Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104; Gal 5:16-25; Jn 15:16-27, 16:12-15
The Holy Spirit
Dear friends, today is the Feast of Pentecost. “Pentecost” is a Greek term that means “fiftieth”. Pentecost is, therefore, the fiftieth and final day of the Easter Season. On this feast, Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus and to all the baptized. It coincides with the Jewish feast of Shavuot which marks the day they became the holy people of God by acceptance of the law through Moses. The Church was born on this day. The disciples, full of the Holy Spirit, took the courage and went public for the first time since the death of Jesus. Their message was that the man called Jesus that the Jews handed over to be crucified was the Messiah and he was alive. The Holy Spirit filled them with an understanding of the things that Jesus did and taught them.
Now, who is the Holy Spirit? In the Nicene-Constantinople Creed, we say, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets”. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is the third person of the Triune God or the Holy Trinity. One God, three Persons, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit united in love.
God the Father manifests himself as the creator and a father who sustains and takes care of his creation. God the Son manifests himself as the saviour who came to restore our broken relationship with the Father. God the Holy Spirit manifests himself as the force of God that animates us into believing in the Father and the Son. He is the one who inspires us to do the will of God or like St. Paul says to call God “ABBA”. He is the one who gave the disciples of Jesus and us the knowledge and understanding of the risen Lord and the courage to proclaim him publicly.
In the Old Testament, we hear of how God the Father created and sustained his creation, especially the people he had chosen to carry on with his mission to redeem the world. In the OT, God promises his people redemption through a saviour who is to come. In the NT, we interact with God the Son, Jesus Christ, who we believe that he is the Son of God and the promised Messiah. He descended from the Father to bring the kingdom of God on earth. As he was at the close of his mission, he promised his followers a helper in the name of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who, since the day of Pentecost, has been animating the Christian mission to bring the Kingdom of God on earth to date.
The time of the Holy Spirit is the time of the Church. He works in the Church to sanctify us and continue to teach us the way of salvation. The Holy Spirit inspires us to live in communities united by love and purpose. This is our faith and it makes us who we are as Christians.
In the sacrament of baptism, we receive the Spirit of God who makes us his children, washes away our original sin (the human sin we inherit from our parents), and makes us heirs of the Kingdom of God. The spirit fills us and in turn, we bear the fruits of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forbearance, and chastity. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit that make us mature in faith and courage to defend what we believe: these are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and the fear of the lord. Those who are well instructed in faith through proper catechesis will not find these affirmations difficult to understand. However, because of often-shallow instruction in faith and lack of ongoing formation in faith, many Christians stagnate and are often confused and misled about the Holy Spirit, and his role in the life of a Christian. The Holy Spirit can only inspire us if we give him space and our collaboration. He is not a robot or an ATM machine. Through his gifts and fruits, we can face different realities.
Some have been made to believe that the Holy Spirit is a tool for working miracles to attain fame and draw the masses to oneself for profit. Others have turned him into an ATM for all they want especially riches. Some still have made him the weapon of revenge against their enemies. Still, others want him to do all the work for them while they relax and enjoy life. This is manifested in the way we regard the Holy Spirit in our worship.
People are going far and spending fortunes to acquire the spirit so that they can break through in life. Others use all kinds of ways to demonstrate to people that they have the spirit at their disposal. The Spirit that is most sought after is that of prosperity and miracles. Instead of being united because of the spirit, there are more divisions in Churches. The spirit that causes divisions and negative competition cannot be the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspired the disciples to speak in such a way that everyone present could hear and understand hence creating unity instead of divisions.
The Holy Spirit cannot be acquired by money. He cannot be sold, bought, or imposed on someone through long and dramatization of prayer sessions. He inspires those he wills and at his own chosen time. The Holy Spirit is a loving God who always wants to inspire us to live fruitful lives. He cannot be used to cause harm or belittle others. He does not impose himself on us but needs our cooperation.
Baptism alone does not make us mature Christians. Those who are not well instructed in faith are likened to a soldier who leaves the camp without completing his training. He can be very dangerous to his battalion in the war field. Little knowledge especially on matters of faith is very dangerous to our faith communities. We have many people who purport to have seen a vision that inspired them to start preaching. These end up being confused and confusing the innocent believers who come after them. Those who feel called to be spiritual leaders need to undergo training and vetting before they are allowed to teach. Those who have been trained need ongoing formation to study the sign of times and update themselves on the workings of the Spirit.
Dear friends, let’s ask ourselves, which spirit is working in us when we think, act, and speak. Let us ask the Holy Spirit of God to dwell in us and inspire us to become better people.
Have a blessed Pentecost.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 