Today's Gospel in Art - When the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say

Hubbub, by Joanna Braithwaite 2020 © Courtesy Martin Browne Contemporary

Gospel of 17th October 2020 - Luke 12:8-12

Jesus said to his disciples:

'I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God's angels.

'Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

'When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.'

Reflection on the Painting

In our Gospel reading today there is a very powerful promise that the Holy Spirit will teach us what we should say in moments when we bear witness to God. As a seminarian reading this, I find it an especially beautiful promise. I think that one of the worries many of us here in seminary have is about what we will say, preach, or tell a congregation in the future when we stand in front of them. What should we say at a particular time? So the reading today resonates strongly with us and is asking us to trust fully in the Holy Spirit on our journey ahead. As seminarians we are aware that there will be times that we will have to speak gentle words in certain circumstances and then other times words that a highly secularised world may not want to hear, but needs to hear. We pray that the Holy Spirit may guide and inspire us in those moments.

Jesus is asking in our reading that at such times we offer a good testimony for Him in a clear, bold and enthusiastic way. His promise that the Holy Spirit will not desert us when we may feel persecuted is of great comfort. Like the creatures in our painting who each have their own megaphones, own voices, own trumpets, we also individually have our own voices to give witness to Christ… As Psalm 98 says: 'with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn -- shout for joy before the Lord, the King'.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/577

Christian Art - www.christian.art