based on Acts 2: 1-11 and Galatians 5: 16-25
Up until that fiftieth day called Pentecost, the apostles had been in very good spirits. For after the resurrection, all the sadness surrounding Jesus’ passion and death disappeared. In those days they were frequently seen in Jerusalem, praising God with their Alleluias. They would gather and tell and retell their favourite Jesus stories. And occasionally, Jesus would surprise them by showing up in their midst before disappearing again. But now, with His Ascension into heaven, Jesus was gone for good, and they waited in Jerusalem for something to happen.
While they waited, they kept on doing their usual thing. They continued to pray to God the Father, they continued to remember His Son, but without any manifestation of the Holy Spirit, nothing much happened. The people basically ignored them. Thus, the corruption in the city went on; the street kids remained street kids; the hungry and the exploited remained hungry and exploited. Everything remained the same as before. It was as if the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was just an interesting blip in the course of human history.
Finally, that Pentecost, it happened. WHAMMO! The Holy Spirit descended upon them, in the form of tongues of fire. They caught fire, the Divine fire, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It was then, and only then, that they and everything began to change. They became human dynamos. Off they went to establish the early church, even to distant lands, to teach, to heal, to change the world. What an impact they had on human history – right to this very day, to this very church. Those simple apostles did so much, once the Holy Spirit came to them.
But what about us? What happened to us after we received the gift of the Holy Spirit? For we have received the Spirit many times. Like when you were baptized, and in your confirmation. In fact, the Spirit is very present to us in all 7 sacraments of the Church. For example, in about 15 minutes I will be calling on the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Just like the apostles, we have received the Holy Spirit – many times. But what have we done with the Spirit? What has changed within us?
For the most part, I would say, not much. I am afraid that generally we’ve been living out our Christian faith the same way as the apostles did before Pentecost.
Now, I’m not questioning your, or that matter, my faith. I have no doubt about your love of God. I see it in the way you say your prayers, the way you wear crosses around your necks, the way you hang rosaries around the rear-view mirrors of your cars, the way that you might have religious pictures or statues or Bibles in your homes, the way that you go to mass on Sundays.
But we need to ask ourselves this: in the way that we live out our daily lives, could we say that we Christians are any different than the rest of the world? If every single Christian died this day, would the world be any different? Or would the world even notice?
So why haven’t we unleashed the gift of the Spirit in us? Maybe it’s because we really don’t understand the Holy Spirit and what the Spirit offers us. As many of you know, the New Testament was written in Greek, and the Greek word for the Holy Spirit is Paraclete. This complex word includes such meanings as counselor, advocate, and comforter. The Holy Spirit is also known as the “Sanctifier”, the One who leads us to holiness. St. Cyril of Jerusalem tells us that the Holy Spirit comes with the “tenderness of a true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel to strengthen and to console”.
The Holy Spirit has much to offer us. Consider the 7 gifts of the Spirit that are highlighted in the Sacrament of Confirmation: wisdom, knowledge, fortitude, piety, counsel, understanding and fear of the Lord. Then in today’s 2nd reading St. Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, and faith. Whoa! That’s a whole lot the Spirit offers to us! Can you imagine what would happen if we put all those gifts and fruits and talents into practice? What an impact it would have on ourselves, on others, and on our world! We would be different. Our world would be different.
So – what do you think? Could you use a little Holy Spirit from time to time? Or all the time? Oh yes! This Pentecost let’s ask for the Spirit. And not just ask for it but beg for it. Come Holy Spirit, we want You, we need You! Come Holy Spirit, be in us, move in us, act in us! Veni Sancte Spiritus! Come, Holy Spirit.