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Featured in the June 2007 edition of Across the See
Reflections - June 2007

by the Bishop of Norwich
'Why do you wear that big pointed hat?' asked a child at the end of a service in the Cathedral. 'Is it because you've got a big pointed head?' Children's questions are never less than direct. But it did give an opportunity for me to explain why bishops wear this funny headgear.

Children are better than adults at recognising that the shape of a mitre is like a flame. (One of the reasons I tend to wear plain gold mitres is to emphasize the connection). Sometimes I tell them that bishops should really wear a little bonfire on their heads. Our hats are a bit less dangerous. The Holy Spirit came upon the first believers on the day of Pentecost like tongues of flame. The Holy Spirit fired up the apostles for their mission. The Holy Spirit was God’s source of renewed energy, the energy being the gift of himself. As successors of the apostles, bishops wear mitres as a sign that they are called to exercise a spirit filled ministry. Signs and symbols are powerful. A huge variety of images can be found in the Bible for the activity of God’s Holy Spirit. Wind, breath, living water, fire, oil – all of them are employed to express the inexpressible. The gifts of the Spirit are peace, joy, love and fellowship. One of our troubles today is that we don’t take such images seriously enough. People even say “that’s only a metaphor” as if it doesn’t compare with hard, concrete fact. The trouble with hard, concrete facts is that they don’t always fire our imagination. “The table is wooden” or “the floor is flat” are both factual statements. They might invite some philosophical debate about the character of woodenness or flatness if you are that way inclined, but most people would simply pass on to think about something else. The gift of the Holy Spirit is, for me, a fact. But there’s nothing wooden or flat about it. All those images of the Holy Spirit invite us to explore what God’s spirit entering our lives may mean for us. The Spirit transformed that group of believers who had come to trust in Christ’s resurrection. It was the Spirit that enabled them to become a community of life and freedom. That’s why we call Pentecost the birthday of the Church. The Church isn’t an institution of human origin. God’s Church is the work of the Holy Spirit. I pray God’s blessing on the Spirit filled churches of this diocese this Pentecost. May we all be fired afresh in God’s service.