter will be found here - it is worth reading in full.
I will double post this week as I am also working on a more reflective piece.
Here is their prayer
Gracious God,
You have blessed this ancient land
with many gifts, especially its people.
We thank you for the Year of Grace,
a time to start afresh from Christ.
You invite us to contemplate the face of Jesus your Son,
that we may experience a new wave of grace,
and that the light of Christ may burn more brightly in our lives.
Attune our hearts and minds
to the presence of your Holy Spirit,
that our Church may be transformed,
our relationships be healed,
and our nation grow in compassion and justice.
With the intercession of St Mary MacKillop,
who showed us new ways of living the Gospel,
we make our prayer
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Here is their prayer
Gracious God,
You have blessed this ancient land
with many gifts, especially its people.
We thank you for the Year of Grace,
a time to start afresh from Christ.
You invite us to contemplate the face of Jesus your Son,
that we may experience a new wave of grace,
and that the light of Christ may burn more brightly in our lives.
Attune our hearts and minds
to the presence of your Holy Spirit,
that our Church may be transformed,
our relationships be healed,
and our nation grow in compassion and justice.
With the intercession of St Mary MacKillop,
who showed us new ways of living the Gospel,
we make our prayer
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
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