Pentecost Sunday, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete

HOMILY for the following appointed readings:
1Corinthians 12 : 1 – 12; 1John  2 : 20 – finish; Acts 2 : 14 – 22;
Psalm 50 (51): 10, 11
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew Thy right Spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy face.                      John 14 : 22 – finish

It’s your call
Whether one call today’s celebration “Be’al Hamsa,” “Paraclesis”, “Pentecost,” or “Shavout,” each term refers to an observance kept 50 days after Fasika, Pascha, or Pessach = Passover.  Even though the interval between feasts is the same, consider the points of reference, at either end: how different they are. 

Among the Jews the reference points are the safe passage of their ancestors through the Red Sea and the completion of the fifty-day journey from that shore to Mount Sinai.  That is where God gave Moses the Law (The Ten Commandments).  Only to the extent that they accepted and responded to that Law, were they confirmed as God’s own people.  Do you remember, the rest of the story; how it took them forty years to go the distance that should have taken only another couple of months?

At the end of this fifty-day period, we Christians conclude our celebration of Christ’s Resurrection from the dead, subsequent appearances to His disciples, and ascent to heaven.  Today, we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon His followers.  By studying these Bible excerpts carefully and prayerfully, we may begin to see how each relates to God’s plan.  Each event fulfilled what preceded it.  Each divine intervention is critical to our liberation from sin, enabling us to reconnect with God.  Remember, when time runs out, our Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory.   Then, each of us must answer for what we did with whatever God had given us. 

With that in mind, let us review the readings for today’s feast.   In First Corinthians, chapter12, St. Paul lists gifts of the Holy Spirit, and how these are distributed, that all might benefit.  St. John, in his first epistle, second chapter, reminds us that, as members of Christ’s body, the church, we “have” that “anointing from the Holy One,” making those gifts available, even on our own watch.   In the reading from St. Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter addressed all dwelling at Jerusalem.  On that first Christian Pentecost, he explained the astonishing events of that day, as fulfilling Joel’s prophecy about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, defying logical explanations. 

Lest these might not be enough to convince one of God’s love, our Fathers have appointed a poignant refrain from verses ten and eleven of St. David’s Psalm 50 (51), asking God to “create in me a clean heart,” to renew the presence of His Holy Spirit.  In the final reading appointed for this Feast, St. John Gospel, chapter 14, verses 22 to finish, recalls that at the first Mystical Supper, St. Jude stood up and asked our Lord, “How is it that Thou will manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”

Whenever reviewing Bible accounts about the Holy Spirit’s wonderful gifts, compare reactions of other recipients, like Moses, David, Joel, Peter, John, Luke, and Paul with your own reaction to such gifts.  What really matters is how you respond to God’s gifts. 

If you believe, and have been baptized into this Faith, you have already received gifts.  Do you ever ask yourself, “What happened to those gifts?”  Have you hidden them?  When’s the last time you checked your spiritual account?  What is your response?  Are you prepared to receive the full value that God has given you?  Have you noticed that what God offers is not like what the world gives?  It is far above it!   The real challenge is to work with God: to use His gifts, to do His will, not your own.  How soon will you really be ready to live consistently in His presence?  Perhaps, a little more prayer and fasting is all that is lacking, to soften your heart.

Abba Thomas, May 2007